Ancient Archaeology and World Heritage

The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut  is a mortuary temple complex constructed during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut (reign: 1479 BCE – 1458 BCE, Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt). The Great Royal Wife of the Pharaoh Thutmose II (reign: 1493 BCE - 1479 BCE) whom she succeeded, Hatshepsut is the second recorded queen regent of Egypt, the first being Sobekneferu (a.k.a. Neferusobek), the last ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.

The Ajloun Castle (which was known as  Qal ʻ at ar-Rabad during the medieval period), is a 12th-century CE Muslim castle situated in the Ajloun Governorate in northwestern Jordan . The castle was originally constructed during the 12th Century CE by the Ayyubid Dynasty (1171 CE – 1341 CE), the founding dynasty of the medieval sultanate of Egypt. It was later expanded in the 13th Century CE by the Mamluk Sultanate (1250 CE – 1517 CE).

Commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (who was the emperor of Hindustan from 1628 CE to 1658 CE), to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal (who died of postpartum hemorrhage in 1631 CE), the  Taj Mahal  is a white marble mausoleum which sits on the right bank of the river Yamuna , in the city of Agra , Uttar Pradesh, India.

Po Nagar is a Cham temple complex , located in the modern-day coastal city of Nha Trang in Vietnam. The complex is dedicated to goddess Yan Po Nagar , the founder of the Cham people according to legend.

Mỹ Sơn is a group of ruined Hindu temples dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva . It is located in the Quảng Nam Province in Central Vietnam , about 69 km southwest of Da Nang. The temples were constructed between the 4 th and 14 th Century CE by the rulers of the Champa Kingdom (192 CE – 1832 CE). The rulers of Champa used Mỹ Sơn both as a site for religious ceremonies and as a burial place. Earlier structures in Mỹ Sơn are primarily attributed to King Bhadravarman I (reigned from 380 CE – 413 CE), King Sambhuvarman (reigned from 572 CE – 629 CE) and King Prakasadharma (653 CE – 687 CE). Later rulers continued the renovation of the old temples as well as continued the construction of new temples. Majority of the remaining structures were constructed by King Harivarman II (reigned from 989 CE – 997 CE) and King Harivarman IV (reigned from 1074 CE – 1080 CE).

Situated within the Petra archeological site in Jordan , The Obelisk Tomb is a burial complex carved by the Nabataean civilization during the reign of Malichus II,  who was ruler of Nabataea from 40 CE to 70 CE.

The  Great Wall of China  is a series of fortifications built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese States  and Imperial China. It served as protection against invaders, as well as a form of border control through regulating both trade (by imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road) and travel (immigration and emigration). While several walls were constructed from as far back as the 7 th Century BCE , around 220 BCE under the reign of Qin Shi Huang , the first emperor of China (reign: 221 BCE – 210 BCE), sections of the earlier constructions were joined to form the original Great Wall.

The Giza pyramid complex  consists of the Great Pyramid of Khufu , the Pyramid of Khafre , and the Pyramid of Menkaure , their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. All the structures within the complex are widely believed to have been constructed between 2600 BCE to 2500 BCE, during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt . The complex was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 CE.

The Elephanta Caves, also known as Gharapuri Caves, are a collection of cave temples primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. These ancient rock-cut shrines, considered to have been constructed between the 5th and 7th centuries CE are Located on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour, India. The main cave at the island (also called the Great Cave) consists of a square court surrounded by cells and several entrances. The main entrance faces north, while two side entrances face east and west. The temple is enclosed in the cave with only interior walls, without an exterior wall. The Linga shrine of the Great Cave temple is a free-standing square stone cella (the inner area of an ancient temple), with entrances on each of its sides. Each door is flanked by two Dvarapalas (gate guardians) , for a total of eight around the shrine.

  The Temple of Edfu is located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The temple was built during t he Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt between 237 BCE and 57 BCE and was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian deities Horus and Hathor. Construction of the temple which stands today is estimated to have commenced during the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned from 246 BCE to 222 BCE) and completed during the reign of  P tolemy XII Auletes (reigned from 80 BCE to 58 BCE,  and again from 55 BCE to 51 BCE). The current temple was constructed on the site of an older, smaller temple also dedicated to Horus. The older temple was probably constructed and used in the 19th dynasty , during the reigns of Ramesses I (reigned from 1292 BCE to 1290 BCE), Seti I (reigned from 1290 BCE to 1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (reigned from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE). The temple was abandoned as a religious monument following the banning of non-Christian worship within the Roman Empire in 39...