10 Longest Construction Projects in the World

Hello Everyone, I came across an article about the longest architectural works across the world and I decided to share it with you guys.

Each Projects has a photo with a brief description translated by myself.

I hope that this article can enhance our knowledge on architecture history.

10. Roman Coliseum

The Roman Coliseum, which was located at Rome, Italy, was built from AD 70 - AD 80 ordered by Emperor Vespasian to be built and completed by his son, Titus. The coliseum was built to dissociate Vespasian from bad tyrants. It has an ellipse 188m long and 156 wide, and can contain more than 55,000 spectators.^[1]

Construction period: 10 years

9. Parthenon

Located at the Acropolis, it was built dedicated to the Goddess Athena. This construction is said to have mesmerizing beauty because of its accuracy and details in its design. It is constructed between 447 BC - 430 BC.

Construction period: 17 years

8. Great Pyramid of Giza

Located at Egypt, the Giza pyramid was constructed from 2580 BC- 2560 BC. It is the tallest construction  constructed by men before the Eiffel tower. Its construction has risen debate of how it can be built due to its amazing geometrical aspects.

Construction Period: 20 years

7. Sacsayhuamán

Located at Cusco, Peru, the Sacsayhuamán was constructed from AD 1445- AD 1508. It is a wall complex that some believe it is built to represent the head of a puma. This construction is amazing because the construction use no mortars. The workers carefully cut the stones and boulders so they can lock each other very strongly. 

Construction Period: 63 years

6. York Minster Cathedral

At first, it was called the norman minster until the archbishop Walter de Gray transformed it into the York Minster from AD 1220- AD 1472. It is decorated with the largest glass in the world and said to represent the middle ages technology.

Construction Period: 252 years

5. Chichen Itza

Located at the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, it was constructed from AD 600 - AD 1000. It is the most famous Mayan building with accurate astronomical calculation. The peak of the pyramid serves as a loudspeaker for its people. The total area of this construction is 6 mil^2.

Construction Period: 400 years


4. Angkor Wat Temple

Located at Cambodia, The Angkor Wat Temple was constructed from AD 802 - AD 1220. It is constructed by the lord of Khmer Kingdom. It has walls with length of 4 km, covering the 800.000 m²  , and built as a tribute to the Hindu God, Wishnu.

Construction Period: 418 years

3. Petra Stones City

Located at the middle of the Jordan Desert, it is constructed from 600 BC - AD 1250. It is carved directly from the stones hill there. What make the construction took such a long time is the absent of modern tools to cut and shape stones during its time. 

Construction Period: 850 years

   

2. Stonehenge

Located at Wiltshire, United Kingdom, it is constructed from 3100 BC - 1500 BC. Even though its age is already more than 5000 years, nobody really knows how it was constructed because there was no modern tools at that time to carry a 4 tons stone with such precise accuracy, parallel with the movement od sun and moon. 

Construction Period: 1600 years 

1. Great Wall of China 

Located and built along the northern borders of China, The Great Wall was constructed from 400 BC- AD 1600. It is actually wall constructed by different kinds of dynasty and was joined all together eventually. It has a length of 6600 km and was guarded by more than 1 million soldiers to protect the Chinese empire from various nomadic attack. It is estimated that more than three million workers died during its construction.

Construction Period: 2000 years


all the images above are not mine

Sources:

1. (2011, December 1st). "10 Megaproyek Konstruksi Terlama di Dunia" <http://www.nyebur.com/10-megaproyek-konstruksi-terlama-di-dunia/>
2.  ^[1]http://www.rome.info/colosseum/

By JONATHAN SWIFT 1106071896