Famous Rocks and Rolling Stones

(At the British Museum)

A black basalt stone, which discovery in the Egyptian village of Rashid somehow paved the way to the modern understanding of the once forgotten language of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It has been displayed in the British Museum in London since 1802, and contains three distinct bands of engraved inscription: hieroglyphics, demotic and ancient Greek.

Pantuo Rock

Situated in Zhejiang province atop the island mountain of Putuo, one of four sacred Buddhist site in China, is this rock that has its name in Chinese characters (literally “a huge stone on a mountain”) carved on it by a general from Ming Dynasty. It seems to be standing on top of another rock by the smallest contact point and very much likely to fall but has been firmly in place for millenia.

Stonehenge

Britain’s most famous prehistoric site that was erected using sarsens arranged in circles and has been standing in vigil on the Salisbury Plain near Amesbury for over five thousand years. How and why this megalithic monument was constructed has remained a mystery but theories abound that it was built by extra-terrestrials or the Druids, and that it was used for burial rituals or as an astronomical observatory.

Dome of the Rock

The structure sitting atop a plot of elevated platform in Jerusalem Israel identified by the Jews and Christians as the “Temple Mount”, and by the Muslims as “Haram al-Sharif” (”Noble Sanctuary” in Arabic). Inside this Islamic Shrine resides a rock in its center, on which Muslims believe was where Mohammed began his ascent to heaven, while Jews believe was where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Tarpeian Rock

The steep cliff used by the ancient Romans as an execution site from which criminals and traitors were thrown to their deaths. Lying south of the Capitoline Hill overlooking the Forum in Rome, it was named after a vestal virgin, who betrayed Rome to the Sabines in exchange for their gold bracelets but was instead crushed to death with their shields in expression of disgust for her actions.

Other history articles:

·        Warrior Women

·        Mighty Women

·        Man-made Environmental Disasters

·        Famous Teen Deaths

·        Birthday Deaths

·        Bizarre Deaths series

o       10 Bizarre Deaths in History

o       10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History

o       10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History

·        US Presidential Trivia series

o       1^st to the 15^th President

o       16^th to the 30^th President

o       31^st to the new President-elect

·        Holocaust themed series

o       Famous Holocaust Survivors

o       Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 1

o       Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 2