Monument

A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event, or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or as an example of historic architecture. The term 'monument' is often applied to buildings or structures that are considered examples of important architectural and/or cultural heritage.

Etymology

The origin of the word "monument" comes from the Latin moneo, monere, which means 'to remind', 'to advise' or 'to warn', suggesting a monument allows us to see the past thus helping us visualize what is to come in the future. In English the word "monumental" is often used in reference to something of extraordinary size and power, as in monumental sculpture, but also to mean simply anything made to commemorate the dead, as a funerary monument or other example of funerary art.

Creation and functions

Monuments have been created for thousands of years, and they are often the most durable and famous symbols of ancient civilizations. Prehistoric tumuli, dolmens, and similar structures have been created in a large number of prehistoric cultures across the world, and the many forms of monumental tombs of the more wealthy and powerful members of a society are often the source of much of our information and art from those cultures. As societies became organized on a larger scale, so monuments so large as to be difficult to destroy like the Egyptian Pyramids, the Greek Parthenon, the Great Wall of China, Indian Taj Mahal or the Moai of Easter Island have become symbols of their civilizations. In more recent times, monumental structures such as the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower have become iconic emblems of modern nation-states. The term monumentality relates to the symbolic status and physical presence of a monument.

Latest News for: Egyption monuments

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8 forgotten women Egyptologists that history overlooked

Business Insider 02 Apr 2025
Many were tourists, but a few were studying the monuments, part of the burgeoning field of Egyptology ... Several were ill and traveled to Egypt for the warm, dry climate ... While Duff-Gordon's "Letters from Egypt" were focused on modern Egypt and her experiences there, Edwards was fascinated by the country's ancient monuments and history....
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The Greek Mummy Portraits Discovered in Fayoum, Egypt

Greek Reporter 01 Apr 2025
Greek Mummy Portraits, Funerary Building Discovered in Fayoum, Egypt ... In December 2022, archaeologists made a remarkable discovery in Fayoum, Egypt – a monumental funerary building dating back to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, along with several stunning Greek mummy portraits....
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The UK has a top secret Pyramid to rival the ones in Egypt - but ...

The Daily Mail 29 Mar 2025
Hidden in the Scottish Highlands lies a mysterious structure that could rival Egypt's iconic ancient pyramids ... But Prince Albert's Cairn is the most unique, thanks to its pyramid-like structure, which bears a resemblance to the monumental ruins of Ancient Egypt or the Aztec pyramids in Mexico....
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When and Why Did Hieroglyphs Stop Being Used in Ancient Egypt?

Greek Reporter 29 Mar 2025
In Theodosius’s edict, which saw the shutting down of temples in ancient Egypt, he also saw to it that the use of hieroglyphs in monumental inscriptions was brought to an end ... banned from any and all monuments and systematically closed down all the temples of ancient Egypt....
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Does the Hall of Records really exist? Scientists reveal the truth about the legendary concept ...

The Daily Mail 24 Mar 2025
Using radar waves, the scholars claim to have found mysterious cylindrical objects descending more than 2,000 feet beneath the 4,500-year-old Khafre Pyramid at Egypt's Giza complex ... Row over what REALLY lies beneath Egypt's, Giza monuments explodes after secret city investigation....
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What's on? Top 10 TV and streaming tips for Tuesday

RTE 18 Mar 2025
Egypt's Cosmic Code, 9.00pm, Sky History ...Bradley fulfils a lifetime ambition to visit the monuments of Ancient Egypt and try to understand how it could have been possible to produce such 'wonders of the ancient world' 4,500 years ago....

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