A Sad Finish 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hadrian's Wall

Although historians commonly cite "keeping the barbarians out of Roman Britain" as the reason for the construction of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, no records that state its explicit purpose have ever been found. It is possible that the wall was built for economic reasons - in order to collect taxes on trade or in order to control immigration or smuggling. Construction of Hadrian's Wall began in 122.

It is estimated that the 73-mile wall took at least six years to complete. Although some of the wall still stands today, parts of it were disassembled in the 18th century and used for paving roads. Today the National Trust owns the land on which the wall is standing; it is difficult, however, to guard the entire area against tourists, climbers, and souvenir hunters.

Answer: Knossos

Knossos, considered today to be the oldest European city, was the center of the advanced Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. Ruled by the legendary King Minos, the Minoans built huge palace complexes and crafted fine products, such as pottery and jewelry.

After suffering major destruction in approximately 1500 BC from an earthquake, it appears that the people were in the process of rebuilding when something happened (believed to be either another earthquake or invasion) to end their great civilization. The remains were uncovered and partially restored by Sir Arthur Evans in the early 1900s.

Answer: Mesa Verde

The Native American Puebloan culture, often called the Anasazi, was established in the Four Corners area (meeting point of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah) of the southwestern United States. There is still much discussion concerning the origin of the group, however, some historians believe the Ancestral Puebloans began building pit houses in the region in the 12th century BC. From approximately 900 to 1350 AD, the Puebloans constructed stone and adobe dwellings along cliff walls. Commonly called pueblos, these dwellings could only be reached by rock climbing or by climbing ropes.

In addition to family dwellings, kivas for meeting and ceremonial use were constructed. Mysteriously most of the pueblos were vacated by the Anasazi sometime in the 1300s and many of them were destroyed.

There are approximately twenty-one pueblos still inhabited today; Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in the United States.

Answer: Persepolis

The site for the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire is believed to have been selected by Cyrus the Great in approximately 515 BC; Darius I and his son, Xerxes, built monumental structures on the site. Located in a remote area of the empire in an attempt to protect the empire's imperial treasury, the site contained, among other structures, a palace complex, audience hall, and a monumental gateway.

The city was used by the king for festivals and receptions. Alexander the Great looted the city in 330 BC, and then ordered, according to some sources, the king's palace to be burned. Plutarch wrote that ten thousand pair of mules and five thousand camels were needed to carry out all the treasure and booty.

Answer: Tenochtitlan

Located on an island in Lake Texcoco , Tenochtitlan, founded in 1325, was the capital of the Aztec Empire. Considered to be the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas, it had an estimated population of between 200,000-300,000. Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador who conquered the city in 1521, estimated that the marketplace alone served 60,000 a day; modern historians, however, put the number at 20,000 on a normal day and 40,000 if it was a feast day. Tenochtitlan was the thriving capital city of a thriving culture before the Spanish arrived. Cortés eventually besieged the city for 75 days, and then ordered the city be destroyed and rebuilt for Spanish use.

Answer: Bagan

Founded in the 2nd century according to Burmese chronicles, Bagan was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan in what is modern Myanmar today from 1044 to 1287. In an area that was approximately 104 square kilometers, the people constructed over 10,000 religious monuments including temples, monasteries, and stupas, which are Buddhist shrines. Even though the culture was dominated by religious study and worship, and other important subjects, the city attracted many different types of scholars. Although it is debated whether or not the Mongols actually attacked the city, it appears that repeated Mongol invasions did lead to the collapse of the city in 1287.

After that the area was devastated by repeated earthquakes which left many of the structures damaged.

Answer: Ellora Caves

Located in Maharashtra, India, the Ellora Caves were hewn out of stone and decorated by many different religious groups from 600-1000. Ellora was on an ancient trade route, and the caves were built as places for travelers to rest, as well as monasteries for monks and temples for prayer. Over 100 caves are located at the site; only 35, however, are open to the public for viewing. Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism The Buddhist caves were carved first, and most of them are prayer halls which also contain living quarters.

While they are not as large, they contain exquisite work, mostly of gods and goddesses. The Hindu caves are dedicated to particular goddess and goddesses. Archaeologists believe that many of the caves were abandoned by the 13th century; since then they have been vandalized and some of the idols and other images have been destroyed.

Answer: Memphis

The ancient city of Memphis was chosen by King Narmer to be the first capital of the united kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. The god Ptah, patron of craftsmen, protected the city, which was an important trade and religious center. Located at the mouth of the Nile Delta, the city continued to be an important commercial and artistic center after the capital was moved to Thebes during the Middle Kingdom.

It was after the rise of the city of Alexandria on the coast during the time of the Roman Empire that Memphis became less important, and when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, the ancient religious center was abandoned.

Unfortunately, many of the story were moved and used in the building of new structures.

Answer: Rano Raraku

Located in Chile on Easter Island, it is believed that Rano Raraku was used as a quarry for hundreds of years, and supplied the material for 95% of the moai statues found on the island. Between 1250-1500 over 900 moai statues, monolithic statues of human figures, were carved by the Rapa Nui people.

Many of the statues are still located near the quarry, although hundreds were placed on stone platforms on the island's periphery. It is unknown why the area was abandoned, however, lack of resources and political upheaval are cited as two possible theories.

Answer: Ephesus

Built by the Greeks in the 10th century BC, Ephesus was renowned for the Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, the Library of Celsus, and an enormous theater. The city continued to prosper under the Romans, and was believed to have had a population of 138,000-172,500 people. An important city During the Byzantine period, the city was second only to Constantinople, however, it was destroyed by Goths in 263. Even though the city was rebuilt, it never regained the prestige that it had once enjoyed; in 614 it was partially destroyed by an earthquake and later suffered attacks by Arabs and Turks.