Lost Civilizations

1. Lost Civilizations: Petra, Jordan

 

Citizens of Pompeii, the Mayans of Chichen Itza and Tikal, the Vikings of Scandinavia and the Minoans of Crete have much in common: They’re all gone, but they left behind striking archaeological wonders. Here are a dozen places where travelers can explore lost civilizations.

Does this rose-colored beauty look familiar? Petra, Jordan, played a starring role in the film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” The city was established around the sixth century B.C. as the capital city of the Nabataeans, but went into decline under Roman rule. In 363, an earthquake destroyed many buildings and crippled its water management system. Travelers can ride camels and admire the gorgeous facades of the Treasury and the Monastery, in addition to a 7,000-seat Roman theater. Be sure to note the urn atop the Treasury structure; it is rumored to contain a pharaoh's hidden treasure. In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site. It is now the most visited tourist attraction in Jordan.

Text by Robin Dalmas, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca.

2. Lost Civilizations: The Minoans of Crete

 

 

The Minoans were a Bronze Age civilization who lived on the island of Crete in Greece. They flourished from the 27th century B.C. to the 15th century B.C. The Minoans had a written language, agriculture, pottery, painting and a religion in which they worshipped primarily goddesses. What happened to this civilization? No one knows for sure, but the eruption of nearby Thera, aka Santorini, was one of the largest volcanic events in recorded history and may have contributed to the Minoans’ downfall. Visitors to the walled city of Heraklion, the capital of Crete, can visit an archaeological museum that holds Minoan remains. Also worth seeing is the Minoan Palace of Knossos, connected with legends such as the myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur, as well as the story of Daedalus and Icarus.

 

3. Lost Civilizations: Easter Island

 

 

Easter Island is one of the most isolated places in the world — 2,300 miles from Chile and 1,300 miles from the Pitcairn Islands. Scientists have long puzzled over how the hundreds of 30-foot-high statues came to be, given that the prehistoric population had no machines, no metal tools and no draft animals. What remains today is a tiny population of fewer than 4,000 people of Polynesian descent and immigrants from Chile, as well as the mystery of the giant stone statues. In his book “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” author Jared Diamond suggests that ecological destruction led to this civilization’s demise.

 

4. Lost Civilizations: Chichen Itza

 

 

Long before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, the Mayans built Chichen Itza on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. Chichen Itza fell by around the year 1000. The site still contains fine stone buildings, including pyramids, and a network of formerly paved roads. It also contains the Great Ball Court, the largest of its kind in ancient Mesoamerica. Now a popular day trip for visitors to Cancun, Chichen Itza has been a tourist destination for more than a century.

 

5. Lost Civilizations: Mesa Verde

 

Mesa Verde, Spanish for “green table,” is in Colorado and offers a peek into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home from the seventh to the 14th century. Then, in the span of a generation or two, they left their homes and moved away, for unknown reasons. Today, Mesa Verde National Park protects more than 4,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. Descendants of Mesa Verde Ancestral Puebloans include the Hopi in Arizona and the 19 Rio Grande pueblos of New Mexico.

 

 

6. Lost Civilizations: The Vikings

 

 

The Vikings got around. These Scandinavian seamen, warriors and merchants traveled in their longships as far as Russia, Spain, Italy, the Middle East, North Africa, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, between the eighth and the 11th century. For one look at their past, visit Jarlshof in Shetland, Scotland, which boasts seven buildings, including the first confirmed Norse longhouse in the British Isles. Excavators also discovered iron tools such as shears, scissors, sickles and a fish-hook and knife. If you prefer a hands-on experience, consider rowing a Viking ship replica at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark.

 

7. Lost Civilizations: Pompeii

 

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in the year 79, it buried Pompeii, Italy, under ash and pumice. The city was lost for more than 1,500 years before it was rediscovered in 1592. Today’s visitors can peer at excavated villas, an amphitheater, an aqueduct and street fountains, businesses and public baths. Plaster casts of victims who died reveal the expressions on their faces, the folds of their clothes and the contorted positions in which they perished. Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and now attracts 2.5 million visitors annually.

 

8. Lost Civilizations: Angkor Wat

 

 

This temple complex in Angkor, Cambodia, was built in the 12th century for King Suryavarman II as the capital of the Khmer Empire. Initially a Hindu temple, it eventually became a Buddhist one. In his book “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” author Jared Diamond suggests that Angkor Wat may have gone into decline due to the silting up of reservoirs that supplied water for rice agriculture. The temple complex is now a major tourist destination and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992.

 

9. Lost Civilizations: Machu Picchu, Peru

 

   

 

If you’re traveling to Peru, don’t miss visiting the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu, a vital link to the Americas’ pre-Columbian heritage. The site was built starting around 1400, but was not inhabited for long — its residents cut their time short when the Spanish invaded a century later. Few knew of its existence until 1911, when American archaeologist Hiram Bingham first brought it to international attention. In April 2010, tourists returned to Machu Picchu, which reopened after a two-month closure due to floods that washed out the rail link to the mountaintop ruins.

 

10. Lost Civilizations: Chaco Culture National Historical Park

 

 

 

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico was the center of a thriving culture 1,000 years ago. During the middle and late 800s, the Chacoan people built structures that were often oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions. Sophisticated astronomical markers, communication features, water-control devices and formal earthen mounds surrounded them. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, ranger-led tours and the Chaco Night Sky Program, which includes telescope viewing of the spectacular night sky. The park also hosts historians, archaeologists, artists, musicians and Native American speakers throughout the summer who share their knowledge of Chaco. Today, 20 Puebloan groups in New Mexico, as well as the Hopi in Arizona, claim Chaco as their ancestral homeland and are tied to this place through oral traditions and clan lineages. A number of Navajo clans are also affiliated with Chacoan sites through their traditional stories.

11. Lost Civilizations: Tikal

 

 

Tikal, Guatemala, was one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. It was inhabited from the sixth century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. This UNESCO World Heritage site contains the remains of 230-foot-tall temples, large royal palaces, pyramids, residences, administrative buildings and inscribed stone monuments. Tikal had no water other than that collected from rainwater and stored in reservoirs. The reliance on seasonal rainfall left the city vulnerable to drought, which likely played a role in its eventual collapse.

 

 

12. Lost Civilizations: Troy (Troia), Turkey

 

 

 

Troy was a city in what is now Turkey, and it was the site of the Trojan War of Greek mythology. The city was destroyed at least nine times and was home to various groups over its rocky history. It was eventually abandoned around 1500. The first excavations at the site were undertaken by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. Today, Troy is highly commercialized and features a giant Trojan horse built as a playground for children. Archaeological excavations continue today.