ANCIENT ALIGNMENTEnter the globeGlobe

Timeline

Every site in the order it was begun. Dates are approximate, and several are argued over; the site pages say where.

Deep prehistory

before 5000 BCE
  1. c. 9500–8000 BCE
    Göbekli TepeTürkiye · Megalith
  2. Natural, or human-shaped c. 8000 BCE–1 CE (disputed)
    Yonaguni MonumentRyukyu Islands, Japan · Enigma
  3. c. 5500–4000 BCE
    Nabta PlayaEgypt (Nubian Desert) · Megalith

The megalith builders

5000–2500 BCE
  1. c. 4900 BCE
    Goseck CircleGermany · Earthwork
  2. c. 4500–3300 BCE
    Carnac StonesBrittany, France · Megalith
  3. c. 3600–2500 BCE
    Ġgantija & the Malta TemplesGozo, Malta · Megalith
  4. c. 3200 BCE
    NewgrangeIreland · Megalith
  5. c. 3000–2000 BCE
    StonehengeWiltshire, England · Megalith
  6. c. 2900 BCE
    Calanais (Callanish)Isle of Lewis, Scotland · Megalith
  7. c. 2850–2200 BCE
    AveburyWiltshire, England · Megalith
  8. c. 2600 BCE
    CaralPeru · Lost City
  9. c. 2560 BCE
    Giza Pyramid ComplexEgypt · Pyramid
  10. c. 2500–1900 BCE
    Mohenjo-daroSindh, Pakistan · Lost City

Bronze Age kingdoms

2500–1000 BCE
  1. c. 2100 BCE
    Great Ziggurat of UrIraq · Pyramid
  2. c. 2000–30 BCE
    Karnak TempleLuxor, Egypt · Temple
  3. Inhabited from c. 1800 BCE
    Varanasi (Kashi)Uttar Pradesh, India · Sanctuary
  4. c. 1264 BCE
    Abu SimbelEgypt · Temple
  5. c. 1200–500 BCE
    Chavín de HuántarPeru · Temple

The classical world

1000 BCE–1 CE
  1. First Temple c. 950 BCE
    Temple Mount / Haram al-SharifJerusalem · Sanctuary
  2. Sanctuary from c. 900 BCE
    DelosCyclades, Greece · Sanctuary
  3. Oracle active c. 800 BCE–390 CE
    DelphiGreece · Sanctuary
  4. c. 518–330 BCE
    PersepolisIran · Sanctuary
  5. Enlightenment c. 500 BCE; temple c. 500 CE
    Bodh GayaBihar, India · Sanctuary
  6. c. 500 BCE–500 CE
    Nazca LinesPeru · Geoglyph
  7. 447–432 BCE
    The Acropolis & ParthenonAthens, Greece · Temple
  8. c. 400 BCE–900 CE
    TikalGuatemala · Pyramid
  9. c. 300 BCE–100 CE
    PetraJordan · Lost City
  10. c. 300 BCE or 1070 CE (contested)
    Serpent MoundOhio, USA · Earthwork
  11. c. 246 BCE–early 1st century CE
    Xi'an Pyramid MoundsShaanxi, China · Pyramid
  12. c. 100 BCE surface; deeper layers contested
    Gunung PadangWest Java, Indonesia · Megalith
  13. c. 100 BCE–550 CE
    TeotihuacánMexico · Pyramid
  14. c. 4 BCE (tradition); rebuilt every 20 years
    Ise Grand ShrineJapan · Sanctuary
  15. Roman era; podium blocks debated
    BaalbekLebanon · Megalith
  16. Natural; worked by medieval era
    ExternsteineGermany · Sacred Mountain
  17. Sacred from Bronze Age
    Mount CarmelIsrael · Sacred Mountain
  18. Sacred from prehistory
    Mount KailashTibet, China · Sacred Mountain
  19. Natural sandstone formations
    Paratoari (Pyramids of Paratoari)Madre de Dios, Peru · Enigma

First millennium

1–1000 CE
  1. c. 300–1000 CE
    Tiwanaku & Puma PunkuBolivia · Megalith
  2. Sanctuary from c. 490 CE
    Monte Sant'AngeloApulia, Italy · Sanctuary
  3. c. 600–1200 CE
    Chichén ItzáYucatán, Mexico · Pyramid
  4. c. 600–800 CE
    PalenqueChiapas, Mexico · Temple
  5. Monastery c. 600 CE
    Skellig MichaelIreland · Sanctuary
  6. c. 630–730 CE
    MahabalipuramTamil Nadu, India · Temple
  7. Pre-Islamic; rededicated 630 CE
    The Kaaba, MeccaSaudi Arabia · Sanctuary
  8. Sanctuary from 708 CE; abbey from 966
    Mont-Saint-MichelNormandy, France · Sanctuary
  9. c. 756–773 CE
    Kailasa Temple, ElloraMaharashtra, India · Temple
  10. c. 800 CE
    BorobudurJava, Indonesia · Temple
  11. c. 850–1150 CE
    Chaco CanyonNew Mexico, USA · Sanctuary
  12. c. 885–1050 CE
    KhajurahoMadhya Pradesh, India · Temple
  13. c. 900–1150 CE
    Preah VihearCambodia · Temple
  14. c. 983 CE
    Sacra di San MichelePiedmont, Italy · Sanctuary

Medieval & later

after 1000 CE
  1. c. 1003–1010 CE
    Brihadeeswarar TempleTamil Nadu, India · Temple
  2. c. 1044–1287 CE
    BaganMyanmar · Temple
  3. c. 1050–1350 CE
    Cahokia MoundsIllinois, USA · Earthwork
  4. c. 1100–1450 CE
    Great ZimbabweZimbabwe · Lost City
  5. c. 1100–1600 CE
    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)Chile · Megalith
  6. c. 1113–1150 CE
    Angkor WatCambodia · Temple
  7. c. 1117 CE
    Chennakeshava Temple, BelurKarnataka, India · Temple
  8. Monastery c. 1135 CE; older cult site
    St Michael's MountCornwall, England · Sanctuary
  9. 1194–1220 CE
    Chartres CathedralFrance · Temple
  10. c. 1200 CE
    LalibelaEthiopia · Temple
  11. c. 1200–1600 CE
    Nan MadolPohnpei, Micronesia · Lost City
  12. c. 1238–1438 CE
    SukhothaiThailand · Temple
  13. c. 1250 CE
    Konark Sun TempleOdisha, India · Temple
  14. Terracing undated; church c. 1300s
    Glastonbury TorSomerset, England · Sacred Mountain
  15. Founded 1446; built from 1456 CE
    Rosslyn ChapelScotland · Temple
  16. c. 1450 CE
    Machu PicchuPeru · Lost City
  17. c. 1450 CE
    OllantaytamboPeru · Megalith
  18. c. 1450 CE (older layers debated)
    SacsayhuamánCusco, Peru · Megalith
  19. c. 1500s CE
    Vittala Temple, HampiKarnataka, India · Temple
  20. Sacred for 30,000+ years
    UluruNorthern Territory, Australia · Sacred Mountain