The ruins of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis Much of the original marble which formed the roof and frieze now forms a pile of rubble at its base. Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building. The Parthenon Frieze is the low relief Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon ’s naos. For the compilation album series see Rubble series, for the currency see Ruble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size

This article is about ruins in architecture; for other meanings, see Ruins (disambiguation).

Ruins is a term used to describe the remains of man-made architecture: structures that were once complete but which have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation Maintenance repair and operations or maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO is fixing any sort of mechanical or Electrical device should it Natural disaster, war and depopulation are the commonest root causes, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering. A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Depopulation is a term used to describe any great reduction in a human population Weathering is the decomposition of earth rocks, Soils and their Minerals through direct contact with the planet's Atmosphere.

There are famous ruins all over the world, from ancient sites in China, the Indus valley and Judea to Zimbabwe in Africa, ancient Greek, Egyptian and Roman sites in the Mediterranean basin, and Incan and Mayan sites in the Americas. Yinxu ( is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty ( 1766 BC - 1050 BC) The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600&ndash1900 BCE abbreviated IVC, was an ancient Civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Ruins are of great importance to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists, whether they were once individual fortifications, places of worship, houses and utility buildings, or entire villages, towns and cities. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for A place of worship or house of worship is a building or other location where a group of people (a congregation) comes to perform acts of religious praise honour Many ruins have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites in recent years, to identify and preserve them as areas of outstanding value to humanity. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[1]

Cities in ruins

San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: Ruins in vicinity of Post and Grant Avenue.

Ancient cities were often highly militarized and fortified defensive settlements. Militarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for A settlement is a general term used in Archeology, Landscape history and other subjects for a permanent or temporary community in which people live which avoids being In times of war they were the central focus of armed conflict and would be sacked and ruined in defeat. Looting ( Hindi lūṭ akin to Sanskrit luṭhati steals also Latin latro, latronis ^[2] Although less central to modern conflict, vast areas of 20th century cities such as Warsaw, Dresden, Coventry, London and Berlin were left in ruins following World War II, and a number of major cities around the world – such as Beirut, Kabul, Sarajevo, Grozny and Baghdad – have been partially or completely ruined in recent years as a result of more localised warfare. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Beirut (بيروت Bayrūt) is the Capital and Largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2 } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with TemplateInfobox City for more fields--> Sarajevo is the Capital city and largest urban center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Grozny (Гро́зный Соьлж-ГIала Sölƶ-Ġala or Соьлжа-ГIала Sölƶa -Ġala sometimes referred to as ce Джовхар-ГIала Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous ^[3]

Cities have been also been ruined, and some occasionally lost entirely, to natural disasters. The ancient city of Pompeii was completely lost during a volcanic eruption in the 1st century CE, its uncovered ruins now preserved as a World Heritage Site. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. The city of Lisbon was totally destroyed in 1755 by a massive earthquake and tsunami, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake left the city in almost complete ruin. Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on November 1 1755 at around 940 in the morning An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when

Deliberate destruction

Ury House, Aberdeenshire ruined by removal of the roof after the Second World War to avoid taxation. The current incarnation of Ury House is a Ruined large Mansion built in the Elizabethan style in 1885 by Alexander Baird Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain is one of the 32 unitary Council areas in Scotland. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Apart from acts of war, some important historic buildings have fallen victim to deliberate acts of destruction as a consequence of social, political and economic factors. The spoliation of public monuments in Rome was under way the the fourth century, when it was covered in protective legislation in the Theodosian Code^[4] and in new legislation of Majorian. The Codex Theodosianus ( Book of Theodosius) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312 Iulius Valerius Maiorianus (November 420 - 7 August 461) commonly known as Majorian, was Western Roman Emperor (457 ^[5] and the dismantling increased once popes were free of imperial restrictions. ^[6] Marble was still being burned for agricultural lime in the Roman Camapgna into the nineteenth century. In Europe, many religious buildings suffered as a result of the politics of the day. In the 16th century, the English monarch Henry VIII set about confiscating the property of monastic institutions in a campaign which became known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded Many abbeys and monsateries fell into ruin when their assets, including lead roofs, were stripped. An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly

Following World War II, a number of European historic buildings fell into ruin as a result of taxation policies, which required all structures with roofs to pay substantial property tax. Property tax, or millage tax, is an Ad valorem tax that an owner pays on the value of the property being taxed The owners of these buildings, like Fetteresso Castle (now restored) and Slains Castle in Scotland, deliberately destroyed their roofs in protest at, and defiance of, the new taxes. Fetteresso Castle is a 14th century towerhouse, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish gothic style Palladian manor with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site Slains redirects here note that the term can also be used to refer to the general area surrounding the castle New Slains Castle is a Ruined Castle Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Other decrees of government have had a more direct result, such as the case of Beverston Castle, in which the English parliament ordered significant destruction of the castle to prevent it being used by opposition Royalists. Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle, was originally constructed as a Medieval stone Fortress and is situated in the village of Beverston England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War ( 1642 &ndash 1651

Relics of steel and wooden towers

As a rule, towers built of steel are dismantled, when not used any more, because their construction can be either rebuilt on a new site or if state of construction does not allow a direct reuse, the metal can be recycled economically. However sometimes tower basements remain, because their removal can sometimes be expensive. One example of such a basement is the basement of the former radio mast of Deutschlandsender Herzberg/Elster. The Deutschlandsender Herzberg/Elster was a 500 kilowatt long-wave transmitter at Herzberg/Elster, which was in service from 1939 to 1945

The basements of large wooden towers such as Transmitter Ismaning may also be left behind, because removing them would be difficult. The Transmitter Ismaning is a large radio station inaugurated in 1932

Ruins made-to-measure: the "Roman Ruin" in the park at Schönbrunn, c 1800

Aesthetics of ruins

In the Middle Ages Roman ruins were inconvenient impediments to modern life, quarries for pre-shaped blocks for building projects, or of marble to be burnt for agricultural lime, and subjects for satisfying commentaries on the triumph of Christianity and the general sense of the world's decay, in what was assumed to be its last age, before the Second Coming. In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic With the Renaissance, ruins took on new roles among a cultural elite, as examples for a consciously revived and purified architecture all' antica, and for a new esthetic appreciation of their innate beauty as objects of venerable decay. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The chance discovery of Nero's Domus Aurea at the turn of the sixteenth century, and the early excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii had marked effects on current architectural styles, in Raphael's Rooms at the Vatican and in neoclassical interiors, respectively. The Domus Aurea ( Latin for "Golden House" was a large landscaped portico Villa, designed to take advantage of artificially created landscapes Herculaneum (in modern Italian Ercolano) is an ancient Roman town located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in The four Stanze di Raffaello ("Raphael's rooms" in the Palace of the Vatican form a suite of reception rooms the public part of the papal apartments Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century both as a reaction against the Rococo The new sense of historicism that accompanied neoclassicism led some artists and designers to conceive of the modern classicising monuments of their own day as they would one day appear as ruins. Historicism refers to philosophical theories that include one or both of two claims that there is an organic succession of developments a notion also

Ruins remain a popular subject for painting and creative photography and are often romanticized in film and literature, providing scenic backdrops or used as metaphors for other forms of decline or decay. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects For example, the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle in England inspired Turner to create several paintings; in 1989 the ruined Dunnottar Castle in Scotland was used for filming of Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Dunstanburgh Castle lies on a spectacular headland on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 &ndash 19 December 1851 was an English Romantic landscape painter, Watercolourist and Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Dunnottar Castle is a ruined Medieval Fortress located upon a precipitous rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles Hamlet is a 1990 Film based on the Shakespearean play of the same name. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, AO (born January 3 1956 Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American Singer and Actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known Ruins are also found in many places in the Massive Multiplayer Online game Runescape. The Civilization series of turn-based strategy computer games features ruins as special tiles which may provide the player with a bonus when explored. Civilization is a series of Turn-based strategy Video games produced by Sid Meier.

See also

• Folly, for garden ruins
• Dissolution of the monasteries
• Ozymandias
• Shipwreck

References

External links

• Christopher Woodward, In Ruins (London: Vintage, 2002)
• Tim Edensor, Industrial Ruins: Space, Aesthetics and Materiality (London: Berg, [2005)
• Dylan Trigg, The Aesthetics of Decay: Nothingness, Nostalgia, and the Absence of Reason(New York: Peter Lang, 2006)
• Robert Ginsberg, The Aesthetics of Ruins (New York/Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004)
• Bibliography: Loss, Decay, Ending of Place
• Macaulay, Rose, The Pleasure of Ruins