You may have heard about the impressive and flashy new moving skyscraper set to be erected in Dubai. However, did you know that one man is single-handedly rebuilding his own stone henge (without modern machinery) or that entire Egyptian temples (originally carved out of mountainsides) have been relocated? Here are twelve fantastic feats of ingenuity and structural engineering that range from pragmatic to artistic, from seemingly impossible moving buildings to incredibly creative building moving projects.

(images via: Wikipedia)

In one of the most amazing building moving feats in history the twin temples of Abu Simbel, carved out of an Egyptian mountainside, were moved to avoid flooding from the construction of a nearby dam along the Nile river. Shown above is a model showing the former and current locations, the former being hundreds of feet underwater and the latter placed in new artificial hillsides. The structures had to be carefully cut out piece by piece, labeled and individually reassembled at their new locations.

(images via: Fogonazos)

The Peter Green House at Brown University appears at first glance to be a rickety candidate for a building moving project. The first video above video shows in fast-motion the process of slowly slide the building to its new location a few hundred feet away. Timing was critical for lifting this structure so no unequal stresses were introduced to the building which could have resulted in catastrophic structural failures.

(images via: Plan Philly and Joel Tropp)

Built in the middle of the 1800s the Floating Church of the Redeemer was built in Bordertown, NJ and was towed to a busy dock in Philadelphia. The Churchman’s Missionary Association for Seamen was apparently interested in catering to sailors in a quite direct fashion. The building was eventually rolled onto land where it survived for a few years before succumbing to a Christmas morning fire.

(image via: Aran Johnson)

The London Bridge has an impressive history dating back two thousand years to roman times. It was destroyed and rebuilt dozens of times in wood and stone and it was one such stone bridge that was eventually disassembled and moved, piece by piece, all the way to the United States. The version in Arizona is not a complete replica but it is clad with the original stone and those stones fetched a handsome 2.5 million dollars.

(images via: Solar Navigator)

The Belle Tout lighthouse survived near the edge of a cliff for over 150 years shining light visible for 20 miles. A few years back 20 of the 30 feet of cliff protecting the lighthouse suddenly crumbled, leaving only a few meters between the structure and its destruction on the rocks far below. Unwilling to give up on the building, its owner chose to move it instead and after five months of construction and structural preparation managed a miraculous slide of this 125-ton structure 17 meters to save it

The four videos above show (respectively) the move of the Newton-Wellesly Hospital – a 900 ton brick building – the he simultaneous moves of three wooden structures at Harvard University, and the move of a residence along a canal and the transport of the Schubert Theater. The slower-moving videos have been sped up to show the progress of these incredible building moving projects.

>This man is truly a genius. A simple builder by trade he has turned his talents to recreating the entire structure of Stone Henge – all by himself. How is that possible? He has used a series of simple tricks and elementary home-made wooden machines that anyone could build to do two critical tasks: (1) move large objects (including entire buildings) leveraging with only his own muscle power and (2) tilt up objects using simple weights and pulley systems and, again, only his own strength. What does this prove? That if the original builders of Stone Henge used elementary technology an incredibly small crew could have built it.

(images via: P3dro)

Turning the Place Over is a strange art project in which part of a building was essentially cut out and made to rotate through a series of positions including its original one – a literal deconstruction/reconstruction process to make postmodernists proud. The giant rotator used is a powerful device used in the nuclear industry and the resulting effect is a smooth (though entirely disturbing) view into the building that shifts slowly as the opening twists, morphs and eclipses again in a never-ending sequence.

(images via: Dynamic Architecture)

Perhaps the most talked about ‘moving building’ of all time is the first moving skyscraper set to be built in Dubai. Eighty stories of towers are set to rotate around a central axis facilitated by wind-powered turbines on each floor. There is talk of building these in other major cities around the world but Dubai looks to be the first projected to have one finished – they are aiming for completion in 2010.

Next: 16 Sweet Spinning Structures

A wealth of human history lies submerged in ancient cities at the bottoms of lakes, seas and oceans of the world. Some of these urban centers were sent into the water via earthquakes, tsunamis or other disasters thousands of years ago. Many rui have just recently been rediscovered, by accident or through emergent technological innovations. Some have even caused scientists to question the history of human civilization.

(Check out our complete collection of Underwater and Oceanic Oddities.)

Alexandria, Egypt: Off the shores of Alexandria, the city of Alexander the Great, lie what are believed to be the ruins of the royal quarters of Cleopatra. It is believed that earthquakes over 1,500 years ago were responsible for casting this into the sea, along with artifacts, statues and other parts of Cleopatra’s palace. The city of Alexandria even plans to offer underwater tours of this wonder.

Bay of Cambay, India: A few years back discovered the remains of a vast 9,500 year old city. This submerged ruin has intact architecture and human remains. More significantly, this find predates all finds in the area by over 5,000 years, forcing historians to reevaluate their understanding of the history of civilazation in the region. The find has been termed Dwarka, or the ‘Golden City,’ after an ancient city-in-the sea said to belong to the Hindu god Krishna.

Kwan Phayao, Thailand: In itself perhaps not unusual, a 500 year old Thai temple sits at the bottom of lake Phayao. What makes this case strange is that the lake was actually made intentionally about 70 years ago, and that there has been recent discussion of potentially restoring the temple at the cost of billions of dollars. However, the ruins serve as a habitat for fish that many have argued should remain untouched.

Yonaguni-Jima, Japan: Discovered by a dive tour guide some twenty years ago, controversies have arisen around a mysterious pyramids found off the coast of Japan. These structures seem to have been carved right out of bedrock in a teraforming process using tools previously thought unavailable to ancient cultures of the region.

Havana, Cuba: A team of scientists continues to explore megalithic ruins found in the Yucatan Channel near Cuba. They have found evidence of an extensive urban environment stretching for miles along the ocean shore. Some believe that the civilization that inhabited these predates all known ancient American cultures. So far, only computer models of this mysterious underwater city exist.

North Sea, Europe: A lost natural landscape was found recently under the North Sea, once occupied by human hunter-gatherers over 10,000 years ago. What were once rivers, lakes and oceans are now all at the bottom of the sea, only made known through digital mapping. Scientists theorize that this amazingly well-preserved landscape was at the heart of an ancient civilization spread across Europe.

Atlantis, Antarctica? Over a hundred years ago, a museum curator in Istanbul made a remarkable discovery. Examining an ancient map on gazelle skin, he found a location marking a mountain chain where Antarctica is today. This map is, amazingly, one of many pieces of evidence people have used to try and claim that, in fact, Antarctica is the fabled lost continent of Atlantis. Other evidence includes the recent discovery (via sonar technology) of land under Antarctica as well as the mapping systems used by ancient cartographers, which suggest Atlantis might have been located far from the Mediterranean Sea.

Enjoy this collection? Be sure to check out 7 Abandoned Wonders of the Postmodern World and 7 More Deserted Wonders of the World. Interested in abandonments? See this article on urban exploration.

More Underground, Underwater and Other Wonders of the World

7 Underground Wonders of the World
7 (More!) Underground Wonders of the World
7 Underwater Wonders of the World
7 Island Wonders of the World
7 Engineering Wonders of the World
7 Urban Wonders of the World
7 Wonders of Modern Green Design and Technology

Amazing Abandoned Cities, Places and Property of the World

7 Abandoned Wonders of the World
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of the World
7 Abandoned Wonders of America
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of America
7 (Even More!) Abandoned Wonders of America
7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 (More!) Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union
7 Abandoned Wonders of the European Union