Ruins facts for kids
Ruins are what's left of buildings or cities after they have been damaged or destroyed. These leftover parts can no longer be used properly. Many ruins are very old and famous, like the ancient Roman Forum in Ancient Rome or Tintagel Castle on the coast of Cornwall.
Ruins can be created in different ways. Sometimes, wars cause buildings to be destroyed. Natural disasters like earthquakes, fires, and volcanos can also turn buildings into ruins. If people leave a house or a whole village empty and move away, the buildings slowly fall apart and become ruins over time.
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What Can We Learn from Ruins?
Historic ruins are often important places for archaeologists. These scientists study old things to learn about how people lived long ago. They search through ruins for clues and objects.
Archaeologists call the things they find "artefacts." These can be beautiful artworks, jewelry, or gold coins. More often, they find everyday items like cooking pots, mugs, spoons, hair combs, old shoes, or broken toys. Historians use these artefacts to write about the past and understand what happened at these places.
Artists also find ruins very interesting. Many artists have drawn or painted pictures of ruined buildings. In the 1700s and 1800s, paintings of ruins became very popular.
Famous Ancient Ruins Around the World
- The Indus Valley civilisation in India has several ruined cities. The largest ones are Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, which are about 5,000 years old.
- The Nile Valley in Egypt is home to famous ruined temples from Ancient Egypt, such as the Temple of Luxor.
- The most well-known ruins of Ancient Greece are the temples on the Acropolis in Athens, including the Parthenon.
- Rome has many ancient ruins, like the huge Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
- Pompeii is an Ancient Roman city near Naples, Italy. It was buried and destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Many things in Pompeii are still very well preserved.
- Machu Picchu in Peru is a ruined city built by the Inca people in the 1400s.
- In England, many abbeys were closed down and ruined in the 1500s. Later, many castles were ruined during the English Civil War in the 1600s.
- In Hiroshima, Japan, the ruins of a building called the Genbaku Dome ("Atomic Dome") stand. It reminds people of the city's destruction by an atomic bomb during World War II.
Gallery of Famous Ruins
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Macchu Picchu in Peru
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Bolton Priory in England
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Persepolis in Iran
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The Parthenon in Greece
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The Temple of Luxor in Egypt
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Pompeii in Italy
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The city of Ephesus in Turkey
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Genbaku Dome in Japan
Related Pages
Images for kids
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Roman Forum ruins in Rome, Italy.
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1906 San Francisco earthquake: Ruins in vicinity of Post and Grant Avenue.
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Ruins of Whitby Abbey, England
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Ruins of Kajaani Castle in Kajaani, Finland
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Ury House, Aberdeenshire ruined by removal of the roof after the Second World War to avoid taxation.
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Ruins made-to-measure: the "Roman Ruin" in the park at Schönbrunn, c 1800
See also
In Spanish: Ruinas para niños
