1. Home
  2. Blog

World’s Oldest Existing: From Person, Building, Library to Active Volcano

On every corner of the world, you can possibly find ancient lifeforms, architecture, and artifacts that have been living for thousands, or even millions or billions of years. Ranging from the oldest existing volcano to a human, we have made a list of the World’s Oldest Living……

Shruti Kandwal
Check out some of the world's oldest existing things here
Check out some of the world's oldest existing things here

We have done our research and compiled what we believe to be the world’s oldest existing. Let’s take a look at the real longevity champions of the world! 

World’s Oldest Existing Person

Maria Branyas, born on March 4, 1907, in California, is an American-born with Spanish nationality and is currently the world’s oldest living person ever since the death of Lucile Randon on January 2023. She is currently aged 115 years and 325 days.

World’s Oldest Existing Place

The oldest city in the world, Damascus is also known as the capital of Arab culture. It has witnessed the rise and fall of many great civilizations. That’s how old it is! It is also the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and a major Arab cultural center.

World’s Oldest Existing Language

Egyptian Coptic is the country's oldest indigenous language, and Egypt is one of the world's oldest civilizations. It is a very old language, with written evidence of its use dating back to 3400 BC.

World’s Oldest Existing Civilization

The oldest recorded civilization in the world is the Mesopotamia civilization which is now a part of Iraq. It is a place situated in the middle of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The astronomy, mathematics, and literature advancements achieved by the Mesopotamian culture are well recognized.

World’s Oldest Existing Religion

Most people agree that Hinduism is the oldest active religion today. According to this theory, it may also be regarded as the earliest religion in the world that is still followed today. This ancient religion lacks a clear founder and a single sacred scripture. Instead, it incorporates a number of historic traditions and beliefs.

World’s Oldest Existing Building

Göbekli Tepe: The megaliths date back to 6,000 years before Stonehenge. Gobekli Tepe is the site's name, and Schmidt, a German archaeologist who has spent more than a decade working there, is certain that it is the location of the oldest temple.

World’s Oldest Existing Library

Located in Fez, Morocco, the al-Qarawiyyin library is the oldest existing library in the world and is part of the world’s oldest continually operating university, al-Qarawiyyin University, which opened in 859.

World’s Oldest Existing Active Volcano

The oldest known active volcano is believed to be Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy. It began erupting in the year 1500 BC, and since then, there have been around 200 eruptions. It is also one of the world's largest volcanoes that is known to exist.

World’s Oldest Existing Jewellery

Archaeologists found the world's oldest jewelry in a cave in the western Moroccan desert: a set of shell beads that were made between 142,000 and 150,000 years ago.

The 33 beads were discovered during excavations between 2014 and 2018 close to the mouth of Bizmoune Cave, around 10 miles inland from the coastal city of Essaouira. The beads were made from half-inch-long sea snail shells.

World’s Oldest Existing Ship

The USS Constitution sometimes referred to as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted heavy frigate with a wooden hull in the US Navy. She is the oldest ship that is still sailing. She was the third of the original six frigates allowed for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 to be launched in 1797.

Test Your Knowledge on International Day for Biosphere Reserves Quiz. Take a quiz
Share your comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter. You choose the topics of your interest and we'll send you handpicked news and latest updates based on your choice.

Subscribe Newsletters