A to Z · 128 profiles
Places
Every city, mountain, ruin, base and archive the site mentions, real or legendary, each with what the record says and where it turns up.
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AbydosEgyptian holy city of Osiris and the early kingsc. 3100 BCE'Ad and Iram of the PillarsQuran and Arabian loreAkhmimEgyptian town where a Greek manuscript of Enoch was foundc. 3000 BCEAkkad (Agade)Lost capital of Sargon's Akkadian Empirec. 2334 BCEAksumCapital of the Aksumite kingdom and claimed home of the Arkc. 100–940 CEAmarnaAkhenaten's short-lived capital and archive of the Amarna lettersc. 1348 BCEAmiternumAncient Sabine and Roman town near L'Aquila, Italyfl. 293 BCEAndrews Air Force BaseAir base in Maryland, home of Air Force OneEst. 1942AsgardHome of the Aesir gods in Norse mythLegendaryAshdodPhilistine city where the captured Ark toppled Dagonc. 17th c. BCEAshmolean MuseumOxford University's museum of art and archaeologyEst. 1683AswanEgypt's southern frontier and source of its granitec. 3000 BCEAthensGreek city-state, capital of modern Greecec. 1400 BCEAtlantisGreece and RomeAyodhyaCity on the Sarayu River, Rama's capital in the Ramayanac. 5th c. BCE
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BabylonCapital of Babylonia and city of the god Mardukc. 2300 BCEBashanFertile region east of the Jordan, kingdom of Ogc. 1200 BCEBeth-shemeshBorder town where men who looked into the Ark diedc. 1200 BCEBethelSite of Jacob's ladder dream, 'house of God'c. 2000 BCEBifrostNorseBritish MuseumNational museum of human history and culture, LondonEst. 1753
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CanaanAncient region of the southern Levant, the Bible's promised landc. 15th c. BCECarchemishFortress city on the Euphrates and site of the battle of 605 BCEc. 1300 BCECedar ForestForest of the gods guarded by Humbaba in GilgameshLegendaryChaco CanyonAncestral Puebloan centre in New Mexico850–1250 CECobaMaya city in Quintana Roo, hub of stone causewaysc. 500–900 CEConstantinopleCapital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire330–1453 CECoptic MuseumCairo museum of Egyptian Christian art, home of Nag Hammadi codicesEst. 1910CoptosEgyptian city of Min, gateway to the Red Sea routesc. 3000 BCECraig PhadrigVitrified hillfort on the edge of Inverness, Scotlandc. 4th c. BCECreteLargest Greek island, heart of Minoan civilizationc. 2700 BCE
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DenderaTemple of Hathor with the zodiac and the 'light bulb' reliefsc. 54 BCEDerbent (Caspian Gates)Sasanian fortress city guarding the Caspian passc. 550 CEDilmunGulf trading land and Sumerian paradise of the immortal flood heroc. 2800 BCEDogger BankNorth Sea sandbank, last high ground of drowned DoggerlandIce AgeDoggerlandOther traditionsDwarakaKrishna's city in the Mahabharata; modern Dwarka, GujaratLegendary
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Garden of EdenBiblical earthly paradise of Adam and EveLegendaryGathPhilistine royal city and hometown of Goliathfl. c. 1000 BCEGazaAncient coastal city, Egyptian base and Philistine strongholdc. 15th c. BCEGibeonTown where Joshua's sun stood stillc. 1200 BCEGinnungagapNorseGirsuSumerian city of the god Ningirsu in the state of Lagashc. 2500 BCEGiza and the Great PyramidPyramid plateau of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaurec. 2560 BCEGöbekli TepeOther traditionsGolgothaSite of Jesus' crucifixion outside Jerusalem's wallsc. 30 CEGreat Sand SeaSaharan dune field and source of Libyan desert glassc. 29 million yr
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HattusaCapital of the Hittite empirec. 1650–1200 BCEHebronAncient city of the patriarchs' tombs and the Anakimc. 3000 BCEHelikeGreece and RomeHeliopolisEgyptian city of the sun god and of Atum's Enneadc. 3000 BCEHermitage MuseumRussian state museum in St PetersburgEst. 1764HermopolisEgyptian city of Thoth and the eight primeval godsc. 3000 BCEHitachi ProvinceOld Japanese province, setting of the utsuro-bune legend7th c.–1871
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JerichoNeolithic town and walled city of the Book of Joshuac. 9000 BCEJerusalemAncient hill city sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islamc. 3000 BCEJet Propulsion LaboratoryNASA research centre in Pasadena run by CaltechEst. 1936Jishi Gorge and the Yellow RiverYellow River gorge proposed as the site of a 1920 BCE megafloodc. 1920 BCE
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Mag Tuired (Moytura)Plain of the two legendary battles of the Tuatha Dé DanannLegendaryMeccaHoliest city of Islam, site of the Kaabafl. 6th c. CEMedinet HabuRamesses III's temple with the Sea Peoples inscriptionsc. 1175 BCEMictlanThe underworld of Aztec (Mexica) religionLegendaryMidgardThe world of humans in Norse cosmologyLegendaryMohenjo-daroPlanned city of the Indus civilization in Sindh, Pakistanc. 2500 BCEMount BuzhouSky-pillar mountain in Chinese myth, broken by GonggongLegendaryMount HermonHebrew Bible; Enoch literatureMount Nimush (Nisir)Mountain where Utnapishtim's boat came to restLegendaryMount OlympusHighest mountain in Greece, home of the gods in mythLegendaryMount SinaiMountain where Moses received the LawLegendaryMuseo Egizio (Turin)Egyptian museum in Turin, home of the Turin King ListEst. 1824
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SaisDelta city of Neith where Plato's Atlantis story begins664–525 BCESaqqaraRoyal necropolis of Memphis and home of the Pyramid Textsc. 2650 BCEShuruppakSumer and BabylonSipparBabylonian city of the sun god Shamashc. 3000 BCESodomBiblical city destroyed by fire and brimstoneLegendarySRI InternationalResearch institute in Menlo Park, CaliforniaEst. 1946StonehengeNeolithic and Bronze Age stone circle in Wiltshire, Englandc. 3000 BCEStoregga SlideGiant undersea landslide off Norway, c. 6150 BCEc. 6150 BCE
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Tall el-HammamBronze Age city in Jordan at the center of a retracted airburst claimc. 1650 BCETartarusGreece and RomeTehranCapital of Iran, scene of the 1976 jet-chase UFO incidentCapital c. 1786The Imperishable StarsEgyptThe National Archives (UK)Official archive of the UK government, at Kew, LondonEst. 2003The PentagonHeadquarters of the US Department of DefenseBuilt 1941–43Thebes (Egypt)Capital of New Kingdom Egypt, modern Luxorc. 2050 BCEThera (Santorini)Aegean volcanic island destroyed in a Bronze Age eruptionc. 1600 BCETikalMajor Classic Maya city in northern Guatemalac. 600 BCETortugueroMaya site in Tabasco with the only ancient 2012 inscriptionfl. 644–679 CETory IslandIsland off Donegal, legendary stronghold of the Fomorians6th c. CETower of Babel and EtemenankiBiblical tower and the great ziggurat of Babylon behind itc. 600 BCETremonton, UtahUtah town where a Navy officer filmed UFOs in 19521952TroyBronze Age city in Anatolia, setting of the Trojan Warc. 3000 BCETurfanSilk Road oasis where Manichaean Book of Giants fragments were foundfl. 9th c. CE
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Ubar (Shisr)Oasis fort in Oman proposed as the lost city of Ubarc. 300 CEUgaritBronze Age port city whose texts illuminate Canaanite religionc. 1450–1185 BCEUrSumerian city of the moon god, sacked in 2004 BCEc. 2100 BCEUrukSumerian city of Gilgamesh and early writingc. 5000 BCEUS National Archives (NARA)Federal agency holding the permanent records of the US governmentEst. 1934
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