Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction. Natural disaster, war and depopulation are the most common root causes, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging.
There are famous ruins all over the world, from ancient sites in China, the Indus valley and Judea to Zimbabwe in Africa, ancient Greek, Egyptian and Roman sites in the Mediterranean basin, and Incan and Mayan sites in the Americas. Ruins are of great importance to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists, whether they were once individual fortifications, places of worship, houses and utility buildings, or entire villages, towns and cities. Many ruins have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites in recent years, to identify and preserve them as areas of outstanding value to humanity.
Read more about Ruins: Cities, Deliberate Destruction, Relics of Steel and Wooden Towers, Aesthetics
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... Next to the reconstructed museum stands the impressive (although in ruins) Togchin temple ruins, originally built in 1749 with architecture that recalls the temples of Tibet ... In all, the ruins of 17 buildings, distributed over a rising terrain, can be identified throughout the vast area of the monastery ...
Famous quotes containing the word ruins:
“Aeneas carried his aged father on his back from the ruins of Troy and so do we all, whether we like it or not, perhaps even if we have never known them.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“Don’t drink alone, Scarlett. People always find out and it ruins your reputation.”
—Sidney Howard (1891–1939)
“Today as in the time of Pliny and Columella, the hyacinth flourishes in Wales, the periwinkle in Illyria, the daisy on the ruins of Numantia; while around them cities have changed their masters and their names, collided and smashed, disappeared into nothingness, their peaceful generations have crossed down the ages as fresh and smiling as on the days of battle.”
—Edgar Quinet (1803–1875)