Chapter 2 – Ancient Engineering
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders were first defined as themata (Greek for ‘things to be seen’ which, in today’s common English, we would phrase as ‘must sees’) by Philo of Byzantium in 225 BCE, in his work On The Seven Wonders. Other writers on the Seven Wonders include Herodotus, Callimachus of Cyrene and Antipater of Sidon. Of the original seven, only the Great Pyramid exists today.
https://www.ancient.eu/The_Seven_Wonders/
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were:
How were they built?
As strange as it might sound to you in the year 2018, there was a strong belief that the ancients could not have made huge, complex structures that were found by Western archaeologists in the 18, 19th and 20th century. Even out of this world aliens have been proposed.
Here is a good article from 2017 from a well respected archaeological organization about this.
Racism is behind outlandish theories about Africa’s ancient architecture
Some of the most impressive buildings and cities ever made by humans can be found in Africa: the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwein South Africa, Kenya’s Gedi Ruins and Meroe in Sudan. Perhaps the most awe-inspiring of these are the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza, in Egypt.
This should come as no surprise. Africa has an extensive archaeological record, extending as far back as 3.3 million years ago when the first-ever stone tool was made in what is today Kenya. The continent’s cultural complexity and diversity is well established; it is home to the world’s oldest-known pieces of art. And, of course, it is the birth place of modern humans’ ancient ancestors, Homo sapiens.
Despite all this evidence, some people still refuse to believe that anyone from Africa (or anywhere in what is today considered the developing world) could possibly have created and constructed the Giza pyramids or other ancient masterpieces. Instead, they credit ancient astronauts, extraterestrials or time travellers as the real builders. The direct link to a video on this subject by the BBC can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/pyramidology_01.shtml
