Not just tall, but towering. There seems to be a need to build extremely tall buildings, but not of a completely logical nature. Unless there is of course something of great value to hide or protect, or you are looking to protect yourself from something, as is said of some of the structures noted below. We have skyscrapers today, so it doesn’t seem to so unusual to our eyes to have massive buildings in cities, not so much in the rural areas though. They would stand out more, just as these remnants of the past do in these modern times.

China – where there are many towers throughout the region of the lower Himalayan mountains, some of them square, some star shaped, but all very tall and looking like a remnant of something industrious. Maybe small components of an old system, like speculated about Star Forts. But it’s said they are ancient from around 200 AD onwards, probably for storage they say and as we do have very large silos today for similar, it doesn’t seem a completely unreasonable explanation at all.

Bologna – the whole city was towers for hundreds of years, with only two towers remaining today. It’s said they were for defensive purposes, but with them taking up to ten years to build each one, and with no real threat put forward as warranting that type of defence, I’m not so sure. But for whatever reason, we like tall and towering structures, in great numbers in some cases.

Water towers and folly’s – there are many dotted throughout England and quite probably Europe and other places too. Mentioned in my article – With Purpose, Or Just Folly?

The Tower of Babel – a famous and disputed tower that was the culmination of one language and a want to break into heaven it is said. with a round tower being built to facilitate this. Although the site of Babylonia is known, and there are ruins of a vast city which are mostly still hidden from view, the small area allocated as the tower doesn’t quite fit. But strangely, there are three circular areas around the city, with spiral designs, and two of then having a very angled edge with one facing water as in the below painting by someone who never visited the site they say. It’s a tantalising myth, and with ruins of a city visible but still have covered and lost to time, who can say for sure.

(c) K Wicks