Many of the world’s ultra-modern cities have surprisingly long histories. The urban centres where we now find skyscrapers and shopping districts were once home to temples and amphitheatres. Some of the ancient ruins were repurposed and used for centuries more, while others were allowed to crumble and lost to history. From famous wonders of the world to long-forgotten ruins uncovered by archaeologists, discover the ancient marvels in the middle of our modern towns and cities.
The Romans named their West Country town Aquae Sulis after a natural spring, but the bathhouse they left behind when the empire collapsed is so well-known that nowadays this British city is simply called 'Bath'. Later generations modified the complex so it’s now a mix of Roman and 19th-century additions, but there are plenty of truly ancient ruins left to explore in and around the museum – including curse tablets once hurled into the water by vengeful, petty Romans.
Although Xi’an in China is best known for the Terracotta Army discovered on its outskirts, the Shaanxi province city was originally built inside a 8.5-mile (14km) city wall. The fortifications were first constructed in the 1370s at the dawn of the Ming dynasty then reinforced over the next four centuries. Eventually, the modern city sprawled far beyond the walled boundary. Much of the wall, watchtowers and moat are well-preserved and can be walked or cycled in a few hours.
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The Pula Arena, situated in the coastal Croatian city that bears its name, is stunningly picturesque thanks to its entire circumference being mostly intact. The 1st century AD amphitheatre once played host to gladiatorial combat and is still a place of public entertainment today, albeit with less bloodthirsty performers – Elton John, the Foo Fighters and the footballers of Bayern Munich are among those to have wowed the crowds in the atmospheric ruins.
In the middle of a busy French city is one of the best-preserved Roman buildings in the world. The 85-foot (26m) long Maison Carrée was a temple dedicated to Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, the adopted heirs of Emperor Augustus who died before they could accede the throne. Maison Carrée’s longevity is down to it being repurposed as a church, house, stables and town archive over the next 2,000 years. It's now a fascinating museum, where you can learn all about the town's amazing Roman past.
On the outskirts of the modern Jordanian city of Jerash is an older settlement that’s around 2,000 years old. In its prime, it was bustling with up to 20,000 inhabitants. The ruins of the Roman city cover a large area and are best visited in the company of a knowledgeable guide who can point out the best-preserved sections, including a 15,000-capacity hippodrome – a venue for chariot races – and the triumphal arch (built in AD 129) celebrating the visit of Emperor Hadrian.
Naturally, Rome has many relics dating from when it was the centre of an empire that ruled much of the Mediterranean. Perhaps the most impressive single ruin in the modern Italian capital is the Colosseum, an amphitheatre that once played host to stunning public spectacles. Gladiators lost their lives, criminals were executed and the arena was once even flooded for maritime re-enactments. Up to 80,000 people could be crammed in to watch the displays of Roman might. Its appeal lingers on today: the Colosseum is one of Italy’s top tourist attractions.
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Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire, and the Templo Mayor was its heart – a heart that literally dripped with the blood of victims who were sacrificed to the gods on altars at the top of its steps. The Great Temple was eventually mostly destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors and Mexico City was built over the top of the old Aztec city. The location of the Templo Mayor was forgotten until it was rediscovered by archaeologists in the 20th century.
When archaeologists excavated the site of a new building in London's financial district, they discovered that some Roman Londoners worshipped a rather unusual god – Mithras, the chief deity of a little-understood religion inspired by the ancient Persians. The Mithraeum, or Temple of Mithras, can be viewed in the basement of the Bloomberg building and is presented with subdued lighting and recordings of Latin chanting to create a suitably eerie atmosphere.
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On the outskirts of Aswan (southern Egypt) are stone quarries that have been dug since antiquity. We know this for certain because one mammoth stone was never fully quarried. Ordered by female pharaoh Hatshepsut for the temple of Amun at Karnak, the unfinished obelisk would have been bigger than any other Egyptian obelisk, standing more than 138 feet (42m) tall and weighing more than 1,000 tonnes. But the obelisk was abandoned – probably due to the stone cracking – and it still lies in the ground, now in an open-air museum.
The Bulgarian capital, Sofia, is built on top of a Roman predecessor: Serdica. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Arena di Serdica Hotel, a favourite destination of 21st-century tourists. Guests who take the stairs from reception find themselves amidst the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, where gladiators once fought and died. The amphitheatre was discovered in 2004 during the hotel’s construction, and the blueprints were quickly amended to ensure the ancient ruins were preserved in the basement.
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This lavish Roman bathhouse is considered to be the largest outside Rome, built during the reign of Constantine I (4th century AD). It was built as a gift to the people of Trier, who took to the hygienic custom like ducks to water: there was a selection of rooms at different temperatures, decadent marble thrones and underground passages so hard-working bathhouse slaves could work out of sight. It’s a less peaceful location now – the bathhouse is preserved next to a road junction in the middle of the German city centre.
Every visitor to Athens will visit the Acropolis – the spectacular ruins of the ancient Athenian citadel on a rocky outcrop above the Greek capital. But not as many tourists take a trip to Kerameikos, a preserved district of the ancient city once favoured by ceramicists and potters. The ruins here provide a superb insight into the lives and deaths of ordinary Athenians. Check out the Dipylon Gate, plus the funerary monuments that line the Street of Tombs.
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In the heart of the Chinese capital is a complex of more than 900 imperial palaces surrounded by a towering wall. Built in the early 15th century on the orders of the Yongle Emperor, the Forbidden City was home to 24 successive emperors until the seven-year-old Puyi was deposed in 1912. For centuries, the only people allowed inside its gates were the reclusive royals and their eunuchs, servants, courtiers and concubines. Now, more than 16 million people per year take a peek into Beijing’s past.
For a long time, Thebes was the capital of ancient Egypt. Now it’s known as Luxor and is home to more than 400,000 modern Egyptians who live their lives among the relics of the past, including Karnak – an enormous religious complex covering 0.75 square miles (2sq km) that was built, enlarged, repurposed and altered over 1,500 years. The most impressive stone survivor into the present day is the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun-Ra, a giant building whose roof was once supported by 134 massive, hieroglyph-carved columns.
The capital of South Korea is home to nearly 10 million people. But the ultra-modern, skyscraper-filled city centre is surrounded by an ancient wall, initially begun in 1396, that stretches for 12 miles (19km). Much of it has been restored and protected, including eight gates. It’s possible to hike the whole thing in a day for a fantastic insight into Seoul’s long and often troubled history.
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Paris is stuffed with medieval and modern monuments like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, so its more distant past often goes overlooked. But those in search of the French capital’s Roman origins should include the 1st-2nd century AD Arènes de Lutèce in their city break itinerary. The 15,000-capacity amphitheatre was discovered by builders in 1869 and the ruins were subsequently restored. Modern Parisians use the impressive public space as a meeting spot and to play football and boules.
In the middle of the arid Beqaa Valley, Lebanon is the medium-sized metropolis of Baalbek. In ancient times the area swapped hands several times, coming under the control of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians and Romans. In the last of these eras, two impressive temples were constructed. The Temple of Jupiter, which began construction in the 1st century BC, was the biggest ever built in the Roman Empire. Six of its huge columns remain today. The nearby Temple of Bacchus (pictured) wasn’t quite as huge and was built a century later, but it has survived in better condition.
Visitors to Verona in Roman times would have entered the city through the 1st-century AD Porta Borsari, an impressive gateway complete with inscriptions and two arched doorways. Once part of much longer city walls, the gate was retained through the centuries as a convenient location for collecting taxes on goods entering and leaving the city. Now, Porta Borsari marks the boundary between the old town on one side and a popular shopping district on the other.
The city of Chester in northwest England has Roman origins – it began life as a legionary fortress constructed in AD 70. Some 1,900 years later, fragments of Roman buildings discovered in local archaeological digs were relocated to a picturesque setting between the amphitheatre ruins and River Dee. The peaceful parkland contains transplanted columns from the Roman gymnasium, fascias from the legionary fortress and a reconstructed hypocaust and mosaic from a bath house.
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Alexandria was the melting pot of the ancient world – a fusion of Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures. Nowhere is this clearer than the city centre catacombs: three levels of underground tombs, used from the 2nd to the 4th centuries, which held more than 300 bodies. Although tomb robbers got into the ancient complex and even dug their own tunnels for ease of access, the catacombs were eventually lost to history until a donkey hauling a stone cart allegedly fell through the roof in 1900.
These daysShanghai is a vast metropolis with a population of over 25 million. Unfortunately, the Chinese city’s rapid 20th-century growth came at the expense of the Old Town, which was razed to make way for modern development. But one remaining relic of the past is a temple dedicated to the gods that protect Shanghai, which sits incongruously in a shopping district. First built in 1403, the temple survived the communist-led Cultural Revolution as a jewellery shop before reverting to its religious purpose in 1994.
Not far from the northern end of La Rambla, Barcelona’s famous tree-lined boulevard, is a city square with sunken remains. What is now the Plaça Vila de Madrid was once a thoroughfare outside the Roman city walls. Since it was outside the city limits, the Romans saw it as an acceptable place to bury the dead. Around 70 tombs dating to the 1st century AD can be viewed, and the tombstones have been tastefully displayed on a pathway through the plaza.
With a capacity of 35,000 spectators, the arena in the Roman city of Thysdrus was the second largest in the ancient world. It was so large that, in theory, it could hold the entire population of the modern-day Tunisian town of El Jem, which was built atop the Roman colony – and still have seats to spare. The ruins are remarkably well-preserved, so it’s possible to explore the amphitheatre from top to bottom: the south side seats are intact to the top tier, as are the underground corridors that housed nervous gladiators before they entered the arena.
Want an Instagram moment in the Norwegian city of Bergen? Head for the dockside district of Bryggen. Here, a line of cute, warm-hued wooden buildings stands by the water – the remains of merchant houses from the 12th century, when Bergen was a member of the prosperous Hanseatic trading league. Bryggen’s historic houses have been burned, rebuilt and restored plenty since their Hanseatic heyday, but have been faithfully rebuilt; they still play host to artisans and craftsmen in small shops lining either side of the tiny alleys.
Emperor Galerius had a complicated relationship with Christianity and was renowned for his persecutions of Christians, so it’s fitting that a building erected in his honour in the Greek city of Thessaloniki also has a thorny religious history. The circular rotunda may have been intended as Galerius’s mausoleum, but shortly after his death it was repurposed as a church. After 1590, it served as a mosque for more than 300 years under the Ottomans before being rededicated as a Greek Orthodox church in 1912 – with the minaret still intact.
Most photographs of the Giza pyramid complex are artfully arranged with the desert as background. But shoot from the other side of the pyramids and you’ll have the third-largest city in Egypt as the backdrop: Giza, home to millions of people. The pyramids are burial places of Fourth Kingdom pharaohs dating as far back as 2600 BC. They were built in the ancient capital of Memphis, on the banks of the Nile; the highway of ancient Egypt. Memphis has since been swallowed up by Giza.
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