1. Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
THE first Westerners to see Great Zimbabwe were so stunned they thought they'd stumbled on King Solomon's Mines. Visitors today are equally impressed. In medieval times up to 20,000 people called this area home - today the 81-hectare central ruins are a mass of stacked granite boulders, tiny passageways and snaking walls. The best bit is the 9m-high, 245m-round Great Enclosure which is crowned by the Conical Tower, possibly a phallic symbol. Set in a country as renowned for turmoil as it is for ruins, just getting here can be fairly extreme.
2. Nazca Lines, Peru
IT'S the kind of archaeological site you couldn't invent. A giant hummingbird, monkey and spider all traced 2000 years ago into the Peruvian desert. And the killer is they can't be seen from the ground. No one's quite sure how the ancient Nazca pulled off this artistic conjuring trick, but they mapped out an incredible 800 geoglyphs; shapes, straight lines and pictures on the plain. At ground level it looks like an unimpressive stretch of red-brown earth. But when a light airplane whisks you skywards a 60m whale, 120m condor and 275m pelican unfold before your eyes.
3. Vesuvius & Pompeii, Italy
THE rounded cone of Mt Vesuvius punctures the horizon, towering above the Bay of Naples. A testing half-hour hike up this active volcano reveals a whopping crater, plumes of fumes and a bird's-eye view of Pompeii. The Roman city of Pompeii was famously frozen in time by the ash and burning pumice stone which spewed from Vesuvius in AD 79. The city's excavated ruins are a profound and pitiful mix of the monumental and the mundane: the imposing amphitheatre and forum sit alongside homes and bakeries. Lookout for the Cave Canem (Beware of the Dog) sign, and the saucy pictures on the brothel walls.
4. Hadrian's Wall, England
MOST walls aren't that interesting. Hadrian's is. In AD 122, this Roman bricklayer extraordinaire bowled up in Britain and decided to build a 118km barrier across northern England to keep those troublesome barbarians out. The Emperor's legacy is a sometimes fragmented stone chain draped across the stunning scenery of Northumberland National Park. The craggy coast-to-coast archaeological ramble takes about seven days. On the way you'll encounter a world of ramparts, towers and fortlets - and develop a whole lot of respect for the blokes who built it 1800 years ago.
5. Machu Picchu, Peru
THIS could be the hike of your life: a 33km, four-day trek through forest into the heart of the Inca Empire. At 2350m you'll encounter mountain passes, stoic llamas and thousands of footsore tourists. You'll also see breathtakingly beautiful Machu Picchu clinging to a ridge between two precipitous peaks at the end of the Inca Trail. This complex of palaces, terraces, temples and tombs was inhabited in the 15th and 16th centuries and only came to the attention of the wider world in 1911. Conservationist urge responsible trekking to ensure it's around for the next 500 years.
6. Mt Olympus, Greece
HOME of fickle gods and even more fickle weather patterns, mist-shrouded Mt Olympus soars 3000m into the heavens west of the Aegean. This is the place where Zeus let off thunderbolts, Apollo sunbathed and Dionysus dropped by for a drink. The three-day scramble to the summit takes you through lower slopes carpeted with wild flowers, and rich forests of beech, oak and cedar. It's an epic, Homeric hike to the tops which, provided the clouds haven't snuck in, reveals a god's-eye view of the mortals below.
7. Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an, China
WHAT would you take with you to the afterlife? How about 8000 life-sized soldiers, horses and war chariots? China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried alongside these 2000 years ago. Despite the number of these troops, he was unlikely to have asked 'haven't I seen you before?' - each terracotta figure has different facial features. It's not just the army; acrobats, strongmen, musicians and birds have also been discovered. Endless ranks of mottled, cracked figures stretch off into the distance. And that's not the end of it. It's estimated that thousands more have yet to be unearthed.
8. Valley of the Kings, Egypt
HIKE or take a donkey ride to 1500 BC and the tomb-laden Valley of the Kings. As the sun beats down, the dust coats your clothes and the thirst builds in your throat, marvel at past majesty. An extraordinary 62 tombs are buried beneath the shifting sands here, including the final resting places of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun and some of Ramses II's 52 sons. Forget talk of curses; peer down shafts, go underground and explore a world of chambers, rich murals and hieroglyphics.
9. Silbury Hill, Uk
THE biggest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe is surprisingly little known. Silbury Hill is 4400 years old, took an estimated four million man-hours to build and is made up of half a million tonnes of chalk and rubble. All that effort was possibly for a now similarly obscure character: King Zel (or Sil). Handily Silbury, in Wiltshire, is just a few miles from the infinitely better known ancient sites at Stonehenge and Avebury. So once you've cricked your neck looking up to Silbury's 30m summit, you can head off to gaze at the mystical monuments nearby.
10. Rome, Italy
AN archaeological site with a modern city tucked into it, Rome is the ultimate ancient urban adventure. While oh-so-stylish locals perform their famous passeggiata (languid stroll), take a timeless walking tour of your own. Start by checking out, from the interior, the perfect dome that tops the Pantheon; debate the merits of wandering the ruins of the Imperial Forums; and end with giving a thumbs up to the stunning Colosseum. Be warned: cacophonous, chaotic and effortlessly classical - Rome can't be walked in a day.
