The Lascaux Caves, Stonehenge and Ancient Egypt are all human creations with rich historical backgrounds that have been preserved for thousands of years and allow us to marvel in the accomplishments of our predecessors and gain better understanding on their culture and traditions.
Personally, I am deeply captivated by these three landmarks. To witness the paintings on the walls of the Lascaux Caves, that represent some of the most amazing testimonies of the Paleolithic period, would be a profoundly intriguing experience due to the interpretation that could be given to the over 2000 images of human figures, animals and abstract paintings that can be found there. On the other hand, Stonehenge’s imposing ring of standing stones brings to mind uncountable questions regarding its construction, which can also be said about some of Ancient Egypt’s such as the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the Luxor Temple, among others.
The most fun out of these three landmarks to explore would be Ancient Egypt, specifically the oldest one of the Pyramids of Giza: Khufu. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2016), “Khufu’s pyramid is perhaps the most colossal single building ever erected on the planet”. Exploring a creation so large that it is difficult to imagine how it was even built, that within its interiors you would encounter from tombs and galleries to statues and hieroglyphs, would be an exceptionally fascinating and entertaining experience.
Considering the aforementioned, to me Ancient Egypt’s monuments are also the most mysterious. As of a couple of years ago, according to Lorenzi (2011), there were missions in place to explore secret chambers and corridors within the pyramids using robotic technology, which resulted in the robots being blocked by doors that were followed by more doors. This is proof to me that, even though immeasurable amounts of information from ancient civilization has already been obtained by exploring these sites, there are still treasures hidden within the pyramid’s complex architecture that we are yet to discover, and were probably hidden this way hundreds of years ago with the intention of never being found. Additionally, this pyramid was built to house Khufu’s remains but the royal sarcophagus was found to be opened without leaving trace of the King’s mummy, which represents one of human history’s biggest unsolved mystery. Did someone remove his body from the sarcophagus? Was the mummy really ever there? We will probably never know.
As to which one I believe is the most dramatic, I lean towards Stonehenge. According to Jones (2008) “David and Wainwright are intent on proving it was primarily a sacred place of healing, where the sick came to be cured and the injured and infirm restored”, referring to a couple of renowned archaeologists; this is supported by the fact that Stonehenge is surrounded by many burial sites. Referring to drama, the idea of hundreds of people traveling to a monument to be relieved of their illnesses by worshiping their ancestors, and many dying in the process, probably leads the race. In my opinion, Stonehenge’s construction is also inclined towards drama: the positioning of the massive rocks that conform the monument is definitely meant to be imposing and majestic.
I am extremely intrigued, along with the scientific community, as to how the Stonehenge and Egyptian monuments such as the Pyramids and The Great Sphinx were built. This is such an enigma that some theories even point to supernatural phenomena contributing to their creation. The idea of our ancestors producing engineering masterpieces without any of the technical advancements with which we count today, such as calculation software and construction equipment like cranes, is perplexing.
If I had the opportunity to live near one of these sites, I would chose the Lascaux Caves because the most impressive aspect of this landmark is the amount of paintings that comprise it, and the goal of an enthusiastic tourist like me is to visit the caves enough times to be able to see and analyze the majority of them. The way to visit these caves is by joining tours that are usually no longer than forty minutes to one hour. Short visits like these, where you are accompanied by large groups of people who probably make it difficult to even approach the paintings, are almost certainly not sufficient to leave with a self-created interpretation of the paintings. However, if I were to live near this Caves, I could plan my visits strategically and join the less crowded tours, in order for them to be truly enriching experiences. Besides, the Lascaux Caves are located in France, which is one of the countries where I would like to settle, at least for a few years, to immerse myself in a culture drastically different than mine, learn a new language, and visit many other historical and touristic sites.
As to which one of these historic sites I would show to a close friend, the answer is: all of them. Each of these sites, included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, are still standing and well preserved after thousands of years, which is impressive by itself. The opportunity to visit them, and better yet, share the experience with a close friend, would be tremendously fulfilling and is definitely something I aspire for the future.
As I previously mentioned, each one of these landmarks has its uniqueness as well as its historic and cultural value, but if I had to order them from the one I find the most interesting to the one that would be my last choice, my order would be: Ancient Egypt, the Lascaux Caves and, finally, Stonehenge.
Ancient Egypt takes the first place because it is the one that I find the most captivating. I have been to museums were there are sections dedicated to ancient Egyptian culture, and the experience of seeing some of the remains that they left behind, learning about the mummification process and the meaning of hieroglyphs, has an enigmatic sentiment to it that I believe would be greatly intensified if I visited the actual pyramids.
Conversely, I place Stonehenge as my last choice because, even though the architecture of this monument is impressive and the theories regarding its supposed functionality are interesting, the actual landmark itself does not provide as much entertaining and exploring material as the Ancient Egypt Monuments and the Lascaux Caves.
References
Encyclopedia Britannica. Pyramids of Giza, 2016. Web: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Pyramids-of-Giza. Date of access: March 10, 2016.
Dan Jones. “New Light on Stonehenge”. Smithsonian Magazine, 2008. Web: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-light-on-stonehenge-11706891/?no-ist. Date of access: March 10, 2016.
Rossella Lorenzi. “Pyramid-Exploring Robot Reveals Hidden Hieroglyphs”. Discovery News, 2011. Web: http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-egypt/pyramids-hieroglyphs-robot-mystery-110526.htm. Date of access: March 10, 2016.
