Ancient World - Great Architecture from 3000 BC to 1000 AD

Columns provide important information about ancient architecture. This guide is an introduction to column styles.

Builders in ancient Rome modeled their temples and important public buildings after the Classical Orders practiced in Greece. Roman builders also modified the Greek Orders and added additional Orders of Architecture.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 AD, Polynesians who settled on Easter Island carved giant stone monoliths called Moai.

Ancient civilizations extended far beyond Egypt, Greece, and Rome. These ancient empires are often forgotten, but they built magnificent structures.

In nearly every part of the world, ancient peoples have built huge, monumental structures. Why did they construct these monuments, and what role does "monumental architecture" play in human civilization?

Constructed more than 500 BC, the Great Wall of China stretches for thousands of miles.