High Medieval Era

1000 CE – 1500 CE · 31 sites

All sites in this period

Country Record

Longest Recorded History in China

Great Wall of China

700 BCE – 1644 CE

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

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Continent Record

Most-Visited Ancient Site in South America

Machu Picchu

1450 CE – 1572 CE

An Inca citadel built c. 1450 CE, Machu Picchu sits atop a mountain ridge in Peru. Abandoned during the Spanish conquest, it remained unknown to the outside world until 1911.

422

Pre-ColumbianHigh MedievalEarly Modern

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Country Record

Known by the Most Names in Cambodia

Angkor Wat

1113 CE – 1218 CE

Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument, was built as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu by Khmer king Suryavarman II, later evolving into a Buddhist complex.

322

High Medieval

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Continent Record

Southernmost Known Site in South America

Rapa Nui

1100 CE – 1722 CE

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is famed for its colossal stone moai, crafted by a Polynesian society that flourished from roughly 1100 to 1722 CE, leaving a cryptic legacy of monumental art and ecological transformation.

323

Pre-ColumbianHigh MedievalEarly Modern

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Continent Record

Most-Visited Ancient Site in North America

Chichén Itzá

600 CE – 1200 CE

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

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Country Record

Longest Continuously Occupied Site in Mali

Timbuktu

1100 CE – 1591 CE

Legendary 'City of 333 Saints' and major trans-Saharan trade hub; reached its intellectual zenith under Songhai (1464–1591), leaving earthen mosques and vast manuscript libraries.

323

High MedievalEarly Modern

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Hampi

1336 CE – 1565 CE

The ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, Hampi’s sprawling temples and civic structures date from 1336 to 1565, embodying Dravidian architecture at its peak.

322

High MedievalEarly Modern

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Continent Record

Oldest Complex in North America

Mesa Verde

600 CE – 1300 CE

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

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Great Zimbabwe

1100 CE – 1450 CE

The medieval capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, built without mortar between 1100–1450 CE, its massive stone ruins are the largest in sub-Saharan Africa and a testament to a thriving trade empire.

322

High Medieval

Khajuraho

950 CE – 1050 CE

India's supreme expression of medieval temple architecture — 25 surviving sandstone temples built by the Chandela dynasty in central India between 950 and 1050 CE, celebrated for their exuberantly carved sculptural programs depicting gods, celestial beings, and erotic scenes, rising from a flat plain with no other settlement in sight.

311

MedievalHigh Medieval

Country Record

Longest Continuously Occupied Site in Germany

Trier

16 BCE – 1300 CE

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

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Country Record

Earliest Known Site in United States

Cahokia

1050 CE – 1350 CE

Massive pre-Columbian city of the Mississippian culture, Cahokia flourished from 1050–1350 CE with monumental earthen mounds and a complex society.

322

High MedievalPre-Columbian