Epoca Early Medieval

500 d.C. – 1000 d.C. · 42 siti

Tutti i siti di questo periodo

Record nazionale

Longest Recorded History in China

Great Wall of China

700 a.C. – 1644 d.C.

The vast frontier fortification system of northern China — rammed-earth Qin walls and the iconic stone Ming battlements — remains the single most conspicuous monumental gap left in a global archaeological atlas.

933

Iron AgeClassicalImperial China

In evidenza

Record continentale

Most-Visited Ancient Site in North America

Chichén Itzá

600 d.C. – 1200 d.C.

A major Maya-Toltec ceremonial center from 600–1200 CE, featuring the iconic stepped pyramid of Kukulcán and one of the largest ballcourts in Mesoamerica.

422

Pre-ColumbianEarly MedievalHigh Medieval

In evidenza

Record nazionale

Oldest Temple in Indonesia

Borobudur

778 d.C. – 850 d.C.

Monumental 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Java, Indonesia, featuring nine stacked platforms with over 2,600 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues—the world's largest Buddhist temple.

322

Early Medieval

Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) at Ellora, carved from a single basalt outcrop, Maharashtra, India

Record nazionale

Longest Recorded History in India

Ellora Caves

100 a.C. – 1100 d.C.

The world's largest rock-cut monastic and temple complex — 34 monasteries and shrines carved directly into a 2-kilometre basalt escarpment in Maharashtra, representing Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain traditions side by side. The Hindu Kailasa Temple (Cave 16), hewn from a single enormous rock in the 8th century CE, is the largest monolithic structure ever carved from stone and one of humanity's most audacious feats of rock-cut architecture.

ClassicalLate AntiqueEarly Medieval

In evidenza

Record continentale

Oldest Complex in North America

Mesa Verde

600 d.C. – 1300 d.C.

Mesa Verde, in Colorado, USA, preserves elaborate cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Pueblo people between 1190 and 1280 CE, reflecting a sophisticated pre-Columbian society.

421

Late AntiqueEarly MedievalHigh Medieval

The three main towers of Prambanan at sunset, Java

In evidenza

Record continentale

Southernmost Known Site in Asia

Prambanan

850 d.C. – 930 d.C.

The largest Hindu temple complex in Southeast Asia, built on Java c. 850 CE, comprising 240 temples centered on three towers rising 47 m dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Early Medieval

Reconstructed Sutton Hoo helmet with face mask, British Museum

In evidenza

Record nazionale

Earliest Known Site in United Kingdom

Sutton Hoo

575 d.C. – 650 d.C.

The most spectacular archaeological discovery in British history — a royal Anglo-Saxon ship burial in Suffolk dating to around 625 CE whose treasure, including a magnificent iron helmet and gold regalia, transformed understanding of the so-called Dark Ages and may mark the grave of the king who inspired Beowulf.

Early Medieval

The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

In evidenza

Record nazionale

Oldest Temple in India

Bodh Gaya

500 a.C. – 1900 d.C.

The place where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree — marked by the soaring Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar, India — the holiest pilgrimage site in Buddhism and a UNESCO World Heritage monument drawing devotees from across Asia.

Iron AgeClassicalEarly Medieval

In evidenza

Tiwanaku

200 a.C. – 1000 d.C.

The monumental center of a pre-Inca Andean civilization (200 BCE–1000 CE) known for its colossal stone architecture, advanced agricultural systems, and artistic influence across the south-central Andes.

422

ClassicalRomanLate Antique

Record nazionale

Longest Continuously Occupied Site in Germany

Trier

16 a.C. – 1300 d.C.

Roman colony founded c. 16 BCE, Trier preserves the largest ensemble of Roman architecture north of the Alps, including the Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, and Constantine’s basilica, with continuous settlement into the medieval period.

422

ClassicalRomanLate Antique

Record nazionale

Known by the Most Names in Japan

Tōdai-ji

728 d.C. – 800 d.C.

Tōdai-ji, founded in 728 CE, is a monumental Buddhist temple in Nara renowned for housing the colossal bronze Great Buddha and reflecting the zenith of imperial patronage during Japan's Nara period.

322

Early Medieval

Cliff face of the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang, honeycombed with Buddhist cave temples carved over a thousand years

Record nazionale

Oldest Complex in China

Mogao Caves

366 d.C. – 1368 d.C.

A honeycomb of 492 Buddhist cave temples cut into a cliff face at the western edge of the Gobi Desert, filled with murals and sculptures created continuously across a thousand years of Silk Road history. In 1900, a hidden chamber known as the Library Cave was discovered sealed behind a wall, containing roughly 50,000 manuscripts and paintings — including the Diamond Sutra of 868 CE, the world's oldest dated printed book — that transformed the study of medieval Asian religion, language, and trade.

Late AntiqueEarly MedievalMedieval