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About This Quiz
There are many ruins around the world, each with its own history, charm, and allure. Carmen Sandiego could find them all ... How about you? Let's see if you can identify their location.
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Where is Machu Picchu located?
Brazil
Peru
Situated in the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu remained untouched until it was discovered in 1911. Although Spanish conquistadors conquered most of the country, they never found the city. This incredible Inca ruin was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.
Portugal
Spain
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Where is the Acropolis located?
Barcelona
Rome
Nice
Athens
Building on the Acropolis started in around 447 BC. It is part of the Parthenon which sits atop a hill overlooking the city of Athens. A Greek statesman and general, Pericles commissioned its construction and enlisted some of the greatest builders of the time. This included the sculptor, Phidias. The entire site, including the Acropolis, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
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Where are the El Jem Amphitheater ruins located?
Tunisia
Used for gladiator fights among other activities, the amphitheater at El Jem is the perfect example of how Roman culture expanded beyond Rome. This amphitheater is extremely well preserved and was constructed from large stone blocks. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Morocco
Egypt
Italy
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Where is the Colosseum located?
Rome
The Colosseum was completed in Rome in 80 A.D. This massive amphitheater was used on religious holidays, for sporting events as well as gladiator battles. It was officially called the Flavian Amphitheater and opened with games lasting for 100 days. Today, only a portion of this once-impressive structure remains.
London
Paris
Athens
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Where are the Pyramids of Giza located?
Mexico
Egypt
Built between 2550 and 2490 BC, the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt are one of the worlds most well-known ruins. The pyramids took so many years to build, that three Pharaohs were involved in their construction. These wonders of the ancient world were used to bury the Pharaohs as they undertook their journey into the afterlife.
Sudan
Libya
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Where are the Copan ruins located?
Honduras
Located in Honduras, the Mayan ruins at Copan were built between 400 AD and 800 AD. Discovered in the 19th Century, serious excavation work only started here in the middle 1970s. The city was abandoned very suddenly and it is believed that the 25,000 inhabitants had used up all the local resources. That, along with drought, forced them to move elsewhere, leaving behind over 4,500 structures.
Trinidad
Bermuda
Madagascar
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Where is Stonehenge located?
Cairo, Egypt
Amesbury in Salisbury, England
The famous ruins of Stonehenge are constructed from many different types of stone, including bluestone, sarensen and Welsh sandstone. Archeologists are still unsure why the stones were placed in this location but many believe it has something to do with astronomy. The circle of stones themselves were constructed over a long period of time in three different phases of building.
Paris, France
Washington, United States
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Where is the Great Wall located?
Manchuria
India
China
The Great Wall of China extends for over 13,000 miles, which means this incredible construction can be seen from space. Five Chinese Dynasties were involved in the construction of this defensive wall which took more than 2,300 years to complete. Over 70,000 people visit it every day, making it one of the top tourist attractions in the world.
Japan
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Where is Hadrian's Wall located?
Ireland
Brampton, United Kingdom
Built as a way to protect Roman soldiers in Northern Britain from marauding tribes, Hadrian's Wall was built on the instruction of the Roman Emperor in 122 AD. The wall, which is around 73 miles long, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in the late '80s.
United States
Morocco
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Which is the Terracotta Army located?
Vietnam
Taiwan
Japan
Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in China
Commissioned by Emperor Qin, the Terracotta Army, discovered in 1974, was built to lead him into the afterlife upon his death. Incredibly, each soldier - and there are 8,000 of them - has a unique face. Along with the Great Wall, this is one of China's foremost tourist attractions.
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Where are the Jesuitical Ruins located?
Wales
Ethiopia
Burma
Paraguay
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, these are the ruins of a Spanish Mission in Paraguay. The buildings themselves were constructed in the 17th Century.
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Where are the Pueblo Bonito ruins located?
Uruguay
Texas
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
Consisting of more than 800 rooms, these ruins stand an incredible five stories high in some places . They were constructed from 900 AD and were home to a Native American culture, the Ancestral Puebloans. The name Pueblo Bonito means 'pretty village' in Spanish.
Argentina
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Where are these Roman Bath ruins located?
Spain
Israel
Nice, France
Discovered in Nice, these Roman baths formed part of the Roman city of Cemenelum. Baths in Roman culture were particularly important and prominent in all towns as they were often the social hub and meeting place for many. Many baths have been found in ancient Roman cities over Europe.
Portugal
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Where are the Chichén Itzá ruins located?
Canada
United States
Venezuela
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
A Mayan city inhabited between 750 and 1200 AD, Chichén Itzá's main attraction is El Castilo, a stepped pyramid with 365 individual steps, one for each day of the year. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Where is the Moai of Rano Raraku located?
Madagascar
Hawaii
Cook Island
Easter Island
More famously known as the Easter Island Heads, these carved rocks are found all over the island. Most are carved out of volcanic rock from the Rano Raraku quarry where a large number of the carved heads - 397 to be exact - are found. The heads were carved by the Rapa Nui people to honor their ancestors.
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Where are the Teotihuacán ruins located?
Romania
Central Mexico
With two large pyramids and a long avenue, Teotihuacán is one of the most-visited ruins in Mexico. It is thought that the city was constructed over a 50-year period, ending in 200 AD. Archeologists believe that two centuries later, more than 200,000 people called the city home.
Portugal
Greece
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Where is the Parthenon located?
London
Athens
The Parthenon is a temple found atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was used to worship the goddess, Athena. It cost 469 silver talents to build. This is difficult to put into current currencies but as a comparison, the biggest Greek warships of the day cost only 1 silver talent to construct. Construction on the Parthenon started in 447 BC and finished in 432 BC.
Rome
Verona
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Where are the Ta Prohm ruins located?
Cambodia
This temple, originally called Rajavihara, was built in 1186 AD. Unlike many other temples in Cambodia, this one has never been claimed back from the surrounding jungle. It was used as a location during the filming of Tomb Raider.
Scotland
China
Austria
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Where are the Longmen Grotto ruins located?
Luoyang, Henan Province, China
The Longmen Grottoes, situated near the ancient city of Luoyang in China features 110,000 carved statues. This UNESCO World Heritage site covers an area of 1 km with all the figures carved into a cliff of limestone. They were constructed between 316 and 907 AD.
South Africa
Namibia
Iraq
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Where are the Borobudur ruins located?
Java
These Buddhist temples, located in Java, are simply massive. They cover an area of nearly 27,000 square feet. Constructed during the 8th and 9th centuries, the temples consist of three layers. First, the base is a pyramid structure with squared terraces. Placed on this are three circular platforms and finally, a large stupa sits atop that. This UNESCO World Heritage site was built during the Sailendra Dynasty.
Seychelles
Madagascar
Mauritius
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Where are the Luxor Temple ruins located?
Israel
Egypt
The ancient temple at Luxor was commissioned by Egyptian Pharoah Amenhotep III and was completed during the rule of Tutankhaman. Much of the temple remains as it once stood in the Egyptian city of Thebes. It is still used as a place of worship.
Libya
Rome
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Where are the Baalbek ruins located?
Peru
Beqaa Valley, Lebanon
Initially known as Heliopolis when constructed by the Phoenicians, this city is filled with ancient temples, mostly Roman in origin. They called the city Baalbek and it was an important religious city with temples for three Roman gods.
Mexico
Bethlehem, Israel
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Where are the Volubilis ruins located?
Greece
Rome
Israel
Morocco
This UNESCO World Heritage site covers a massive area - 104 acres to be exact. Volubilis was a Roman outpost first constructed in 3 BC. The ruins that remain today are in fairly good condition and the site is noted for its beautiful mosaics.
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Where are the Bagan ruins located?
Japan
Vietnam
Myanmar
Filled with incredible temples, the ruins of Bagan are found in Myanmar. These temples were constructed in the 11th and 12t centuries and are the largest concentration of Buddhist temples found on earth. The three main attractions are Ananda Phato, Dhammayangyi Phato and Aybeyadana Phato.
Malaysia
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Where are the Mycenae ruins located?
Greece
Home of the Mycenaean culture that lived in Greece from around 1600 to 1100 BC, this fortified city was discovered in 1841. It has been a treasure trove for archeologists with a number of priceless artifacts discovered here including ivory sculptures, gold burial masks, ornamental swords, and diadems.
Morocco
London
Glasgow
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Where are the Jerash ruins located?
Zimbabwe
Mexico
Jordan
These Roman ruins are located at Jerash in Jordan. They are very well preserved and serve as a great example of how Roman cities operated. The Romans lived here for a number of centuries after Jerash fell to General Pompey in 63 BC. They called the city Gerasa.
Peru
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Where are the Tulum ruins located?
South Africa
Algeria
Yucatan, Mexico
This Mayan city served as a port. It was built in the 13th Century and was home to around 1,000 people who were protected by a massive wall over 784 meters long. Tulum is located in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and includes the incredible Temple of the Frescoes.
Rome
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Where are the Tiwanaku ruins located?
Cambodia
Bolivia
Found in Bolivia, the civilization that built this city was older than the Incas. The ruins themselves are in an area around two square kilometers and it is thought that between 500 and 1000 AD, over 10,000 people lived in it. Lying around 4,000 meters above sea-level, this is one of the highest cities every constructed.
New York
London
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Where are the Palmyra ruins located?
Cardiff, Wales
Belfast, Ireland
East of Rome, Italy
North of Damascus, Syria
A UNESCO World Heritage site, the ruins of Palmyra show a city once home to three different cultures - the Greeks, Romans, and Persians. The city itself started out life as a caravan outpost that quickly grew into an important trade link between the east and west. The main street in Palmyra was over 1 kilometer long.
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Where are the Cappadocia ruins located?
Finland
Belarus
Turkey
A series of underground dwellings, Cappadocia is located in Turkey. At some points, it stretches to eight stories deep. In it, archeologists have found dwellings, storehouses, places of worship and unbelievably, underground stables. Cappadocia was inhabited from around 1800 BC.
Scotland
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Where are the Talisay City ruins located?
Philippines
The Talisay City ruins are found in the Philippines. This was once the home of a sugar baron - Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson - who built it in memory of his wife. In World War II, American forces set fire to the building to stop the invading Japanese using it as a base. Some of the ruins have been rebuilt and now form a tourist attraction in the area.
Thailand
Sri Lanka
India
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Where are the Wat Ratchaburana ruins found?
Thailand
Constructed by King Borom Ratchathirat II in Ayutthaya, Thailand, this Buddhist temple was filled with numerous treasures, many of which are now on display at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum. The temple itself was built on Ratchathirat's brother's burial site. They both died in a fight for the throne.
Peru
Libya
Canada
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Where are the Petra ruins located?
Sweden
Romania
Russia
Jordan
A location for the Hollywood film, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the ruins at Petra are found between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. Parts of the city were carved from rock with Petra a major trade hub linking Egypt, Arabia, and Phoenicia. So far, archaeologists have only uncovered around 15 percent of the city.
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Where are the Pompeii ruins located?
Spain
France
Greece
Italy
Destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, Pompeii is one of the most famous ruins in the world. Over 2,000 people died here with many of them killed on the spot as hot ash and debris rained down on the city. Pompeii was discovered in 1748 and, over the years, has given incredible insight into Roman life.
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Where is the Ellora Caves located?
India
Built between 600 and 1000 AD, these 34 temples in the village of Verul, India were actually carved out of the side of a cliff. The temples themselves, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, carry on for over 2 km and represent a number of religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism.
Sweden
Utah, USA
Greenland
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Where are the Montezuma Castle National Monument ruins located?
Verde Valley, Arizona
Another impressive structure carved into a mountainside, Montezuma's Castle was so named by early western settlers in the region of Verde Valley in Arizona. This impressive structure, which is five stories high, was once the home of the Sinagua Indians.
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Slovenia
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Where are the Ephesus ruins located?
Scotland
Turkey
Ephesus was a city on the western coast of Turkey that at one point or another in its history has been part of the Ottoman, Byzantine, Persian, Roman and Greek empires. Home to over 300,000 people in its heyday, the Temple of Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world, was located here.
The Republic of Ireland
Portugal
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Where are the Ajanta Caves located?
Peru
Colombia
India
These caves are filled with carvings which date back over 2000 years. One of the oldest UNESCO World Heritage sites in India, the caves were discovered in 1819 by Jon Smith while he was tiger hunting.
Vietnam
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Where are the Cobá ruins located?
England
Spain
Scotland
Mexico
Although they were discovered in the 1880s, the Cobá ruins were only opened to the public in 1973. These ruins are Mayan in origin, although they are very different to other Mayan ruins found in the Yucatan Peninsula. This suggests they have a very specific purpose.
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Where are the Roman Forum ruins located?
London
Lisbon
Rome
Construction on the Roman Forum first began as far back as 7 BC. This area of the city was filled with public spaces, basilicas, and Roman temples. Important ruins here include Curia, Casa delle Vestali, and Arco di Settimio Severo. Excavations in the area have been ongoing since the 1800s.
Madrid
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Where are the Tikal ruins located?
Guatemala
This city was inhabited by the Mayans for 550 years, between 300 to 850 AD, with around 50,000 people living inside or surrounding the city. Due to the fact that it is hidden deep in the rainforests, the city was only discovered in the 1900s.
India
Pakistan
Afghanistan
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Where are the Angkor Wat ruins located?
Japan
Denmark
Spain
Cambodia
Built by Suryavarman II (1112 - 1152 AD) this temple complex is a replica of the home of the Hindu gods, Mt. Meru. It is one of the world's largest religious buildings and has over 3,000 apsaras carved into its walls.
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Where are the Masada ruins located?
Morocco
Egypt
Sudan
Israel
The last Jewish bastion against the Roman occupation of Israel, Masada sits on a hill overlooking the Dead Sea. The defenders of this citadel took their own lives instead of falling under Roman rule. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country.
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Where are the ruins of the Arene de Nimes located?
Glasgow, England
Paris, France
London
Nimes, France
Similar to the Colosseum, the arena at Nimes is a Roman Amphitheater which is very well preserved. It is still used today as a converted venue, while in the 1800s it was used as a bullfighting ring.
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Where are the Carthage ruins located?
Black Sea
Gulf of Tunisia
Carthage was founded on the shores of the Gulf of Tunisia in 9 BC by the Phoenicians. It quickly became an important trading post in the Mediterranean until it was sacked by the Romans in 146 AD. This UNESCO World Heritage site was rebuilt from the ashes.
Red Sea
Dead Sea
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Where are the Diocletian's Palace ruins located?
New York
Split, Croatia
Diocletian's Palace is a Roman ruin and tells of the Roman occupation of the Adriatic coast. It is found in Split, Croatia. Diocletian retired to the palace after stepping down as Emperor of Rome. It is over 30,000 m2 in size.
Los Angeles
Mexico City
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Where are the Great Zimbabwe ruins located?
South Africa
Congo
Zimbabwe
These ruins, found in Zimbabwe, Africa, are the largest set of ruins located south of the Sahara Desert. It was here that a great culture built a massive city and lived in the area between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers for 400 years until the 15th century. The people who lived here, some 20,000 in total, were mostly cattle herders, although they also had incredible skill in metalworking.
Namibia
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Where are the Babylon ruins located?
Iraq
60 miles from Baghdad, Iraq, lie the ruins of the great ancient city of Babylon, home to the Hanging Gardens, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Today the ruins include part of the Ishtar Gate, among others.
Cambodia
Japan
China
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Where are the Palenque ruins located?
Slovenia
Brazil
Chiapas Altiplano, Mexico
The Mayan city of Palenque is found in Mexico near the Chiapas Altiplano foothills. It thrived from 600 AD until around 750 AD. Its original Mayan name is Lakamha. Perhaps the greatest part of the ruins is the Palenque Palace, which includes a four-story tower. A pyramid, the Temple of Inscriptions, is another famed attraction.
Spain
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Where are the Ayutthaya ruins located?
Bangkok, Thailand
Found north of Bangkok, Thailand, Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, was a former Siamese kingdom. It is estimated that more than 1 million people lived here. It was destroyed in the 18th Century by an invasion of the Burmese.
Rome
Japan
Taiwan
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