Jethawana stupa

The Jethawana stupa, the central ritual monument of the Jethawana monastery, had a diameter of 370 feet. Established in the 3rd century A.D., the monastery was the residence of 3,000 monks. Recent excavations confirm that the foundation of the stupa was 28 feet deep and rested on bedrock. This stupa, the tallest brick structure in the world, was built in keeping with engineering principles which are fol¬lowed even today. At the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire, and counting this phase to be the end of the ancient world, this edifice was only sec¬ond to two other taller structures - Pyramids 1 and 2 in Egypt, the taller of which was 483 feet. The Jethawena stupa is the tallest brick structure in the world.