Can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? Don't panic if you can't. With modern monuments, the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, and the world's Seven Natural Wonders in the mix, very few people can sort out these astounding ancient architectural feats. What makes it even harder is that only one still exists.

Inspired by mythology, religion and art, ancient civilizations undertook these seven imposing projects from about 2700 B.C. to about 270 B.C. Only one, the Egyptian Pyramids at Giza, has survived  View this timeline of the Pharaohs. Fires, earthquakes, conquests and the ravages of time have led to the others' demise.

The Temple at Artemis

The ancient Greeks and Romans are said to have initiated the original "Seven Wonders" list, perhaps as an early travel guide of sorts. Over time, the inventory was added to and culled, then finally "completed" during the Middle Ages. Classical writers later disagreed on the final list, but the following seven works of art and architecture were among those most commonly included.

NEW- Recently divers have discovered remains of the lighthouse at Pharos, and the ruins of the residence of Cleopatra. Review the following article Alexandria Lighthouse Ruins Discovered

• The Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt
• The Pyramids of Egypt (Virtual Tour)
  
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Colossus of The Isle of Rhodes, Greece
• The Statue of Zeus, Olympia, Greece
• The Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, Greece
• The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus,Greece

Unfortunately, relatively few drawings or sketches exist of the wonders that vanished, so archaeologists have relied on ancient tales and literary works to get an idea of their appearance and history.

View these video clips to get a better understanding of the Glories of Ancient Greece.

Six out of seven Ancient Wonders did not survive to this present day. Human imagination urged poets, writers, and historians to seek "replacements" for the fallen monuments. Some proposed a new list for the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Others argued that Ancient civilizations which the Greeks did not know of, erected monuments that should have been included in the original list. Wonders such as the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Temple of Angkor in Cambodia are a few examples.

Like the ancient list, the new ones include fascinating monuments and structures that changed the existing landscape. However, no single list won unanimous approval among historians, artists, and architects. Here is an alphabetical listing of some Forgotten, Modern, and Natural Wonders. NEW The UNESCO  World Heritage List has 729 sites throughout the world that should be preserved.

Petra-the rock-carved city in Jordan. See this full page Panoramic View.

1. Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt
2. Angkor Wat in Cambodia
3. The Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), Mexico
4. The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines
5. Borobudur Temple in Indonesia
6. The Colosseum in Rome, Italy
7. The Great Wall of China
8. The Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru
9. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
10. The Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala
11. The Moai Statues in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
12. Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France
13. The Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran
14. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece
15. Petra, the rock-carved city in Jordan
16. The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar
17. Stonehenge in England
18. Taj Mahal in Agra, India
19. The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico