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10 ancient buildings that have resisted time

Published on June 11, 2026

Image: Michael Myers

All around the world, we can find examples of the architectural wonders created by ancient civilizations, but many of these have reached our days as ruins. Many, but not all. Some have resisted the wear and tear of time so well —be it because they were maintained or due to their excellent construction— that they are not only standing, but they are functional and in use today. What are they being used for? Let’s find out!

Pantheon

Image: Gabriella Clare Marino

The original Pantheon had been commissioned by General Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa during the reign of Augustus and built on the site of an older temple. Destroyed in a fire, the current building was built in the 2nd century under Emperor Hadrian’s orders and has been, since the 7th century, a Catholic temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Martyrs.

What makes this building so impressive? The round building has the world's largest and oldest unreinforced concrete dome, excellently preserved. The dome, built in one piece and with a central opening as the only light source for the building, has served as a blueprint for many other buildings. Besides being regularly used as a church, it is also the resting place of two Italian monarchs.

St. Catherine's Monastery

Image: Georg Arthur Pflueger

Located at the foot of Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s Monastery is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery. It was built between 548 and 565 under the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The important relics enclosed in it—mainly, the remains of St. Catherine of Alexandria, and the burning bush seen by Moses—have made the place an important pilgrimage site for many believers.

Built around the already existing Chapel of the Burning Bush and the Well of Moses, the fortified complex includes a 6th-century basilica, a bell tower with a bell donated by a Russian tsar, a mosque, a library, a museum, and a sulfur spring. The basilica encloses the prior church, and it is one of the oldest surviving Christian buildings in the world.

Maison Carrée

Image: Danichou, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dating back to the 1st century AD, the Maison Carrée (meaning ‘square house’) was built as a temple for the imperial cult in the French city of Nîmes. It has been used as a temple, a church, a royal residence, a museum, a government building, and even as a stable. Nowadays, it is used as a museum.

The building presents similarities with other Roman temples of Tuscan style, but follows the Corinthian order. The portico and its columns are richly decorated with vines and leaves, and the entire building is situated on a high podium, giving it a towering presence over the area. The Maison Carrée has served as inspiration for many neoclassical buildings, the most famous being Virginia’s State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson.

Mundeshwari Temple

Image: Ashiagra, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How old is this Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and Shakti? Well, it depends on who you ask. Locals claim that it was built during the 1st century, but most of its elements date to the 6th century, so it might have been rebuilt or modernized.

No matter the date, the Mundeshwari Temple is one of the oldest continuously working Hindu temples in the world. It has an octagonal floor plan, not common in this kind of building, and its walls are intricately carved. Up to this day, it is still a major pilgrimage site for Hindus across the world.

Hagia Sophia

Image: Nabil Adham

A cathedral, a mosque, a museum, and a mosque once again. Built in 360 AD, destroyed in a fire, and rebuilt in 537 AD as the main Byzantine cathedral, Hagia Sophia (meaning ‘Holy Wisdom’) is a testament to old Constantinople, and it was intended to be the biggest church in the world.

After the Ottoman conquest, its conversion into a mosque involved the addition of minarets and other architectural elements. Many mosaics and paintings, forbidden in Islamic tradition, were covered with plaster, although they have been restored during the 20th century and given fabric coverings that protect them and hide them from view.

Ruwanwelisaya Stupa

Image: Ishan Kahapola Arachchi

This stupa—a Buddhist building containing relics—is located in Sri Lanka, and it is said to contain body relics of the historic Buddha, making it a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists everywhere. Built in the 2nd century by King Dutugemunu after the unification of Sri Lanka, it is nearly as tall as the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The stupa has suffered numerous attacks during its history, and in the 19th century, it was completely covered by wilderness. Renovation efforts started in the early 20th century, and it is now a point of pride for Sri Lankans.

Horyu-ji

Image: Saigen Jiro, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Founded in 607, this complex stands out from others on this list for one simple reason: it is made out of wood. One of the main Buddhist temples in Japan, it was completely burned down and was rebuilt in the year 670, and its main five-story pagoda is considered one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. In 1949, another fire caused grave damage, but it was luckily contained.

Built around the time Buddhism was introduced in Japan, the complex showcases architectural influences from Korea and China, fused with unique Japanese elements. During World War II, big sections of the complex were dismantled and hidden, but the area was ultimately spared from attacks.

Tower of Hercules

Image: Damián Regueiro Fuentes

Dating to the late 1st Century AD, the tower of Hercules is the oldest Roman lighthouse still standing. Built under Emperor Trajan, it was originally called Farum Brigantium or Lighthouse of Brigantia after a nearby Roman settlement in Galicia, Spain. Its current name comes from a mix of Classical and Celtic myths, according to which Hercules fought and defeated a giant and built a tower over his buried head, the same tower from which ancient Celts discovered Ireland and sailed towards it.

The building has been in continuous use since its construction, not only as a lighthouse, but also as a fortress and a lookout point. As a testament to its cultural importance, the Tower of Hercules is depicted in the Galician coat of arms, alongside the head and bones of the defeated giant.

Casa Blanca

Image: Detroit Photographic Co., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the oldest buildings in the U.S. territory, San Juan’s Casa Blanca was built as the residence of the first Spanish governor of Puerto Rico in 1521. Originally made out of wood, it was rebuilt in stone after a fire and was used as a fortress during conflicts.

Serving as the governor’s residence for more than two centuries—until La Fortaleza was built—it was then used for military purposes and later left in disuse in the 20th century. After renovations, it is nowadays a museum and a testament to the Puerto Rican colonial period.

Arena of Verona

Image: Rui Alves

When we think about Roman arenas, we are likely to remember the Colosseum. However, there are older arenas that are still in use and have better resisted the passage of time. The Arena of Verona is one example. Built around 30 AD with a capacity for 30,000 people, it was temporarily abandoned after the fall of the Empire, but was used again during medieval times.

The exterior part of the building was partially destroyed by an earthquake in the 12th century, and some sections were demolished to make way for new buildings, but laws to protect it were established during the Renaissance period. Nowadays, the arena serves as a venue for opera, concerts, and other musical performances.

They saw the future

From the Titanic to smartphones: 10 predictions that actually came true

Published on June 11, 2026

Image: Rawpixel.com

What if we told you someone described the Titanic disaster 14 years before it happened? Or that a famous American writer predicted the exact day of his own death? And decades before the first iPad or smartphone existed, some people had already imagined them with astonishing precision. Coincidence? Genius? Or something else entirely? From the sinking of the Titanic to the Moon landing and the rise of social media, here are 10 predictions so accurate that they'll make you wonder whether the future can sometimes be seen before it happens.

The sinking of the Titanic- Predicted in 1898

Image: K. Mitch Hodge

We all know the story of the RMS Titanic, the "unsinkable" ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 people. But here's a lesser-known and shocking fact: 14 years before the disaster, someone had already written an incredibly similar story.

In 1898, American author Morgan Robertson published the novella Futility (later retitled The Wreck of the Titan). It tells the story of the Titan, a gigantic, supposedly "unsinkable" luxury liner that strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sinks. 14 years later, the Titanic met almost the same fate. The parallels are so striking that Robertson's novel is still regarded as one of history's most astonishing coincidences.

The rise of smartphones- Predicted in 1926

Image: Napoleon Sarony, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla didn't just revolutionize electricity; he also made one of the most amazing technological predictions in history.

In 1926, 68 years before the first smartphone, Tesla gave an interview to Collier's magazine in which he described what sounds remarkably like today's connected world. He predicted that wireless technology would eliminate distance, saying the Earth would one day be "converted into a huge brain." Then he added an even more startling prediction: "The instruments with which we shall be able to do this will be incredibly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket."

Online learning and Wikipedia- Predicted in 1988

Image: Sergey Zolkin

Today, finding an answer takes just a few seconds. But before Google, before Wikipedia, and even before the internet reached most homes, someone had already described almost exactly how we would search for information.

That someone was Isaac Asimov, the American science fiction writer and professor. In a 1988 interview on PBS's A World of Ideas with Bill Moyers, Asimov predicted that every home would one day have a computer connected to "enormous libraries," where anyone could ask a question and instantly receive an answer. He also described an "interconnected encyclopedia" that many people now compare to Wikipedia.

Moon landing- Predicted in 1865

Image: NASA

More than five decades later, the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing remains one of the greatest feats in human history. But as if the incredible achievement of reaching the moon wasn't enough, there's something that makes it even more spectacular: Someone described key parts of the lunar mission more than 100 years before it happened.

In 1865, French writer Jules Verne published From the Earth to the Moon, a science fiction classic that turned out to be prophetic. In it, Verne placed the launch in Florida, the same state NASA would later use for its missions. He also chose aluminum for his spacecraft because it was lightweight and durable, decades before it became the backbone of the aerospace industry. And, just like Apollo 11, his spacecraft carried three crew members. For a novel written more than a century before, the similarities are hard to ignore.

Skype & video calling- Predicted in 1911

Image: Hc Digital

Today, video calls are such a normal part of life that we take them for granted. But not long ago, the only option was a landline, and seeing the person you were talking to sounded like something out of a science fiction movie.

But some writers didn't just imagine the future; they came incredibly close to predicting it. One of them was Hugo Gernsback, the Luxembourgish-American inventor, writer, and publisher often called the "Father of Science Fiction." In his 1911 novel Ralph 124C 41+, Gernsback described a device called the "Telephot," a combination telephone and television that let callers see both the face and surroundings of the person on the other end of the line. More than a century later, it's hard not to compare that with FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype.

Social media- Predicted in 1999

Image: Mariia Shalabaieva

Love it or hate it, social media has become one of the biggest forces in modern life. Today, we use it to get news, find jobs, stay in touch with family, and organize our lives. But just a few decades ago, the idea that billions of people would do all of that online seemed almost impossible.

Bill Gates, however, imagined it perfectly. In 1999, just a year after Google launched, Gates published Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy, where he made a series of predictions that would later come true. He wrote that "private websites for your friends and family will be common, allowing you to chat and plan events," an unsettlingly accurate description of Facebook, which wouldn't launch until 2004. He also predicted that people would find jobs online by sharing their interests, skills, and qualifications, a couple of years before LinkedIn debuted in 2002.

News on iPads - Predicted in 1968

Image: Detail .co

For millions of people in the world, one of the first things to do each morning is check the news on their phones or tablets. Today, that's completely normal; in the 1960s, however, it seemed unimaginable.

While it’s hard to believe, that's exactly what Arthur C. Clarke described in his 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this story, the English author introduced a device called the "Newspad," on which astronauts read news from Earth. But Clarke didn't just predict a tablet-like device; he also described how users would tap headlines to expand articles and read them comfortably on a screen. In other words, he was able to envision much of today’s experience more than 40 years before the iPad debuted in 2010.

Airplanes and GPS - Predicted in the 17th century

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We've already seen predictions that came true years, and even decades later. But this next one was written about 300 years before the technology it described existed.

Who did it? Robert Boyle, the Irish chemist known as the father of modern chemistry and the scientist behind Boyle's Law. In the 1660s, Boyle wrote a private scientific wish list that has been preserved by the Royal Society for its importance. Among its 24 visionary goals was "The Art of Flying," based on his belief that air obeyed physical laws humans could eventually master, something accomplished with the airplane more than two centuries later. He also described "a practicable and certain way of determining longitudes," a problem that wouldn't truly be solved worldwide until the age of satellite navigation and GPS, almost three centuries after Boyle first imagined it.

Halley's Comet & Mark Twain’s death- Predicted in 1909

Image: Pach Bros, NY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

For more than 2,000 years, astronomers have tracked Halley's Comet, and thanks to that work, today we know it returns about every 75 to 76 years. The last time it appeared was in 1986, and it's expected back in 2061. Predicting a comet's return is science, but predicting your own death is something else.

And that's exactly what Mark Twain, the "father of American literature," did. Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, the year when Halley's Comet lit up our sky. 74 years later, in 1909, he famously said, "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it." On April 21, 1910, the day after the comet reached its brightest point, Mark Twain died.

The Cold War- Predicted in 1840

Image: Vitaliy Andreev

The Cold War lasted more than 44 years, pitting the United States and the Soviet Union against each other in a global struggle for power. But astonishingly, one thinker foresaw this rivalry more than a century before it began.

While traveling through the United States, French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville published an impressive prediction in Democracy in America (1835–1840): "There are at the present time two great nations in the world... I allude to the Russians and the Americans... Each seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destinies of half the world." More than 100 years later, those two nations would fight to dominate the second half of the 20th century almost exactly as he had anticipated.