One thing is for sure: the world we live in is full of mysterious historical monuments.

Wide-open in the form of statues, buildings and other objects, many of them date back thousands of years before technology was invented, which makes everything even more intriguing.

For example, in the case of Stonehenge in the photo above, how did this set of dozens of gigantic stones end up there? Who did this? These are questions that no one has been able to answer to this day...

From Stonehenge to the Pyramids of Giza, from the ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon to the Mayan Pyramids at Tikal, there is simply no explanation for their existence.

If you are curious to know more about it, then continue reading our text about mysterious historical monuments!

First on our list of mysterious historical monuments is the Stonehenge, which we already talked about a little above.

Considered one of the oldest places in the world with more than five thousand years old, it is the most famous prehistoric monument in England.

Scene from the Outlander series, Stonehenge is a composite structure 137 km west of London formed by concentric circles of stones, which can be 5 m high.

Scientists suggest that the stones originate from Wales, which makes everything very mysterious, since the journey is long and it is not possible to determine how they were taken to that location.

Like Stonehenge, Cairn De Barnenez is as enigmatic a monument as it is.

With more than 6,800 years, it is a Neolithic monument located in Brittany, where 11 different tombs are housed, added one by one over the centuries, from 4800 BC.

And why is he considered one of the mysterious historical monuments?

This is thanks to some of the secrets that were buried inside Cairn De Barnenez, such as the faceless portrait – repeated and intriguing U-shapes – in frantic zig zags, in addition to the symbols engraved in stone slabs.

To date, no one has been able to decipher its real meaning.

Considered the center of the world 5 thousand years ago, uruk it was an ancient city of Sumeria, which not only had houses and temples, but also an intricate network of canals that crossed the entire site.

However, there is one specific place that makes the city's secrets even more mysterious: the White Temple of Uruk.

Its mysteries already begin with the original name of the temple, because until today nobody knows what it was.

Still, they question whether secrets related to a truly ancient organized religion are buried there.

If these two facts weren't enough, what makes the White Temple especially intriguing are its connections with Anu, the oldest god in the Sumerian pantheon (and one of the stars of the Epic of Gilgamesh).

These are facts that no one can understand!

Malta is a country full of history and mysteries.

Scattered across the Maltese archipelago, the country has its own mysterious treasure: Malta's megalithic temples, which are over 5,000 years old and are part of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

In total, there are 6 megalithic temples in Malta: Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Tarxien, Ta'Hagrat, Skorba and Ggantija, the only one existing on the island of Gozo.

Regarding their mystery, it is precisely in the beliefs of the people who built them.

It is believed that the temples were sanctuaries used for religious practices and even for animal sacrifice, but there is no absolute certainty about this fact.

The Mayan civilization attracts everyone's attention either for its appearance or for its curious history.

Among all its best-known archaeological sites by the general public, there is one that deserves extra attention: Tikal, located in Guatemala.

Known as the Mayan ruins of the “Lost World”, the Mayan archaeological site of Tikal attracts an average of 150,000 visitors annually.

In addition to its historical beauty, what attracts many tourists to the place are the mysteries that revolve around it.

This is because no one knows for sure whether they were built for religious or scientific reasons, to bury the dead or for all of these at the same time.

While the Pantheon in Athens is world famous, there is a building in Lebanon with a similar structure and style, only twice as large: the Baalbek.

Considered one of the mysterious historical monuments in the world, the place has an unknown origin.

In its structure, each of the blocks weighs more than 1000 tons, which means almost 100x heavier when compared to the largest blocks in the Pantheon in Athens.

However, as we said earlier, its origin is unknown, as the technology needed to build and move these gigantic blocks did not exist at the time.

Known as Babylonia by the locals, the stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island, in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, refer to a group of 13 or 14 labyrinths that attract much attention and speculation.

This is because little is known about their origin and what motivated them to be built.

Because of this obscurity as to why the stones were put there, theories abound on the subject.

Some think they used them for astronomical purposes and others believe they were built to catch the big fish in the White Sea.

Residents and other religious people believe they are ritual structures on the edge of the spirit world.

For over two thousand years, around 400 huge stone jars have been scattered over an area of approximately 1,000 km² in northern Laos.

With sizes that vary between 1m and 3m in height, they can weigh up to 6 tons and are arranged in groups with no visible alignment.

No wonder, tourists from all over the world who visit the country go to the place to admire them.

As for the origin of the construction of the pieces and their usefulness, no one has been able to define them until today, which puts the Plain of Jars on our list of mysterious historical monuments.

Theories regarding the use of jars include sarcophagi, vessels for fermentation and alcohol production (from rice) or rice storage, water storage tanks, and many others.

Located in the Weissenfels district of Germany, the Gosek Circle is an archaeological site discovered from aerial photographs of a wheat field in 1992.

Considered the “German Stonehenge”, it has a similar structure to the megalithic circle in England.

A few centuries ago, astrology and astronomy went hand in hand and became confused, therefore, the place functioned as a solar calendar and ceremonial and religious center of the Neolithic people.

Traces of decapitated oxen and fragments of human skeletons were discovered there.

Although these are important discoveries, it is known that there is much more to unravel, mainly because it has been a short time since the knowledge of the place.

O Angkor Wat is a famous 12th-century temple located in Cambodia, which was inspired by the mythological Mount Meru, where Hindus believe the ancient gods live.

Considered one of the most popular places in the country, it is also one of the most mysterious monuments.

Discovered by Europeans in the 19th century, the masonry used in the complex is so dense that no seams can be found between the stones.

The work is completely smooth and the entire complex is supported by its own weight, which is a very difficult work to explain for the time it was built.

Off the coast of Chile, on a small plot of land where the country meets the Pacific, stand the giant moai statues of Easter Island.

While there is evidence that they were moved from one location to another, with bases that are heavier than the statues, there is no evidence to indicate how the statues were moved.

Experiments have confirmed that manipulation of the statues is possible, but as all possible descendants of the people who could help solve this mystery have passed away, it remains unsolved.

Located south of Jordan, in a city called Wadi Musa, is Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World thanks to its unique beauty.

Due to its importance, UNESCO has described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage”.

Petra is not only part of the list of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, but also the mysterious historical monuments.

This is because its buildings, entirely carved in sandstone, intrigue any engineer.

The site could not have been built without the help of scaffolding, but detail: these engineering inventions were not invented until thousands of years later.

In 2001, sonar detected evidence of a sunken city off the coast of India in the Gulf of Cambai.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that there were actually many man-made structures sunk into the water, including large buildings and canals.

When the area was excavated, artifacts such as pottery objects were discovered and a piece of wood from the buildings was dated to early 9500 BC.

This, in turn, would mean that the city existed thousands of years before what is considered the oldest city in India.

But it doesn't stop here!

It would also mean thousands of years before humans were able to build cities that size. Intriguing, isn't it?

Considered not only one of the mysterious historical monuments, but also one of the oldest places in the world, Gobekli Tepe is the first known religious structure.

At over 22,000 years old, the sanctuary is so old that it was built when men were still learning to cultivate plants and domesticate animals.

As in that period we were simple hunters with no knowledge of agriculture, written language, the wheel, animal domestication, pottery or religion, the question remains: what were the stones of Gobekli Tepe used for?

To this day, no one knows the answer to that question.

Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries of all time, the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt raises more questions than it answers.

As far as its origin is concerned, many believe that the Pharaohs built this work of art, but evidence suggests that they simply renovated it.

In addition to not having the means to build something so gigantic, the date of origin of the pyramid is well before the Pharaohs existed.

We have reached the final part of our article on mysterious historical monuments and there are still 10 places for you to discover.

Let's know more about what awaits you?

Spoiler:

One of the seven wonders of the modern world is below!

Teotihuacan was an urban center in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica located in the Mexico Basin, 48 kilometers northeast of present-day Mexico City.

The site covers a total area of 83km² and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, and is now the most visited archaeological site in Mexico.

Considered one of the most developed cities in the world and one of the greatest mysterious historical monuments, Teotihuacan is an enigma for historians.

Who built this 25 km² site?

Recent discoveries show that the Aztecs would not have built this 2,000-year-old site, but would have inherited it after its builders abandoned it.

Bolivia is well known to us Brazilians thanks to its various tourist destinations, such as La Paz, Lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni.

However, there is one place in the country that deserves your due attention: the pre-Columbian city of Tiwanaku.

Little is known about Tiwanaku and the people who founded it.

Apparently, the city was home to an ancient civilization that was way ahead of its time.

However, until now, no one has been able to pinpoint the exact age of the site. The only thing known is that it is at least a thousand years old, although it is estimated to be much older!

Considered one of the mysterious historical monuments in the world, ties It is a city almost entirely encrusted in the rock and located in the Spanish region of León and Castile, at an altitude of over 1,200 m.

In this archaeological site, you will find ruins of a forum and city gates, dwellings and even a sophisticated system of aqueducts.

Like almost any mysterious place, this is another one of those places where you don't know who built the city or when.

The only certainty is that the Celts from Iberia, the Romans, who contributed to its economic development, the Visigoths and the Moors passed through there at different times.

Also, another fact that is taken for granted is that Tiermes lost its importance at some point in the 12th century.

Few have heard of Great Zimbabwe, but the place is to Africa what Machu Picchu is to Latin America.

Of inexplicable historical and cultural value, this ancient city in southeastern Zimbabwe was built by the Shona people, between the 12th and 15th centuries, a period in which it was an important center of trade, thanks to the abundance of gold in the region.

Rediscovered by European explorers in 1871, Great Zimbabwe quickly aroused interest largely because of the mystery surrounding its origin.

To this day, there is no theory to explain the place, but many believe that this 7km² site was home to King Solomon's Mines, as described in the Bible.

Close to the stone circles of Avebury, England, Silbury Hill is an unnatural hill created 6,000 years ago, making it the largest man-made mound in Europe.

About the size of a small Egyptian pyramid (40 meters high), the site was built around 2,400 BC, but has no sign of burials inside.

The reasons for its construction remain one of the great mysteries of prehistory. Precisely for this reason, Silbury Hill is on the list of mysterious historical monuments.

Comments aside, one fact stands out: whatever its origins, it is an extraordinary feat for such an ancient civilization.

Located in the countryside of England, 2 hours from London, is Glastonbury, a very peculiar little town.

Dominating its entire horizon is the city's high point: the Tor, an oval-shaped hill, with its mysterious 'layers' forming a labyrinth, and it is there that the priestesses of The Mists of Avalon, the work of writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, celebrate Beltane and many other sacred rituals.

Overlooking the town of Glastonbury, England, this iconic hill is topped by a roofless tower, the remnant of a 14th-century church built on the ruins of an earlier church.

Some suggest that this mysterious site was Avalon, where King Arthur's legendary sword, Excalibur, was forged. It will be?

Called the “Stonehenge of the Teutoburg Forest”, Externsteine refers to a peculiar sandstone rock formation, which is located in Germany.

The site is made up of 13 rocks, some of which appear more isolated in the form of small rocks and rise in a row of rocks up to almost 40 meters high.

Considered one of the mysterious historical monuments, there are numerous traces of human activity in the Externsteine rock formations that lead to many speculations and interpretations.

For example, were they a Germanic shrine, an astronomical observatory or a reproduction of Jerusalem's holy sites?

In the 16th century, it was assumed that the site would have been a pagan Germanic shrine later transformed into a Christian shrine.

Although many believe in this theory, the fact is that there is no archaeological evidence for this.

The history of Anasazi, an ancient civilization that inhabited the southwestern United States before the arrival of Columbus, is definitely mysterious.

Builders of the tallest buildings in pre-Columbian North America, the fact that the Anasazi built their pueblos in an extremely precarious location is already the first mystery that surrounds them.

Furthermore, archaeologists are still trying to understand why the Anasazi suddenly abandoned their territory.

The strongest theory is that they faced a severe drought likely lasting more than three years around 1130. This event may have been fatal, causing the Anasazi to abandon the site between 1150 and 1200.

Everyone has heard of the legendary Inca Empire and its citadel of Machu Picchu, but few know that there are remains of Peruvian civilizations much, much older.

An example is the Sechin Bajo Plaza, considered one of the greatest mysterious historical monuments in the world.

Five thousand years before the Incas reached their peak in the 15th century, ancient groups from the New World were building Sechin Bajo.

The place is a large archaeological site located in the Sechin river valley about 12 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean and 300 kilometers from Lima, Peru.

The mysteries surrounding Sechin Bajo concern the date when agriculture became the most important source of livelihood for this population.

Recent discoveries contradict the theory of several anthropologists that the first civilizations in Peru were not based on agriculture as a means of survival, but on the exploitation of marine resources found on the Peruvian coast.

And since we mentioned Machu Picchu, how about finishing our text on the mysterious historical monuments with him, huh?

Considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World, Machu Picchu enchants all its visitors. Not only for the beauty of the place, but also for the mystery that surrounds it.

To this day, the unanswered question is why the Incas built a city at an altitude of 2,300m, practically inaccessible.

However, after years and years of mystery, Brazilian geologist Rualdo Menegat brought a possible answer at the end of 2019.

According to Menegat, the Incas took advantage of the local geological fault to build the city with “softer” or more friable rocks.

They identified the ease of getting water from the aquifers that originated in the fractured rocks, in addition to the firmness and ease of working with the rocks found there.

With the contribution of Brazilians to world knowledge, the greatest mystery with regard to historical monuments is beginning to be unraveled… Will the others we have mentioned have the same luck? Who lives will see!