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Caral, Peru -

Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas: archaeologists estimate the site to be at least 5,000 years old. Often referred to as the cradle of civilization, Caral is also one of the oldest urban centers in the world.

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Caral, Peru -

Caral is essentially a temple complex. It's located in the arid Supe Valley, about 20 km (12.5 mi) from the Pacific coast.

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Caral, Peru -

Caral was discovered in 1948, but generated scant academic attention at the time, probably because it lacked the prized Andean artifacts sought after by archaeologists. By the 1970s, however, Caral's significance was belatedly recognized. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.

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Hvalsey, Greenland -

Greenland's largest, best-preserved Norse ruins are found at Hvalsey, near the town of Qaqortoq. The landmark church is believed to date back to the late 13th century.

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Hvalsey, Greenland -

Once a major center in South Greenland, the community was also made up of two great stone walls and 14 dwellings. In the 14th century, the site belonged to the Kings of Norway.

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Hvalsey, Greenland -

Hvalsey is located on a narrow strip of scenic land at the head of a fjord. Beware that visiting during the summer months means enduring clouds of ferocious midges.

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Tanis, Egypt -

The ancient city of Tanis was once the capital of all Egypt. Sited in the Nile Delta northeast of Cairo, it eventually disappeared under a silt plain as the Nile's waters shifted

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Tanis, Egypt -

In 1939, archaeologists unearthed a royal tomb complex replete with three intact and undisturbed burial chambers.

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Tanis, Egypt -

The "Lost City" of Tanis is fictitiously portrayed in the film 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981) as being buried by a cataclysmic sandstorm and rediscovered by Nazis searching for the Ark of the Covenant.

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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka -

This ancient fortress is located near the town of Dambulla and is built on a massive wedge of rock nearly 200 m (660 ft) high. Sigiriya dates back to around 477 CE.

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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka -

The site was selected by King Kashyapa (477–495 CE) for his new capital. The wall frescoes found in and around the palace ruins depict scantily-clad ladies in waiting.

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Sigiriya, Sri Lanka -

Abandoned after the king's death, the palace was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Today, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Vinland, Canada -

In 1960, the only archaeological evidence of a Norse site in North America was unearthed: L'Anse aux Meadows, on the northernmost tip of the Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.

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Vinland, Canada -

Vinland is where Norse explorer Leif Erikson (c. 970–c. 1020) landed in 1000 CE, near where L'Anse aux Meadows is located. He was the first European to set foot on continental North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Pictured is the famous Vinland map.

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Vinland, Canada -

L'Anse aux Meadows today features the remains of seven historic Norse dwellings plus reconstructed buildings. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Shangdu (Xanadu), China -

Shangdu, also known as Xanadu, was the summer capital of Yuan dynasty rulers. It was visited by Venetian explorer Marco Polo in 1275.

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Shangdu (Xanadu), China -

Shangdu was located in what is now Shangdu Town in Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia. It was destroyed in 1369 by the Ming army under Zhu Yuanzhang.

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Shangdu (Xanadu), China -

Shangdu is a remote but regularly visited UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, only ruins remain, surrounded by a grassy mound that was once the city walls.

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Palenque, Mexico -

Once a flourishing Maya city, Palenque, located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, was reclaimed by the jungle after its decline, around 799 CE.

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Palenque, Mexico -

This is K'inich Kan B'alam II, one of the many rulers of Palenque. The tablet was discovered in one of the temples at the site.

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Palenque, Mexico -

Excavated and restored since being rediscovered in 1784, Pelenque is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, archaeologists believe only about 10% of the total area of the city is explored.

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Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan -

Built around 2500 BCE, Mohenjo-daro was one of the world's earliest major cities.

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Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan -

Sited in the Pakistan province of Sindh, Mohenjo-daro (meaning "Mound of the Dead Men") was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. It was abandoned in 1900 BCE and not rediscovered until the 1920s.

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Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan -

Successive excavations unearthed some notable artifacts, including "The Priest-King," a seated stone sculpture which is now on display at the National Museum, Karachi. Mohenjo-daro was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

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Troy, Turkey -

Little is left of the once mighty Troy. The ruins of this ancient and legendary city are located at Hisarlik, in Turkey's Canakkale province.

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Troy, Turkey -

Undiscovered until the mid-19th century, the remains of the city were subsequently excavated and what you see today falls within the boundaries of the Troy Historical National Park.

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Troy, Turkey -

In 2018, the Troy Museum opened at Tevfikiye village near the archaeological site. Around 2,000 artifacts uncovered from the area are on display. The park itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Ctesiphon, Iraq -

Ctesiphon stood on the banks of the Tigris not far from present-day Baghdad. It served as the royal capital of the Persian Empire for over 800 years. It fell in the mid-630s CE. The most conspicuous structure remaining today is the Taq Kasra, sometimes called the Archway of Ctesiphon, pictured here in 1932.

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Ctesiphon, Iraq -

Excavation of the site began in the late 1920s, and again in the late 1960s. However, civil and military conflict in Iraq has effectively stymied further exploration of the ruins.

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Ctesiphon, Iraq -

The Arch of Ctesiphon still stands as the widest single-span brick vault in the world. But unless much-needed restoration work takes place soon, archaeologists fear the ancient monument will topple to the ground.

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Skara Brae, Scotland -

Europe's most complete Neolithic settlement is remote Skara Brae, situated on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It was occupied from roughly 3180 BCE to about 2500 BCE.

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Skara Brae, Scotland -

The stone-built village was discovered in 1850 after a severe storm stripped the earth from the undulating coastline. However, initial excavation of the site didn't take place until 1927.

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Skara Brae, Scotland -

The site offers a fascinating insight into the lifestyle of the time, and "The Heart of Neolithic Orkney" was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

See also: Impressive underground cities where people actually lived.

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