Ruins No. 7 · Sunday, November 8, 2026

Where they stood

The day's five sites and where they are today.

Dholavira

1TodayKhadir Bet, India

2EraIndus Valley Civilization

3A signboard of ten large Indus script signs was found near its north gate.

4Its people stored water in a chain of stone-lined reservoirs.

5UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 2021.

1TodayCadiz, Spain

2EraPhoenician colony

3Tradition dates its founding by Phoenicians to about 1100 BC.

4Hannibal sacrificed to Melqart here before setting off to invade Italy.

5Julius Caesar granted its people Roman citizenship in 49 BC.

1TodayMacquarie Harbour, Australia

2EraPenal station, 1822 to 1833

3Convicts here cut Huon pine and built ships.

4Convict Alexander Pearce escaped in 1822 and later admitted to cannibalism.

5The station closed in 1833 and its convicts were transferred elsewhere.

1TodayArgolis, Greece

2EraMycenaean civilization

3It is noted for its Cyclopean tunnels and walls.

4Heinrich Schliemann returned here in 1884 and dug for five months.

5Argos destroyed the town around 468 BC.

1Todaynear Shiraz, Iran

2EraElamite Kingdom

3It was a highland capital of the Elamites.

4Cyrus the Great called himself king of Anshan.

5Its site was identified at Tall-e Malyan in the 1970s.

Five new sites every day at midnight.