Historic and Ancient Ruins VI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cambodia

Built in jungle surroundings, the size and beauty of Angkor in its heyday was unrivaled throughout the world. More than a thousand temples were located in Angkor itself. A huge man-made reservoir was created, which was known as West Beray. The inhabitants of Angkor cultivated rice. Fish were caught in Tonle Sap, a freshwater lake south of Angkor.

To the north of Angkor was a sacred mountain range in Cambodia, known as Phnom Kulen. Sandstone from Phnom Kulen was used to build temples in Angkor. Hundreds of lingas were carved on the bed of the mountain streams, so that the streams would be sanctified and purified before reaching the temples of Angkor.

Reference: "Cambodia: History of Angkor" (YouTube.com)

Answer: Mali

The Bandiagara Escarpment stretched along East Central Mali for over 200 kilometres until it reached the end of the range, which was known as Hombori Tondo. Hombori Tondo was 1,115 meters high and was the highest peak in Mali.

Around 1490 AD, the Dogon people migrated towards Bandiagara Escarpment and drove off the Tellem people who occupied the region. Over time, the caves that the Tellem carved into the cliffs were used as sacred ancestral shrines and also burial places for the Dogon people. The caves were believed to be dug in a way that provided a safe refuge for the dead.

Answer: Delos

Delos was an important place of worship for Apollo and Artemis. Legends told of Zeus marrying a mortal woman known as Leto, who was expecting twins. Hera was furious and decreed that no land would harbour Leto. But Poseidon created an island from the sea, from where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis.

Delos was a site of great religious significance, and tributes from other Greek cities were given to Delos. With the advice of Oracle of Delphi, Athens proceeded to purify Delos in 425 BC. The graves of dead bodies were dug up and transported elsewhere. Also enforced by the laws of Greeks, no one was allowed to die or give birth on the island of Delos. However, Delos began to decline when Mithridates of Pontus attacked it in 88 BC. Also, Rome began to focus less on Delos as a trading city and shifted its attention towards Rhodes.

Answer: Derbent

The Caucasus Mountains stretched from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. However, a narrow strip of land (three-km long) separated the Caucasus mountain range and the Caspian Sea. Derbent was ideally situated there. For many centuries, Derbent was a stronghold. It was built as early as eighth century BC and helped control the traffic between Europe and Asia.

During the sixth century AD, Kavadh I of the Sassanid Dynasty attempted to fortify Derbent. Walls 40 km long and 20 metres high were built along with 30 watchtowers. Naryn-Kala, a citadel situated upon the mountain, and the Khan's Palace have remained.

Answer: Ravenna

Arianism was considered heretic at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. However, the battle between Arianism and the Nicene Creed continued to be fought. It took more than 50 years until both the Council of Constantinople in the East and the Council of Aquileia in the West adopted the Nicene Creed in 381 AD.

Theodoric the Great waged a war against Odoacer beginning in 488 AD, and he managed to oust Odoacer in 493 AD. His father was an Arian, and Theodoric built the Arian Baptistry around the sixth century AD. When Byzantine forces invaded Ravenna in 540 AD, not only did the invasion cause the decline of the Gothic Kingdom but also the Arian version of Christianity was eventually overthrown. In 565 AD, the Arian Baptistry was turned into an Orthodox Catholic Church known as Santa Maria.

Answer: Hatra

Trapped between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire, the inhabitants of Hatra built immense fortifications to protect themselves. There were two walls (inner and outer) with a moat between them. When faced with an invasion, they also had a secret weapon. This weapon was unleashed against the invading Roman troops in 198 AD: pots filled with venomous scorpions and insects were catapulted towards the Roman attackers!

There was a main temple dedicated to Shamash, the God of Hatra. Also, there were other temples dedicated to other gods (Greeks, Arabs, Romans, Persians, Mesopotamians, etc). However, Hatra was a tolerant place and despite having different religious and cultural practices, people lived together in harmony.

Answer: Chan Chan

Chan Chan was located in the Peruvian region of La Libertad, and was America's largest prehistoric mud-brick settlement. The collapse of the Moche Civilisation in 800 AD allowed the Chimu Empire to start in 850 AD. Chan Chan went on to conquer Tucume and the northern and central coasts of Peru.

There were nine royal compounds in Chan Chan, one of which was the Tschudi Palace. In 1470 AD, the Túpac Inca Yupanqui would conquer and annex Chan Chan into the Inca Empire.

Answer: Mexico

Built as an astronomical observatory, the alignment of El Castillo with the sun during spring and autumn equinoxes created a serpentine-looking shadow that slithered down the base of pyramid. Amazingly a clap at the pyramid reflected back the sound reminiscent of the Quetzal bird! Also, words murmured softly at one end of the pyramid could be heard at the other, a distance of about 100 metres. A shout or clap in the middle would produce nine different echoes!

The god of the pyramid, Kukulkan, was also known as Quetzalcoatl. In Chichen Itza, there was the Great Ball Court where a Mesoamerican ballgame was played. It was a religious game where (strangely) the winners were killed as human sacrifices! The Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué were depicted in Popol Vuh as playing this ball game.

Reference: "Chichen Itza, the descent of the feathered serpent", www.hellomagazine.com, 2010.

Answer: Velia

Phocaea was an ancient Greek city in Western Turkey. When Cyrus the Great had successfully conquered Phocaea in 545 BC, the inhabitants of Phocaea fled. Many later founded a colony called Elea, whose modern name became Velia. Parmenides was an important Greek philosopher born in Velia.

He wrote a poem which was split into three parts: the preface, the "Way of Truth" and "The Way of Appearance/Opinion". He mentioned that the truth was one proposition/statement that was fundamentally correct, and did not fall into contradictions and was eternal and unchanging.

Answer: Germany

Castle Frankenstein was often claimed to play a role in Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein". However, such claims were not substantiated. Legends also recounted that the alchemist born in Castle Frankenstein had a profound interest in alchemy as well as the possibility of immortality. Known as Johann Conrad Dippel, he created Dippel's Oil, which was composed of a mixture of animals' blood, remains and bone--which he claimed to be the "Elixir of Life".

However, modern folklore produced new additions that further blunted the shroud between reality and fiction. Some described that Johann Conrad Dippel performed experiments with dead bodies, whereby souls would travel from one body to the other. Legends even recounted of experiments that led to the explosion and destruction of the tower in Castle Frankenstein. These myths and legends have created an atmosphere of suspense and thrill around Castle Frankenstein, making it a favourite haunt during Halloween.