The 'Seven Wonders of the World' (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven remarkable manmade constructions of classical antiquity. It was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World and the Modern World.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

        The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. The earliest extant version of a list of seven wonders was compiled by Antipater of Sidon, who described the structures in a poem around 140 BC:

        A later list, under various titles like De septem orbis spactaculis and traditionally misattributed to the engineer Philo of Byzantium, may date as late as the fifth century AD, though the author writes as if the Colossus of Rhodes were still standing.

These are given in the table below:

        The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Since the list came mostly from ancient Greek writings, only sites that would have been known and visited by the ancient Greeks were included. Even as early as 1600 BC, tourist graffiti was scrawled on monuments in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings.

        Antipater's original list replaced the Lighthouse of Alexandria with the Ishtar Gate. It wasn't until the 6th century AD that the list above was used. Of these wonders, the only one that has survived to the present day is the Great Pyramid of Giza. The existence of the Hanging Gardens has not been definitively proven. Records show that the other five wonders were destroyed by natural disasters. The Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were destroyed by fire, while the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Colossus, and Mausoleum of Maussollos were destroyed by earthquakes. There are sculptures from the Mausoleum of Maussollos and the Temple of Artemis in the British Museum in London.

Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages

        Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages are existing historical lists for which there is no unanimity of opinion about origin, content or name. These historical lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". The lists are more properly seen as a continuing type or genre in the Seven Wonders tradition than a specific list.

        It is unlikely the lists originated in the Middle Ages. Brewer's calls them "later list[s]" suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. This is supported because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Further, the Romanticism movement glorified all things related to the Middle Ages, or more specifically anything pre-Enlightenment era, suggesting such lists would have found a popular audience in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some items found on some of the lists are not technically from the Middle Ages (according to modern historical standards), but we know the lists were not created by modern medieval historians, so such standards did not apply.

Typically representative of the seven:

1.Stonehenge

2.Colosseum

3.Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

4.Great Wall of China

5.Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

6.Hagia Sophia

7.Leaning Tower of Pisa

Other sites that have been mentioned include:

- Taj Mahal

- Cairo Citadel

- Ely Cathedral

- Cluny Abbey

Modern wonders

The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled another list of wonders of the modern world:

Tourist travel wonders

        The following list of the top seven tourist travel wonders (not including pilgrimages) was compiled by Hillman Wonders:

Great Pyramids of Giza

Great Wall of China

Taj Mahal

Serengeti Migration

Galápagos Islands

Grand Canyon

Machu Picchu

Natural wonders

        Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:

Grand Canyon

Great Barrier Reef

Harbor of Rio de Janeiro

Mount Everest

Polar Aurora

Parícutin volcano

Victoria Falls

Underwater wonders

        This list of underwater wonders is of unknown origin but has been repeated sufficiently often to acquire a degree of notability:

Palau

Belize Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Deep-Sea Vents

Galapagos Islands

Lake Baikal

Northern Red Sea

New Seven Wonders

Two "New Seven Wonders" lists have been promoted since 2000.

        In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss organization New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments (ongoing). Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006. The results will be announced on 7 July 2007.

        In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of "New Seven Wonders" as chosen by six judges. The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24 from viewer feedback.

Data from : www.wikipedia.org