10 Legendary Lost Cities That Have Actually Been Found

6-Sigiriya: The Eighth Wonder Of The World

In Sri Lanka, in the fifth century AD, King Kassapa built his palace atop a boulder that was 200 meters (650 ft) tall. According to the legends, it was one of the most incrediblecastles in the world. To get in, one had to walk up a large staircase that went through the mouth of a massive brick-and-plaster lion.[5]

Kassapa didn’t live in his castle for long. Shortly after it was completed, his brother Mogallana attacked. Kassapa’s army deserted him, terrified for their lives, and his wives leaped off the side of the boulder to their deaths. Sigiriya was conquered and left behind as a monument to the king’s excess. For a while, it became an outpost and, later, a Buddhist monastery, but soon, it was forgotten to time.

When European archaeologists started investigating the story, though, they found out that the castle was real. There really was a massive lion guarding the staircase, and one really had to walk through his mouth to get in.

Inside, it is even more incredible than the legends said. At one part, there is a gleaming white parapet that works a mirror, letting the bloated king stare at his own reflection as he walks through his palace.

UNESCO declared Sigiriya the eighth wonder of the world, and today, it’s a popular tourist destination. But for a long time, it was nothing more than the forgotten ruins of a deposed tyrant.