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Wannaskan Almanac for Tuesday, March 19, 2019


One of my favorite things to do is to imagine what it would be like to go back in time.  I sort of do this every time I visit Wannaska.  One house in particular is great because it has no wifi, no Facebook (although it does have a lot of books to put your face into) and no video games.  It is like you are going back in time to 1979.  The phone is an old rotary one which might even precede 1979.  The house was probably built in the early 1900’s.  The basement is rumored to have been made from stones that were taken from Stonehenge.  It is an interesting house that takes you back to a time before technology ruined us all.

This got me thinking about the oldest buildings in the world.  What is truly amazing is that all these buildings were constructed before the development of the internet.  This begs the question of how people knew how to do things before YouTube!

The oldest buildings in North America were built by the Pueblos.  The Taos Pueblo is believed to be about a thousand years old.  It is in Taos, New Mexico.  


The oldest buildings…or at least ruins of buildings…in South America are at Sechin Bajo.  These ruins date back to 3500 BC and are found in Peru.  Further research is needed, but it is believed to be the oldest settlement in the Americas.


Africa has many sites that claim to have the oldest building on the continent, but most researchers seem to believe that the Nawamis tombs in Egypt are the oldest.  Bones from these tombs have been dated to be 6000 years old.  If these tombs truly date to 4000 BC then it begs the question…why can’t we study their methods and teach it to the people who construct our roads?  


The oldest building in Asia is Shahr-e Sukhteh.  This translates to the Burnt City.  Located in Iran, these ruins give valuable insight to the bronze age civilization.  It is associated with the Jiroft culture and is believed to date back to 3200 years BC.  


Australia is a relative new comer when it comes to old buildings.  There are actually European built structures in America that predate the oldest building in Australia.  The Wiebbe Hayes stone fort was built in 1629 by survivors of a shipwreck.  That however is ancient compared to the oldest buildings at our next continent.


The oldest surviving buildings in Antarctica are the Cape Adare Huts.  These wooden buildings were constructed by Carsten Borchgrevink in Victoria Land in 1899.  I think you can rent these buildings for a nominal fee…if you are trying to escape the long, cold winters of Wannaska!  (note…bring penguin food)


If you have been keeping track that is 6 continents down…and one to go.  The oldest known buildings are in fact found in Europe.  Before I reveal where, make a guess.  My first thoughts were in Greece or Rome.  Those places are just covered with ancient ruins.  I do want to take a moment and talk about a cute little place that I visited while in Salisbury, England.  The Haunch of Venison Pub in Salisbury was established in 1320.  Next year it will have been open for 700 years.  If you find yourself in England next year, I think it would definitely be worth a visit!  
The oldest building in Europe, and the world for that matter, is the cairn of Barnenez.  It is, surprisingly, in France.  It was built as a passage grave and is believed to date to 4850 BC.  Looking at the shape of it leads me to believe that it was built as a tomb for the Loch Ness Monster.  I think I will go with that.


I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt through history.  Although some of the dates and record holders for age are disputed I believe this is a fairly accurate list.  Your comments below are always welcome! 




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