Oldest buildings in the world

This article lists the oldest free-standing buildings constructed in the world, including on each of the continents and within each country. "Building" is defined as any human-made structure used or interface for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy. In order to qualify for list a structure must:

This consciously excludes ruins of limited height and statues. The list also excludes:

Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by radiocarbon dating and should be considered approximate.

The following are amongst the oldest buildings in the world that have maintained the requirements to be such. Occupation sites with older human made structures such as those in Göbekli Tepe do exist, but the structures are monuments and do not meet the definition of building (which can be seen above). Many of the buildings within the list contain primarily bricks, but most importantly maintain their walls and roof. There are numerous extant structures that survive in the Orkney islands of Scotland, some of the best known of which are part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. The list also contains many large buildings from the Egyptian Age of the Pyramids.

As of current, it is the oldest building by strict definition.

The civilization, with a possible writing system, urban centers, and diversified social and economic system.

World's earliest settlement with one and two storied brick houses, public baths, assembly halls, central marketplace and covered drains.

Brick water reservoirs, with steps, circular graves & ruins of well planned town.

The following are amongst the oldest extant buildings on each of the major continents.

The following are among the oldest buildings in their respective countries.

The following are probably the oldest buildings of their type.

The following are very old human constructions that do not fit the above criteria for a building, typically because they are ruins that no longer fit the height requirement specified above or for which the only significant above-ground elements are single large stones.

The structure is a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the Theopetra cave near Kalambaka on the north edge of the Thessalian plain. It was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier to cold winds.

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