Images

The Kalasasaya sacred precinct at Tiwanaku, Bolivia, c. 300 CE. The walled compound of sandstone blocks created a sacred space measuring 130 by 120 metres used for public and religious ceremonies.

Marble portrait of Caligula (with traces of polychromy), 37-41 CE. (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen)

Cuirassed bust of Caligula, found in Rome, 37-41 CE. (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen)

The colossal statue of Vercingetorix, near the village of Alise-Sainte-Reine, France. Napoleon III erected this seven-meter-tall statue of Vercingétorix in 1865 on the supposed site of Alesia.

The monumental stone statue from Tiwanaku, Bolivia, known as the Ponce Monolith. Such statues perhaps represented the race of stone giants which first populated the world in pan-Andean mythology. Gold pins and traces of piant indicate they...

The Gateway of the Sun in Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco), Bolivia. Carved from a single massive block of andesite stone, the Gateway is 2.8 metres high and 3.8 metres wide. The opening in the gate is 1.4 metres wide. The top portion has relief carvings...

Typical imperial Inca trapezoid windows from the sacred precinct of Coricancha, Cuzco, c. 1438 CE.

The famous stone from an Inca wall in Cuzco, Peru. The stone has 12 angles and illustrates the great precision Inca masons employed in ensuring their stone blocks fitted so well together that no mortar was needed. (15th century CE).

Marble bust of Roman emperor Elagabalus, ruled 218-222 CE. (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen).

Artemisia I of Caria as depicted in the fictional Hollywood movie 300: Rise of an Empire, played by Eva Green. This depiction is a modern cinematic representation of the character and does not reflect the historical Artemisia. This...