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Lost Cities from the Ancient World
Synopsis
In following a fascinating trail to the most beautiful cities of the ancient world, this book retraces the history and development of the most important urban centers of antiquity, placing them in their historical and geographical context and analyzing what remains of their architectural and artistic treasures. Superb photographs and careful reconstructions of their urban layout help the reader to understand the cities importance to the civilizations that built them: Knossos and Athens, the elegant cities of southern Italy, imperial Rome, Leptis Magna, Thebes the powerful, splendid Palmyra, the megalopolis of Babylon, Ur and Persepolis, the ancient capitals of the Chinese empire, magical Angkor, Teotihuacán, Chichén Itzá, Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
The journey through the cites of ancient civilizations could go on forever; new discoveries continue to shed further light on the existence of ancient peoples, whose obscure past gradually becomes more visible through the work of archaeologists. This book is a tribute to the great cities of the past, masterpieces of urban construction, treasure chests of art and history and, not least, the places where human kind cultivated the social roots and developed the multiethnic and cosmopolitan societies that today govern the destiny of our planet.
In following a fascinating trail to the most beautiful cities of the ancient world, this book retraces the history and development of the most important urban centers of antiquity, placing them in their historical and geographical context and analyzing what remains of their architectural and artistic treasures. Superb photographs and careful reconstructions of their urban layout help the reader to understand the cities importance to the civilizations that built them: Knossos and Athens, the elegant cities of southern Italy, imperial Rome, Leptis Magna, Thebes the powerful, splendid Palmyra, the megalopolis of Babylon, Ur and Persepolis, the ancient capitals of the Chinese empire, magical Angkor, Teotihuacán, Chichén Itzá, Cuzco and Machu Picchu.
The journey through the cites of ancient civilizations could go on forever; new discoveries continue to shed further light on the existence of ancient peoples, whose obscure past gradually becomes more visible through the work of archaeologists. This book is a tribute to the great cities of the past, masterpieces of urban construction, treasure chests of art and history and, not least, the places where human kind cultivated the social roots and developed the multiethnic and cosmopolitan societies that today govern the destiny of our planet.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 31, 2023
For just happening on this at a used bookstore, this is fascinating. I especially appreciated looking at all the photos.
May 14, 2021
Nice artwork and photos as well as some information I was unaware of.
May 12, 2015
If you have an interest in ancient cities, you will enjoy this book.
A lot of the cities I knew about, although there were several that were new to me. Unsurprisingly I enjoyed the cities from the Roman Empire best, from Rome herself to lesser knowns such as Sabratha and Thugga. Thebes in Egypt and Chan Chan in Peru were a couple others I found very interesting.
Because the book is a compilation, it did get repetitive: here's a temple, here's a palace, here's a monument, etc... for every city. I also felt that if you don't already know some of the history of the place or the people, you might be a bit confused because the narrative (understandably) is too brief to get the full scope of the city.
A lot of the cities I knew about, although there were several that were new to me. Unsurprisingly I enjoyed the cities from the Roman Empire best, from Rome herself to lesser knowns such as Sabratha and Thugga. Thebes in Egypt and Chan Chan in Peru were a couple others I found very interesting.
Because the book is a compilation, it did get repetitive: here's a temple, here's a palace, here's a monument, etc... for every city. I also felt that if you don't already know some of the history of the place or the people, you might be a bit confused because the narrative (understandably) is too brief to get the full scope of the city.
March 1, 2015
great pictures, but the format wasn't done very well with paragraphs continuing onto the next page & cut off in mid sentence for most of the book, also the copy was really small & could be hard to read with poor eye sight or light.
August 24, 2015
As much as I like world history, all the lost cities from every ancient civilization are found in this book! It is a must to have, and most importantly get lost throughout the pages and get fascinated with all the knowledge you are going to get! Enjoy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2009
Very informative and great photos and other images. The editor could have done a bit of a better job since I found several errors, but it happens that some inevitably slip by even the most diligent.
August 14, 2014
Good overview book with nice photos. Covers major archeological sites all over the globe.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews