The new 7 wonders of the world

Ancient seven wonders

The seven wonders of the world known to the

Hellenistic Greeks were selected by the Dutch
painter Maerten van Heemskrerck in the 16th
century in a series of seven paintings, showing
the architectural and sculptural works that
marked a before and after in history.1
Previously authors such as Philo of Byzantium,
Antipater of Sidon, Gregory Nazianzus or Bede
the Venerable, among others, had made their
respective lists. Only one of them is currently
standing. While the existence of others is still a
mystery for researchers and experts in the
field. The most frequently asked question is:
Hellenistic culture considered such a figure to
be the perfect number.

Voting system
The vote was public. Participants had to
register an email on the corporation's website
and choose their favorite candidates. It was
also possible to vote via SMS and through a
paid telephone number. One of the criticisms
of the system used was, in practice, nothing
prevented the same person from voting more
than once, as long as they did so from a
different email or SMS. It was possible to vote
for a single candidate and receive a certificate
of the specific vote for the payment of two US
dollars.

In each vote, seven candidates were chosen

from a long initial list, drawn up by the
corporation, and which was increased at the
request of different countries or massive
requests from voters. In the last months of the
voting, only the 21 candidates who until then
had obtained the most votes participated.
Before the protests of the Egyptian
government in the final stage, the Pyramids of
Giza were eliminated from the list, a fact that
was concealed by the organizers, assigning it
the status of Honorary Candidate, because it is
the only one of the Seven Wonders of the
World. Ancient that remains standing.

Man-made structures up to the year 2000

were admitted to this selection, provided that
they were still standing today. The results were
announced on 07/07/07, that is, on July 7,
2007 at the Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon
(Portugal), in a great ceremony.

Construction technique of the Great Wall of

China
Unrestored part of the Great Wall of China
Since the first construction of the Great Wall,
the walls of northern China were made of
bricks and stones. Usually they were, at first,
piles of dirt and rocks. Later, during its
reconstruction and expansion under the Ming
Dynasty, the Great Wall of China acquired a
more solid appearance through the systematic
use of bricks and stones. Seen in section, it is
wider at the foot than at the top and its walls
are slightly sloping. The wall has an average
width of 7 m, with a maximum of 10 m in some
places; and an average height of 9 m, with a
maximum of 15 m.1

The splendor of this wall built for military

purposes under different dynasties, such as the
Hans and the Mings, was achieved thanks to
the work of thousands of men, over several
generations and at significant expenses for the
Chinese state of the time. "A labor policy was
necessary in such a gigantic company."

To successfully build such an infrastructure, it

is necessary to discuss the administrative
structure. In fact, a rational system of
organization and supervision was necessary.
"Some tasks were divided and distributed
among the areas of the garrison; in other
places, large contingents were assembled to
tackle entire portions of work." 2

Materials come from different places and

come in different forms. In fact, earth, stone,
wood, and tiles (or tiles) are the main
materials used in the construction of the Great
Wall. "It was built according to various
methods, depending on the time and place:
large blocks of dry stone, layers of clay, solid
bricks, thanks to the presence of rice flour, like
our current concretes."

History of the wall

In the 8th century BC. C., at the beginning of

the period known as springs and autumns,
China follows a feudal system. The territory is
divided into hundreds of fiefdoms or states run
by princes, in theory all reunited under the
kings of the Zhou dynasty. But over time, these
fiefdoms were annexed by the princes forming
great principalities in the 6th century BC. C .;
some of them were Chu and Wu. China was
rapidly fragmented into several independent
kingdoms: it is the beginning of the Warring
States period.
At that time, several states committed to the
construction of walls to protect themselves
from their neighbors and foreign peoples.
Thus, around the 5th century BC. C., the state
of Qi begins the construction of a wall; some of
its parts are still standing. In the middle of the
4th century BC. C., the state of Wei began the
construction of a wall in its western border,
near Qi, and a second wall in its eastern
border. It was imitated by the states of Yan
and Zhao.

Commonly, the technique used to make the

walls was layers of soil of a few centimeters
that are compacted one on top of the other,
between wooden planks. The wooden planks
were subsequently removed, leaving a wall of
very hard compacted earth. This method could
quickly develop solid walls that can withstand
centuries.
GREAT WALL OF CHINA
DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT STATUS
built and rebuilt between the 5th century BC.
C. and the 16th century to protect the
northern border of the Chinese Empire during
the successive imperial dynasties from the
attacks of the Xiongnu nomads of Mongolia
and Manchuria.
Counting its ramifications and secondary
constructions, it is estimated to be about
21,200 km long, 2 from the border with Korea,
along the Yalu River, to the Gobi Desert, along
an arc that roughly delineates the southern
edge of Inner Mongolia, although today only
30% of it is preserved. On average, it is 6 to 7
m tall and 4 to 5 m wide.
The wall was designated a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1987.