Modern Ruins

History is littered with civilizations that failed. Failed for many reasons, political, environmental, etc. They exist throughout the world in all manner of geographies and climates, though they do tend to be concentrated within a narrow range north and south of the equator (at least in my understanding of them).

Some highlights:

Angkor Wat - Cambodia
Way more impressive than I ever realized - recent satellite studies have shown this complex to be unbelievably vast. Most likely failed as a result of exceeding the capability of their environment to support them, coupled with other political and disease factors.


Pompeii - Italy

Everybody knows the story on this one. Vesuvius erupts and takes out Pompeii and another nearby city Herculaneum.









Copan - Honduras

Copan is one of dozens of sites in Central America once part of the Mayan civilization. While descendants of the Maya still exist, nothing remains of their civilization but ruins, many of which remained swallowed by the jungle.










All of these ruins were part of civilizations that existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They probably seemed generally invincible to those that lived there, but they still failed. Other than the possible dissolution of our civilization (meaning The United States) and absorption into a larger world culture, are they places that we could look to as likely ruins?

Travel through the west and you'll find plenty of old mining towns. The town of Centralia Pennsylvania has a fascinating history, and a remarkable demise. The old mining towns were rarely more than a collection of enterprising people who knew that their time was limited, but Centralia fits remarkably well into this idea of modern ruin.

Is New Orleans destined to become either a modern ruin, or some quaint museum piece. Is it reasonable to rebuild a place so tenuously holding its place in the world against the overwhelming force of mother nature.

What about Phoenix? Or Las Vegas. Two places that have no business being so large in places with so little water. Can they possibly last another 100 years?

The town of Chelsea, in Iowa, was regularly the victim of flooding, and after the floods of 1993, decided collectively to relocate to higher ground. But Chelsea is a tiny place with only a handful of residents. Could you imagine moving New Orleans? Would it still be New Orleans?

It seems to me that we, as a society are blind to the realities of time. We assume that what we know will always be there, even though it may change over time, we simply don't consider the fact that it could go away altogether. Look at the satellite photos from the tsunami in Indonesia. These places are forever changed. The no longer look anything like they did before, but they maintained continuity. It doesn't always work that way, and that is a thought worth considering.