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Architectural Rendering Firm Creates Animated GIFs Completing Ancient Ruins

Visiting the world’s ancient ruins can be fun for civilians, but frustrating for curious designers who like to complete unfinished images in our heads: Where’s the rest of it? What was this crumbling base meant to support? What was that broken column holding up?

Creative director Przemyslaw Sobiecki and architect Maja Wronska, of architectural and product rendering firm This is Render, apparently felt the same way. The duo zeroed in on seven ancient ruins, recreated them in wireframe and animated renderings to fill in the blanks. Take a look:

Parthenon, Greece

432 BC

The Temple of Athena is a symbol of Ancient Greece and one of the crown jewels of the Acropolis. The building did double duty, serving as both a temple and a treasury of the Athenian Empire.

Nohoch Mul Pyramid (Coba), Mexico

ca. 50 BC

Coba was once a powerful Mayan city-state rivaling the better-known Chichén Itzá. The Nohoch Mul is the second-largest Mayan pyramid in existence.

Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii), Italy

ca. 150 BC

Dedicated to the most powerful god in Roman mythology, the Temple of Jupiter dominated the forum at Pompeii. Only priests were allowed inside the building, which held statues of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.

Milecastle 39 (part of Hadrian’s Wall), UK

ca. 122 AD

The loose inspiration for The Wall in “Game of Thrones,” Hadrian’s Wall bisected what is now the UK, running for 73 miles from east coast to west coast. This is one of the “milecastle” fortifications, each of them being placed a Roman mile away from each other.

Luxor Temple, Egypt

ca. 1100 BC - 1600 BC

Unlike mortuary temples, the Luxor is thought to be where kings received coronation ceremonies. It was once linked to the nearby Karnak Temple by an avenue lined with sphinxes.

The Pyramid of the Sun – Teotihuacán, Mexico

ca. 200 AD

The Pyramid of the Sun is the third-largest pyramid in the world, and the largest structure in Teotihuacán. It was once surfaced in lime plaster and reportedly painted with murals.

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina – Temple B, Italy

ca. 400 BC - 100 AD

Temple B is the centerpiece of what was once a four-temple complex in Rome, which was not discovered until the 1920s. Julius Caesar is thought to have been murdered just steps away, so it’s possible this building was one of the last things he saw.