World's wonders, worn down? Only one of the original Seven Wonders still exists. Find out what threatens today's most precious monuments.How do you decide what places to visit Places to Visit (1999) is an EP released by British group Saint Etienne. It showed the band moving toward the experimental electronic sound that they would perfect on their next official full-length, 2000's Sound of Water. when you go on vacation? The ancient Greeks This an alphabetical list of ancient Greeks. These include ethnic Greeks and Greek language speakers from Greece and the Mediterranean world up to about 200 AD. : Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Related articles A made a list. This ancient travel guide contained the must-see statues, monuments, and places near Greece. These sites came to be known as the Seven Wonders of the World Seven Wonders of the World, in ancient classifications, were the Great Pyramid of Khufu (see pyramid) or all the pyramids with or without the sphinx; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, with or without the walls; the mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Artemision at Ephesus; . Since then, wars, accidents, fires, and earthquakes have taken their toll, leaving only one ancient wonder--the Pyramids of Giza--still standing. A group called the New7Wonders Foundation thinks it's time to update the top-seven list, and they want everyone's opinion to count. They have pared the list to 21 present-day wonders front around the globe (see map, p. 15). Would-be voters can go online to choose which historical sites should make the final cut. How are the top contenders holding up to the test of time? Will they stiffer fates similar to the original Seven Wonders? Science World spoke with experts to find out how some of the sites are faring, and what's being done to protect them. 1 MYSTERIOUS MOAI MOAI Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor MOAI Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation MOAI Mortgages Online At Interfirst (Interfirst Bank) Ester Island--Chile PROBLEM: WEATHERING This South Pacific island is dotted with hundreds of giant statues, called Moai. Long ago, each statue was carved from blocks of the same igneous ig·ne·ous adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of fire. 2. Geology a. Formed by solidification from a molten state. Used of rocks. b. Of or relating to rock so formed; pyrogenic. , or volcanic, rock that produced rile island. Many of the statues are partially buried under shifting soil, so only their heads are visible. "Most people don't realize that the heads have torsos hidden underneath the ground," says Robert J. Koestler, director of the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute. Being covered actually helps protect the statues, he adds. After thousands of years of rain and sea spray pelting the soft igneous stone, weathering has washed away many of the heads' facial features. Plants, bacteria, and fungi growing in cracks in the moist stone also break down the statues. One of the best-preserved Moai is on exhibit in the British Museum in London--far from Easter Island's harsh environment. 2 PHARAOHS' TOMBS Pyramid of Giza--Egypt PROBLEM: WEATHERING These colossal pyramids have stood in the desert outside of Cairo, Egypt, for more than 4,000 years. Ancient Egyptians built the tombs to honor their Pharaohs--the kings whom they believed to be gods. The blocks they used to build the pyramids were cut out of limestone, a sedimentary rock formed when layers of soil are deposited on top of each other. The pyramids once had smooth sides, but wind-blown sand has scoured away most of their outer shell. This weathering has exposed jagged inner layers. Archaeologists have learned much about ancient Egyptian culture by examining the pyramids, though they still debate how builders put the heavy blocks in place. However the pyramids were created, they were built to last. 3 LOST CITY Petra--Jordan PROBLEM: EARTHQUAKES The city of Petra is hidden deep within a desert canyon. To enter, visitors first pass through a narrow crack of rock with walls hundreds of feet high on either side. The Nabataeans, the ancient people who built the city, chiseled chis·eled or chis·elled adj. Made or shaped with or as if with a chisel: a finely chiseled nose. Adj. 1. many of the buildings right out of the sandstone walls. But Petra's location had a major downfall; it lies in the Great Rift Valley Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, the Jordan valley, the Dead Sea, and the Gulf of Aqaba. . As the ground moves along this fault, it generates earthquakes. Result: More than 90 percent of the city is now buried in rubble. Archaeologists like Martha Sharp Joukowsky of Brown University in Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. are working to dig out to depart; to leave, esp. hastily; decamp. See also: Dig the buildings. "Despite being in an earthquake-prone area, most of the buildings carved out of rock are still standing," she says. 4 MONUMENT TO LOVE Taj Mahal--India 4 PROBLEM: POLLUTION When Shah Jehan's wife died, the Muslim emperor spared no expense in building an enormous domed mausoleum mausoleum (môsəlē`əm), a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erected (c.352 B.C. fit for his queen. The Taj Mahal's gleaming, white surface is made from marble, a metamorphic rock formed when heat and pressure underground cause minerals to crystallize crys·tal·lize also crys·tal·ize v. crys·tal·lized also crys·tal·ized, crys·tal·liz·ing also crys·tal·iz·ing, crys·tal·liz·es also crys·tal·iz·es v.tr. 1. . Polishing these crystals produces a translucent, shining surface. Despite the Taj's romantic history, the modern world may be taking its toll on the monument. Factories, oil refineries, and cars in the nearby city of Agra pump pollution into the air. The pollutants have begun to eat away and discolor dis·col·or v. dis·col·ored, dis·col·or·ing, dis·col·ors v.tr. To alter or spoil the color of; stain. v.intr. To become altered or spoiled in color. the white marble. So far, some of the damaged sections of stone have been replaced and the Indian government is working on ways to improve the city's air quality. 5 ENGINEERING MARVEL Eiffel Tower--France PROBLEM: CORROSION Named after its designer, Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, this tower is the most visited monument in the world. Eiffel built the tower in 1889 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. It is the tallest structure in the Paris skyline, standing 324 meters (1,063 feet) tall. The tower is made entirely of the metal iron. Since metals are good conductors of heat, when temperatures warm up during the day the tower's metal frame expands, causing it to lean as much as 28 centimeters (7.1 inches). Luckily, the tower was designed to bend easily. A bigger risk: Oxygen from the air and rainwater can cause iron to rest. To prevent this type of corrosion, high-climbing workers repaint Re`paint´ v. t. 1. To paint anew or again; as, to repaint a house; to repaint the ground of a picture. s> Verb 1. the tower every seven years. 6 SYMBOL OF FREEDOM Statue of Liberty--United States PROBLEM: CORROSION Given as a gift from France to the U.S. in 1886, the Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty great symbolic structure in New York harbor. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : America Statue of Liberty perhaps the most famous monument to independence. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : Freedom , stands on an island in New York Harbor New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the Ports of New York and New Jersey". . "It's the first thing many immigrants saw when they arrived in America and [is] a symbol of freedom," says Pamela Jerome, a professor of historic preservation at Columbia University in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . The thin copper layer covering the statue was once the color of a penny. This layer is now blue-green--the result of the metal reacting with water mid air to create copper carbonate. This naturally occurring coating protects the remaining copper underneath. Water also corroded cor·rode v. cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing, cor·rodes v.tr. 1. To destroy a metal or alloy gradually, especially by oxidation or chemical action: acid corroding metal. much of the statue's original iron skeleton. To ensure Lady Liberty's safety, beginning in 1984, iron pieces were replaced with the alloy stainless steel--a durable mixture of iron, carbon, and other metals. 7 CITY IN THE CLOUDS Machu Picchu--Peru PROBLEM: EROSION The ancient city of Machu Picchu sits atop a peak in Peru's Andes Mountains. To create space to grow food, the Incas carved terraces into the steep slopes. These steps prevented erosion by stopping soil from washing down the mountainsides. But a different type of erosion now threatens the city: The pounding feet of tourists are damaging the city's fragile stones. Thousands visit the city every day, says Michelle Berenfeld, a program manager for the World Monuments Fund The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a New York-based private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training. (WMF (filename extension) wmf - The filename extension for a Windows Metafile. ). Among other things, the WMF develops plans to help tourists better navigate historical places. "Sites like Machu Picchu are the only things left to tell us about cultures that are now gone. But the more people know and appreciate a site, the more they will want to preserve it," says Berenfeld. THE NEW 7 WONDERS FINALISTS Here are the 21 contenders. Science World takes you on a tour of seven of them (see labeled locations, right). (1) Easter Island Statues, Chile (2) Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (3) Petra Ancient City, Jordan (4) Taj Mahal, India (5) Eiffel Tower, France (6) Statue of Liberty, United States (7) Machu Picchu, Peru (8) Christ the Redeemer Christ the Redeemer (often from Spanish and Portuguese Cristo Redentor) may be a reference to:
(9) Chichen Itza Aztec site, Mexico (10) Timbuktu City, Mall (11) Alhambra, Spain (12) Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom (13) Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany (14) Kremlin/St. Basil's, Russia (15) Colosseum Colosseum or Coliseum (both: kŏləsē`əm), Ital. Colosseo, common name of the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome, near the southeast end of the Forum, between the Palatine and Esquiline hills. , Italy (16) Acropolis acropolis (əkrŏp`əlĭs) [Gr.,=high point of the city], elevated, fortified section of various ancient Greek cities. The Acropolis of Athens, a hill c.260 ft (80 m) high, with a flat oval top c. , Greece (17) Hagia Sophia Church, Turkey (18) Great Wall, China (19) Kiyomizu Temple, Japan (20) Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia (21) Sydney Opera House Sydney Opera House Performing-arts centre on the harbour in Sydney, Australia. Its dynamic, imaginative design by Danish architect Jørn Utzon (b. 1918) won a competition in 1957 and brought Utzon international fame. , Australia [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] web extra You can vote for the next Seven Wonders of the World online at www.new7wonders.com. The winning sites will be announced on July 7, 2007. PRE-READING PROMPTS Jump-start your lesson with these pre-reading questions: * You Your may have heard of the Seven Wonders of the World, but you may have a hard time naming even one. Do you know why? * Many ancient monuments were carved from stone. Some types of stone are very porous, so they easily absorb water. And when temperatures drop, this water can freeze and expand. What effect do you think this process might have on ancient structures? CRITICAL THINKING: * Scientists believe the ancient civilization that built the giant Moai on Easter Island collapsed after using up all the island's resources. What happened? The islanders cut down all of the island's palm-tree forests to create more land to grow crops. How might cutting down trees change the peoples' ability to survive on the island? CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS: LANGUAGE ARTS: Each year, the World Monuments Fund creates a watch list of historical sites in need of preservation. Have every student visit www.wmf.org/resources/interactive. html and select an endangered monument. Then have him or her design a plaque that educates tourists about the selected site's history, its importance and threats to its survival. RESOURCES * To find out more about how erosion can wear down world wonders, read the Geotimes article at: www.agiweb.org/geotimes/june04/feature_petra.html * See if you can correctly figure out the original seven world wonders using science clues. Test your knowledge at this Web site: www.pbs.org/wghb/nova/sunken/wonders DIRECTIONS: Answer the following in complete sentences. 1. Which of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World still stands? 2. How does sedimentary rock form? What is an example of a sedimentary rock? 3. What type of rock is marble? How does this type of rock form? 4. What is the Eiffel Tower made of? What causes the material to rust? 5. What are the Moai statues of Easter Island made of? Why are they deteriorating? ANSWER: 1. Of the original Seven Wonders of the World the Great Pyramid of Giza "Great Pyramid" redirects here. You may have been looking for the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa, and is the only remaining is the only one still standing. 2. A sedimentary rock forms as a result of layers of soil deposited on top of each other. Limestone is a sedimentary rock. 3. Marble is a metamorphic rock. It forms when heat and pressure underground cause mineral to crystallize. 4. The Eiffel Towers is made entirely of the metal iron. Oxygen from the air and rain water can cause iron to corrode cor·rode v. cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing, cor·rodes v.tr. 1. To destroy a metal or alloy gradually, especially by oxidation or chemical action: acid corroding metal. and rust. 5. Each Moai statue was carved from blocks of igneous rock. After thousands of years of rain and sea spray pelting the soft, volcanic stone, weathering has washed away many of the statues' facial features. Plants bacteria and fungi grow in cracks in the moist stone slowly breaking down the statues |
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