What are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and where are they?
FROM the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to The Great Pyramid of Giza, the seven wonders of the ancient world are a selection of exceptional pieces of architecture.
Based in the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe, here's a look at the world's most remarkable ancient wonders.
What are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and where are they?
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have varied over the years - with only one surviving into the modern day.
Here are the traditional seven wonders.
The Great Pyramid of Giza - Egypt
The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is the oldest of the ancient wonders, and the only one still standing, after being built more than 4,000 years ago.
It is the largest of the three Pyramids of Giza and is believed to have been built to honour Pharaoh Khufu - the second King of Egypt's fourth dynasty.
The pyramid is believed to have been competed in 2560 BCE.
It was originally 146.5 metres tall, but now measures only 138 metres as some of the cladding was removed in 1356 to build a series of mosques and fortresses.
There are two narrow shafts, about eight inches (20 cm) wide, extending from the chamber toward the outer surface of the pyramid.
The other main features of the Great Pyramid are the Grand Gallery, ascending and descending passages, and the lowest part of the structure sometimes dubbed the “unfinished chamber”.
Experts believe the Great Pyramid took 20 years to build using 100,000 slaves.
However, archaeologists and historians believe that the Great Pyramid and the other pyramids at Giza were built by paid laborers, rather than enslaved people, as the remains of deceased builders were found in a burial place of honour located in the vicinity of the pyramids.
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The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Iraq
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been built around 600BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, close to the royal palace in Babylon.
They were allegedly 400ft square and raised about 75ft off the ground by a series of magnificent vaulted arches.
It is said that an abundance of exotic plants grew on the raised terrace, many of them trailing over the sides.
There is no firm evidence that the hanging gardens ever existed.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - Turkey
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, also known as the Temple of Diana was a giant Greek temple to the Goddess Artemis, located in what is now modern-day Turkey.
After previous versions were destroyed, the third version of the temple was made almost entirely of gleaming white marble, and took several years to finish.
It was 18 metres tall and had more than 127 columns - many decorated with gold and silver.
The temple was destroyed for good in 268AD in a raid by the Germanic Goth tribe.
Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain at the site.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus - Turkey
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the Tomb of Mausolus, was a 45-metre mausoleum in present-day Turkey built for Mausolus, a governor in the Persian Empire.
Mausolos started planning the tomb shortly before his death, and its construction was supervised by his wife Artemisia.
The Mausoleum was approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height, and the four sides were adorned with sculptural reliefs, each created by one of four Greek sculptors: Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros, and Timotheus.
This ancient wonder was destroyed over the course of many years by a combination of earthquakes and crusaders, who used the mausoleum's stone to build a castle.
The word mausoleum has now come to be used generically for an above-ground tomb.
Colossus of Rhodes - Greece
The Colossus of Rhodes was a 33-metre statue of the Greek of the Greek Titan Helios that stood at Rhodes harbour.
It was approximately the height of the modern Statue of Liberty from feet to crown – making it the tallest statue in the ancient world.
It was constructed to celebrate the successful defence of Rhodes city against an attack by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who had besieged it for a year with a large army and navy.
The statue was made of a series of thin bronze plates riveted together atop a stone plinth.
It was traditionally thought to have stood astride the harbour's entrance, but modern historians say that such a pose would have been impossible with the technology of the time.
It stood for 54 years until it was destroyed by an earthquake in 226BC, although parts of it were preserved.
Lighthouse of Alexandria - Egypt
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria was a giant lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
It has been estimated to have been at least 100 metres (330 ft) in overall height and was known as one of the tallest man-made structures in the world.
It was located on a small island off the coast of Egypt, and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world.
It took 12 years to complete, and was built entirely of limestone.
It was destroyed over the course of nearly 400 years by earthquakes in 956, 1303, and 1323 and eventually became an abandoned ruin.
It was the third-longest surviving ancient wonder (after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Great Pyramid of Giza), surviving in part until 1480, when the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site.
In 1994, a team of French archaeologists dove into the water of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour and discovered some remains of the lighthouse on the sea floor.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia - Greece
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 12.4 m (41 ft) tall.
Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus.
This wonder was reportedly made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus.
The statue was said to have been made of ivory plates and gold panels.
Zeus then sat on a painted cedarwood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones.
However, this wonder of the ancient world is reported to have been lost and destroyed before the end of the 5th century AD.
Details of its form are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and representations on coins.
