Top 7 Oldest Ruins In The World

Ruins are the remnants of civilizations that once thrived but have now vanished or changed beyond recognition. They offer us a glimpse into the past, revealing our ancestors' culture, art, religion, and technology. Some of these ruins are so old that they predate the written record, challenging our conventional understanding of human origins and development.

Each of them has a unique story to tell and can teach us something about the diversity and creativity of human civilization. The purpose and meaning of some of these structures are still unknown but archaeologists suggested that some were used as temples or ritual centers.

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Here we would like to share with you the top 7 oldest ruins in the world with a unique history behind them.

7. Les Fouaillages (4500 BCE)

Les Fouaillages is a fascinating archaeological site on the island of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. It is one of the oldest ruins in the world, dating back to the Mesolithic period, around 8000 years ago.

This old ruin was discovered in 1976 after a fire cleared the gorse that covered the mound. It was excavated by archaeologists from 1979 to 1987, who found over 35,000 artifacts, including pottery, flint tools, animal bones, and charcoal.

Les Fouaillages is a remarkable example of the prehistoric heritage of Guernsey and the Channel Islands. It reveals the long and complex history of human activity and culture in this region.

6. Khirokitia (7,000 BCE)

Credit: UNESCO via Tim Schnarr

Khirokitia is one of the oldest ruins in the world, dating back to the Neolithic age, around 8000 years ago. It is located on the island of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Khirokitia was discovered in 1934 by Porphyrios Dikaios, a Cypriot archaeologist who excavated the site until 1946. Khirokitia was a closed village, surrounded by a thick stone wall that protected it from the outside world. The village consisted of circular houses made of mudbrick and stone, with flat roofs and internal divisions for different purposes.

Khirokitia was abandoned around the 5th millennium BC, for unknown reasons. Only part of the site has been excavated; the rest remains an archaeological reserve for future research.

5. Çatalhöyük (7,500 BCE)

Credit: UNESCO via Catalhoyuk Research Project

Çatalhöyük was a large and complex settlement, with up to 10,000 inhabitants at its peak. It is one of the oldest ruins in the world, dating back to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, between 7500 BC and 5200 BC1. It is located in southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, another UNESCO World Heritage Site on this list.

It consisted of two mounds, the eastern and the western, which contained different phases of occupation and cultural practices1. The site was excavated by James Mellaart in the 1950s and 1960s.

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The site has yielded numerous wall paintings, reliefs, sculptures, figurines, beads, shells, and other artifacts, that depict animals, humans, geometric patterns, and abstract motifs. The site provides unique evidence of the transition from small villages to large urban centers, based on egalitarian and communal principles.

4. Tower of Jericho (8,000 BCE)

Credit: The Archaeologist

The Tower of Jericho is a remarkable example of early human ingenuity and creativity in building monumental structures, dating back to around 8000 BCE. This ruin is located in the ancient city of Jericho, in the West Bank, Palestinian territories.

It is part of a larger archaeological site that spans from the Paleolithic to the Islamic periods. Jericho is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Tower of Jericho is a conical structure, made of undressed stones, with an internal staircase of 22 steps.

It is about 8.5 meters tall and 9 meters in diameter at the base. It is estimated that the construction of the tower took 11,000 working days. The purpose of the Tower of Jericho is still a matter of debate among scholars with some suggesting that it was a defensive structure, a burial place, a ritual site, or a symbol of power.

3. Wall of Jericho (8,000 BCE)

Credit: World History Encyclopedia via Daniel Case

Another ruin at a similar location as the Tower of Jericho and the Wall of Jericho is one of the first stone buildings in the world and one of the first works of monumental architecture. The Wall of Jericho is a conical structure, made of undressed stones, with an internal staircase of 22 steps.

The Wall of Jericho was built against a massive stone wall that surrounded the town, which was also one of the earliest fortifications in the world. The wall and the tower were part of a complex of buildings and structures that formed an early proto-city, with a population of about 2,000 to 3,000 people.

2. Göbekli Tepe (9000 BCE)

Credit: UNESCO via Göbekli Tepe Project

Göbekli Tepe is located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, near the Syrian border. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers an area of about 8 hectares (20 acres).

It dates back to around 9000 BCE and is famous for its large circular structures that contain massive stone pillars—the world’s oldest known megaliths. Many of these pillars are decorated with anthropomorphic details, clothing, and sculptural reliefs of wild animals, such as lions, bulls, foxes, snakes, and vultures.

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Göbekli Tepe was built by hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period, which is the earliest phase of the Neolithic, or the New Stone Age. This period marks the transition from hunting and gathering to farming and settlement.

1. Stone Wall at Theopetra Cave (21,000 BCE)

The Stone Wall at Theopetra Cave is known to be the oldest ruin in the world, dating back to around 21,000 BCE. The Stone Wall at Theopetra Cave is located in Theopetra village of Meteora municipality, Thessaly, Greece.

It is a man-made structure that partially blocks the entrance to the cave, which is a limestone formation with a large rectangular chamber and a very big opening. The wall was made of undressed stones, and measured about 10 meters long, 1.5 meters high, and 0.5 meters thick3. It is estimated that the construction of the wall took about 300 working days.

Archaeologists believe that the wall may have been constructed as a shelter to shield the cave's occupants from the chilly winds of the last ice age.

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