Pyramids

6 ancient pyramids across 5 countries, from Giza Pyramid Complex (2,560 BCE) to Chichén Itzá (600 CE), and the theories that connect them.

c. 2560 BCE · Egypt

Giza Pyramid Complex

The last survivor of the ancient wonders, aligned to true north with an error of a fraction of one degree.

c. 2100 BCE · Iraq

Great Ziggurat of Ur

A mountain built where there were none — the moon god's staircase on the Mesopotamian plain.

c. 400 BCE–900 CE · Guatemala

Tikal

Temple crowns above an unbroken jungle canopy, tuned to each other across kilometres.

c. 246 BCE–early 1st century CE · Shaanxi, China

Xi'an Pyramid Mounds

Dozens of flat-topped earthen pyramids on a Chinese plain — including one guarded by a terracotta army.

c. 100 BCE–550 CE · Mexico

Teotihuacán

'The place where the gods were created' — a city planned like a circuit board, its builders unknown.

c. 600–1200 CE · Yucatán, Mexico

Chichén Itzá

Twice a year, a serpent of shadow and light descends the stairway of El Castillo.