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10 ancient buildings that have resisted time

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Names matter

These body parts have a proper name that most people don’t know about

Would you be able to confidently point at your pinna if asked? Or could you say how many canthi a person has? Each part of our body has a specific name—sometimes more than one—but we don’t always use them or even know them, especially if a popular version exists. The big toe, the bit of flesh between the index and the thumb, the space between the brows, all these have a proper name that is rarely used. Let’s discover the proper way to refer to some parts of our body.

We typically refer to the space beneath the shoulder as the armpit or underarm, but the technical name for it is axilla. The name comes from a diminutive form of the Latin ala, meaning ‘wing’ or ‘upper arm’, which would make the armpit the ‘little wing’.

This ‘little wing’ serves as a passageway for important nerves, blood vessels, and lymph nodes that supply our upper arm, making it a vulnerable spot but also very sensitive and ticklish, as our body instinctively tries to protect the area.

There is a reason why we call the top of the upper lip the "Cupid’s bow". The philtrum, or the vertical groove that goes from the button of the nose to the lip, is named after the Greek word phíltron, meaning ‘love spell or charm’.

This area was once considered to possess a special beauty, and the philtrum was the path where Cupid’s love arrows would land. Anatomically, the philtrum in humans is vestigial, but for other mammals it’s related to the sense of smell.

How do you refer to the space between your eyebrows? While most of us say "the space between the eyebrows", the correct name is glabella, a Latin word meaning ‘smooth’ or ‘hairless’.

The origin of the name is quite straightforward: while many mammals have "eyebrows", their brow bones are protruding and are often completely covered in fur. In humans, the brow bone is flat and smooth, and the area between the brows is typically hairless.

No one really knows how the bit of skin between the thumb and the index finger came to be called purlicue. Some say that it is a combination of the Scots pirlie (‘curl’) and the French cue (‘tail’)

This term was first used for squiggly writing or for the decorative flourish at the end of a word, but etymologists still can’t explain how it came to be used for the curve of the hand.

The term ‘ear’ encompasses both the outer and inner parts of the ear, but each component has its own name. Pinna, meaning ‘wing’, is the proper name of the visible ear, sometimes also called auricle, including both the cartilaginous and the fleshy part.

Although the inner ear is mainly responsible for converting sound into electrical signals and sending them to our brain, the pinna acts like a funnel that amplifies the sound vibrations and directs them into the ear canal.

We have specific names for every finger, but what about the toes? The names for the toes mirror those of the fingers (index, middle, ring, pinky), except the big toe, which is called the hallux, after the Medieval Latin hallex, meaning ‘great toe’.

However, this scientific name still has a connection with the thumb, as linguists believe that the spelling of hallux was influenced by the Latin word pollex, meaning ‘thumb’.

Several parts of the human body have a frenum (or frenulum), or a small band of tissue that restricts a mobile organ, such as the one connecting the underside of the tongue with the mouth.

This name comes from the Latin frenum, meaning ‘rein’ or ‘bridle’, equating the way tissue anchors and restricts the movement of the organ to how a rein directs and controls an animal.

If you thought that the corners of our eyes didn’t have a proper name, you are in for a surprise. The spot where the upper and lower lids meet —both inner and outer— is called canthus (canthi in plural), after the Greek kanthós, meaning ‘angle’ or ‘corner’.

Over the inner canthus, some people have a skin fold, called epicanthus (‘above the canthus’) or epicanthic fold. The shape of this fold —influenced by genetics, age, or medical conditions— often results in the upper lid being partially or completely hidden when the eye is open.

We often call it the cheekbone, but the proper name for it is zygoma, meaning ‘yoke’ or ‘bolt’ in Greek. Why was this name chosen? This bone acts like a bridge or yoke that connects the facial bones with the skull.

The scientific name for this bone is quite old, dating back to the 2nd century and to famous physicians such as Galen, who were the first to compare the cheekbone with a yoke. However, the term entered the English language only in the late 17th century.

Our nose has two nares or nostrils, separated by a strip of skin. Have you ever wondered if that small piece had a name? Well, it does, and it’s called columella, a diminutive form of the Latin columna (‘column’ or ‘pillar '), reflecting how the strip of nasal tissue stands like a column between the nostrils.

This word entered English in the 16th century, but it wasn’t only used to describe the human nose. Instead, it was adopted by many scientific fields to describe different structures that resembled a column.

Is there a clear distinction between the chin and the point of the chin? We often call the point of the chin just ‘chin’, but it's actually called the gnathion, derived from the Greek gnathos (‘jaw’ or ‘mouth’).

Gnathion is the diminutive form of gnathos, and could be translated as ‘little chin’. While anatomically, ‘chin’ describes the entire forward part of the lower jaw, the term gnathion refers to the pointiest part of it.