Modern man associates ancient cities with ruins and archaeological excavations. Nevertheless, technology has reached such a level that it has now become possible to recreate life in ancient cities.
Of course, it is impossible to do this on a physical level, but the ancient cities "come to life" virtually thanks to the efforts of researchers, scientists and artists.
Below we will tell you about the ancient cities that have come to life thanks to modern technology.
1) Ur, XXI century BC e
Ur is one of the most ancient Sumerian city-states of the ancient southern Mesopotamia, existed from the 4th millennium to the 4th century BC. e. Ur was located in southern Babylonia, in the south of present-day Tell el-Mukayar in Iraq, near Nasiriyah, in the lower reaches of the western bank of the Euphrates River in the territory that has the modern Arabic name "Tel el-Mukayar".
The city is referred to in the Old Testament as "Ur of the Chaldees", the birthplace of the prophet Abraham.
Promotional video:
The first digital reconstruction of the city was done in the form of a site that represented the ziggurat of Ur, a stately building that dominates the city.
The site was then supplemented by other sites in the city, including the area around the Euphrates River.
2) Knossos, XVII century BC e
Knossos is an ancient city on the island of Crete, located near modern Heraklion, on the northern coast, 4 km from the sea, in ancient times with two harbors.
The main city of the island during the Minoan civilization, along with Festus and Malia, was one of its cultural and political centers.
During its heyday and power, Knossos was one of the most influential cities in the entire Mediterranean.
The Minoan Knossos with its palace represented one of the first cases in the history of mankind to apply such engineering and architectural achievements as multi-storey buildings, natural and artificial lighting, plumbing and sewerage, ventilation, heating, and paved paths.
During the Mycenaean civilization, he fell under the rule of the Achaean Greeks. The dramatic death of Knossos caused the gradual decline of the entire Minoan civilization.
The Greek High Definition team recreated the Palace of Knossos, including the interior, all corridors and passageways that existed at the time.
The second digital reconstruction of the Knossos Palace included various details - frescoes, ceramics.
3) Amarna, XIV century BC e
Amarna is a settlement on the east bank of the Nile, 287 km south of Cairo. In its area are the ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaton ("Horizon of Aton"), which was built by the pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty Akhenaten and during his reign proclaimed the capital.
The city existed for about 15 years, counting from the beginning of construction (1346 BC) and until the death of Akhenaten, soon after which the city was abandoned by the royal dynasty and inhabitants (1332 BC).
Akhenaten built here the center of his cult of the new single Egyptian god Aton, moved here his residence and the capital of the ancient Egyptian state from Thebes.
After the death of Akhenaten, the cult of Aton was eventually suppressed, the capital was returned to Thebes, and the city of Akhetaton was abandoned and forgotten.
In today's world, a team of experts from Archéovision has been able to recreate a digital reconstruction of a city in 3D.
4) Babylon, around the 6th century BC e
Babylon is one of the cities of Ancient Mesopotamia, located in the historical region of Akkad. An important political, economic and cultural center of the Ancient World, one of the largest cities in the history of mankind, "the first metropolis", a well-known symbol of Christian eschatology and modern culture.
The ruins of Babylon are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Al Hillah (Babil governorate, Iraq).
Founded no later than the 3rd millennium BC. e., in Sumerian sources known under the name of Kadingirra. In the early Dynastic period - an insignificant city, the center of a small region, or nome, within the system of Sumerian city-states. In the XXIV-XXI centuries. BC e. - a provincial center in the Akkadian kingdom and the State of the III dynasty of Ur.
In the II-I millennium BC. e. - the capital of the Babylonian kingdom, one of the great powers of antiquity and the most important city of the region of the same name (Babylonia). The highest rise in the economic and cultural life of Babylon in the literary tradition is associated with the era of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (VI century BC).
In 539 BC. e. occupied by the troops of Cyrus II and became part of the Achaemenid state, becoming one of its capitals; in the second half of the 4th century. BC e. - the capital of the state of Alexander the Great, later - as part of the state of the Seleucids, Parthia, Rome; starting from the III century. BC e. gradually fell into decay.
One of the video reconstructions of the city is based on data that belong to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - around the 6th century. BC e.
The second digital reconstruction is considered more authentic. It was created by experts from the kadingirra.com team.
This video was created specifically for the exhibition of Mesopotamian history at the Royal Ontario Museum.
5) Athens, V century. BC e
Ancient Athens is an ancient Greek polis, a city-state in Attica that has been playing since the 5th century BC. e. along with Sparta, a leading role in the history of Ancient Greece. In Ancient Athens, democracy was formed, philosophy and the art of theater received classical forms.
Archaeological exploration of Athens began in the 1830s, but excavations became systematic only with the formation in Athens in the 1870s and 1880s. French, German and English archaeological schools.
Literary sources and archaeological material that have survived to this day help to recreate the history of the Athenian polis.
The main literary source on the history of Athens during the formation of the state is Aristotle's "Athenian polity" (IV century BC).
The Altair4 Multimedia team presented a digital reconstruction of the city, in which two ancient Greek cities were presented - Athens and Syracuse.
The second digital reconstruction of Athens combines animation and city development over time. It was created by the ancientathens3d.com team.
In this renovation, scientists focused on changing the city over time - from the first settlements in the area to the construction of the Acropolis.
6) Alexandria, 51 BC e
Alexandria was founded in 332 BC. e. Alexander the Great. Unlike the earlier Greek city in Egypt, Navcratis, Alexandria was deprived of the polis organization. Alexandria is a regular city, it was built according to the plan of the architect Deinocrates.
Alexandria was the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt and one of the most important centers of the Hellenistic world.
The decline of Alexandria began in the 4th-5th centuries. ad. Throughout the Middle Ages, Alexandria had only a local significance.
Ancient Alexandria was famous for its 100-meter lighthouse and library. Only a few of the ancient monuments have survived to this day.
Many city blocks sank in the Bay of Alexandria after the earthquake subsided.
Column of Pompey is the most famous preserved antique monument. It is located on the ancient Alexandrian acropolis - a hill adjacent to the city's Muslim cemetery.
Initially, the column was part of the temple colonnade; its height, together with the pedestal, is 30 m.
To the south-west of the column are the Kom-el-Shukafa catacombs, they consist of a multi-level labyrinth, to which a spiral staircase leads, which consists of dozens of rooms decorated with figured columns, statues and other syncretic Roman-Egyptian symbols.
There are burial niches and sarcophagi here. The catacombs were long abandoned and rediscovered by accident in 1900.
Many sights of the city have not survived, however, thanks to digital reconstruction, one can roughly imagine what the city was like many centuries ago.
The AncientVine team recreated the look of the city with drawings and animations.
7) Pompeii, 1st century n. e
Pompeii is an ancient Roman city near Naples, in the Campania region, buried under a layer of volcanic ash as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. e.
Now it is an open-air museum. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The harbinger of the eruption was a strong earthquake that occurred on February 5, 62 AD. e. and described, in particular, in the Annals of Tacitus. The disaster caused great damage to the city, almost all buildings were damaged to one degree or another. Most of the buildings were repaired, but some remained damaged until the very death of the city in 79.
The eruption of Vesuvius began in the afternoon of August 24, 79 and lasted about a day, as evidenced by some surviving manuscripts of the "Letters" of Pliny the Younger.
It led to the death of three cities - Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia - and several small villages and villas.
During the excavations, it turned out that everything in the cities has been preserved as it was before the eruption. Streets, houses with complete furnishings, remains of people and animals that did not have time to escape were found under a multi-meter thickness of ash. The power of the eruption was such that the ash from it reached even Egypt and Syria.
Of the 20 thousand inhabitants of Pompeii, about 2 thousand people died in buildings and on the streets. Most residents left the city before the disaster, but the remains of the dead are found outside the city. Therefore, it is impossible to estimate the exact death toll.
The Altair4 Multimedia team of experts was able to recreate the city's appearance before the disaster.
8) Corinth, II century. n. e
Corinth is an ancient Greek polis on the Isthmus of Corinth, which connects mainland Greece and the Peloponnese; from the west, the isthmus is washed by the waters of the Corinthian Gulf, from the east - by the Saronicos Gulf.
The city competed with Athens and Thebes for trade and control of shipments across the isthmus.
Corinth remained the largest supplier of black-figure ceramics to other cities throughout the Greek world until the middle of the 6th century BC. e., when the leadership passed to Athens.
On the acropolis was the main temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite; according to some sources, the temple consisted of more than a thousand priestesses (getters). The Isthmian Games were held in Corinth.
Taking into account many historical factors, animator Danila Loginov presented a digital reconstruction of the ancient city as of the 2nd century. n. e.
9) Ancient Rome, 320 AD e
Ancient Rome - one of the leading civilizations of the Ancient World, the greatest state of antiquity, got its name from the main city, in turn named after the legendary founder - Romulus. The center of Rome was formed within the swampy plain bounded by the Capitol, Palatine and Quirinal.
Even in antiquity (III century AD) Rome was often called Eternal (lat. Roma Aeterna). One of the first to call Rome so was the Roman poet Albius Tibullus (1st century BC) in his second elegy. The idea of the "eternity" of Rome was largely preserved after the fall of the ancient Roman civilization, bringing the corresponding epithet into modern languages.
Also Rome is called the city on seven hills. Initially, the settlements were located on the Palatine Hill, later the neighboring hills were inhabited: the Capitol and Quirinal. Somewhat later, settlements appeared on the last four hills (Celie, Aventine, Esquiline and Viminale).
Rome Reborn project manager Bernard Frischer explains why 320 AD was chosen for the video tour. e. The fact is that this period became the peak of the development of public architecture in the city during the time of Emperor Constantine the Great.
10) Constantinople, V-XIII centuries. ad
Constantinople - the name of Istanbul until March 28, 1930, the unofficial name of the capital of the Roman Empire (330-395), the Byzantine, or East Roman, empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261) and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922).
Byzantine Constantinople, located on a strategic promontory between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, on the border of Europe and Asia, was the capital of the Christian Empire - the heir to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.
During the Middle Ages, Constantinople was the largest and richest city in Europe. To this day it remains the largest city in Europe in terms of population.
One of the reconstructions of ancient Constantinople was the work of the Byzantium 1200 team.