Random Oldest Surviving Buildings In World (15 items)

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  (#14) Shahr-e Sukhteh (c. 3200 BC) - Iran

  Shahr-i Sokhta means "Burnt City," and it was established at the crossroads of trading routes that existed during the Bronze Age. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, "The remains of the mudbrick city represent the emergence of the first complex societies in eastern Iran."

  The site likely dates back to 3200 BC, and over time it developed distinct areas for monuments, housing, burial, and manufacturing. It is believed that climate change contributed to its abandonment in the second millennium BC.
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  (#2) The Cairn Of Barnenez (c. 4800 BC) - France

  The Cairn de Barnenez predates the Great Pyramid of Giza by about 2,000 years and is the "largest megalithic mausoleum" in Europe. That's a fancy way of saying it's a burial chamber made of stone. 

  The cairn contains 11 passage tombs, where pottery shards, stone axes, and other artifacts have been discovered - some of which date as far back as the Stone Age.
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  (#13) Sechin Bajo (c. 4th Millennium BC) - Peru

  One of the more recent discoveries on this list, Sechin Bajo was unearthed in Casma, Peru, in 2008. It is a ceremonial plaza that was built about 5,500 years ago, making it "one of the oldest structures ever found in the Americas," according to archaeologists. 

  One archaeologist, German Yenque, told Reuters that architecture beneath the plaza itself may date back even earlier. “There are four or five plazas deeper down, which means the structure was rebuilt several times, perhaps every 100 to 300 years.”
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  (#3) The St. Michel Grave Mound (c. 5th Millennium BC) - France

  Located near Carnac, a town in northwestern France, the Tumulus - or grave mound - of St. Michel is the largest such grave mound on the European continent.

  The mound's exact date of construction has been difficult to pin down, but it's believed to have been built sometime in the fifth millennium BC. The chapel seen atop the mound is a relatively new addition.
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  (#1) Wayland's Smithy (c. 4th Millennium BC) - England

  It makes sense that Wayland's Smithy, one of England's oldest standing structures, is located along the Ridgeway, its oldest existing road. Measuring 85 miles from Overton Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon, the Ridgeway is roughly 5,000 years old and dates back to the Bronze Age.

  As for Wayland's Smithy itself, the Neolithic long barrow was constructed around 3400 BC (though it was built atop an older structure that dates to approximately 3500 BC). The Saxons believed it was the home of Wayland, a legendary blacksmith in Scandinavian, Germanic, and Anglo-Saxon mythology.
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  (#7) Monte d'Accoddi (c. 4th Millennium BC) - Italy

  Among the many ancient ruins to be found in the Mediterranean region, Monte D’Accoddi stands out for its stepped pyramid structure. Constructed by Sardinia's ancient Ozieri culture more than 6,000 years ago, the temple or altar is believed to have been used for rituals.

  Occupied from the late Stone Age and through the Bronze Age, the ruins have been described by Professor Maria Grazia Melis as "probably the most comprehensive representation of prehistory in Sardinia."

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