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ReadThe Great Wall of China snakes along the nation's ancient northern border, and protected the southern states from invasion, right up until the Manchu Conquest of the 17th Century. There are many myths about the Great Wall (you can't see it from space) but what are the facts?
The Great Wall isn't really one wall; it's a series of walls of different ages and different styles. This section is the most famous and also the most recent. It was built only around 450 years ago. The oldest parts are just earthen mounds and date back 2000 years.
Structures like 'The Treasury' and 'The Palace of Pharaoh's Daughter' decorate tourists' postcards, but did you know that nearly four fifths of the ancient city remains underground and unexplored? There may be many more unbelievable buildings waiting to be discovered.
The Taj Mahal, found in Agra, India, was the work of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built this perfectly white, perfectly symmetrical marble tomb as a monument to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In total, it took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants 16 years to build.
But did you know that the sarcophagi inside are actually empty? The Islamic prohibition of wealthy, ornate tombs meant that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were buried in a smaller, simple tomb one level below ground…
… This room is rarely opened, because breath of visitors would damage the white marble walls.
Christ the Redeemer stands on the peak of the Corcovado mountain, towering above the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Completed in 1933, the statue is an emblem of Christian faith and national pride. At 30m tall and with arms stretching 28m wide, it's hard to miss.
But did you know that while the statue stands in Brazil, Christ's face was actually made in France? It was carved from solid soapstone by the Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, then living in Paris. In total, it took Leonida five years to complete the piece!
Machu Picchu clings to the ridgeline of the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru. This stone citadel was constructed as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti around 1450 and abandoned around the time of the Spanish conquest. It was only discovered by Europeans in 1911!
In the time of the Inca, this 'lost city' was regarded as the centre of the world. The Intihuatana was a ritual stone platform at Machu Picchu that may have been used as a sundial or altar. Here, essential rituals would have been carried out to ensure the cycle of the sun.
The Mayan city of Chichén Itzá in modern-day Mexico was perhaps the largest urban area in the pre-Colombian Americas. Occupied between 600-1100CE, the city supported a complex and diverse society, and became a major economic and political centre of the region.
You may know about the numerous stepped pyramid temples and the famous Great Ball Court (seen here), but did you know that the city also contained a bath house with a steam sauna, paved causeways known as sacbeob, and a tzompantli, or 'skull rack'.
In ancient Rome, there were few better ways to spend an afternoon than taking in a game at the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. Built in 72CE, this building hosted gladiatorial matches, musical events, executions, and even a small-scale sea battle.
But did you know that besides being a monument to gore and glory, the Colosseum is also home to many plants and animals? In 1643, the herbalist Domenico Panaroli surveyed all the plants growing on the ruins. Since then, 684 different species have been identified.
You've heard of the Ancient Egyptians, but did you know their history stretches all the way back to around 6000 years BCE?
Some surviving architecture can still be seen, including the iconic pyramids and the Great Sphinx, still standing strong and proud today, 4500 years later!
In a collision of ancient and contemporary, you can use Street View to journey back to Ancient Egypt and take a look at five spectacular views of the pyramids of Giza. Scroll on to start your journey...
Also known as known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest pyramid in the Giza complex in Cairo, Egypt.
This structure is the second largest of the pyramids of Giza. It holds the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre.
This pyramid is the third largest out of the three main pyramids in the Giza complex. It is thought to house the tomb of the Pharaoh Menkaure.
Next to the Pyramid of King Menkaure, you can find some smaller pyramids known as the Pyramids of Queens.
Among the pyramids stands the Great Sphinx of Giza. This structure was built in the shape of a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human.
Supposedly made for King Edward IV in the 15th century, the Great Bed of Ware is not a great place for a peaceful night’s sleep. Although painstakingly carved for a royal occupant, the bed spent centuries being passed between the inns of Wear. Over the years, commoners who slept in the bed covered it in graffiti and damaged the fine carvings, leaving the frame looking battered and worn.
According to legend, carpenter Jonas Fosbrooke, who made the bed for the king, was so enraged by the disrespectful treatment of his work that his ghost attacks any commoner who dares to sleep in it. Luckily for those of us not of royal blood, the bed is currently safely on display in the V&A in London.
One of the most famous diamonds in the world, the Hope Diamond originated in the Kollur Mine in Andhra Pradesh, India. According to legend, the stone is cursed and brings misfortune to anyone who owns it. The curse is said to have come about when the original diamond was stolen from the eye of a statue.
The thief met a grisly end, kickstarting a pattern of misfortune for all who possessed the diamond. Over the years, owners of the Hope Diamond have befallen fates including death by murder, execution and suicide, bankruptcy and imprisonment. Thankfully, the curse seems to have lifted when the diamond was donated to the Smithsonian in 1958.
The Terracotta Army was discovered by local farmers in Xi’an, China, in 1974. The army is an extravagant piece of funeral art that was buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, in around 210 BCE. Altogether, the army contains 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses.
The village that the farmers were from believed that disturbing the army would bring misfortune. Unluckily for them, their belief in a curse was well-founded as their 2,000-year-old village was soon pulled down to make way for an enormous museum.
The Unlucky Mummy isn’t actually a mummy but the mummy board, or coffin lid, of a high status woman who lived in around 950-900 BCE. Discovered in Thebes in the 1800s, the four young Englishmen who first purchased the mummy all died in unfortunate circumstances.
Rumors of the curse soon spread and, in the early 20th century, journalist William Thomas Stead wrote an article on the jinxed artefact. Stead went on to be one of the passengers on the doomed Titanic. It’s said that he told stories of the curse in the run up to the disaster, with many believing that the mummy itself caused the ship’s watery end. Today, the Unlucky Mummy is on display in the British Museum.
Learn more about the Titanic here.