Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico

A pre-Columbian pyramid

The name of this ancient Maya city, Uxmal, is thought to come from a term meaning 'thrice built'—which only tells part of the story of the Pyramid of the Magician. Though legend holds that a short-statured yet skilled sorcerer conjured it in a single night, we know that it was really built in not one or three, but at least five phases across four centuries—each adding significant height to the now 115-foot stone structure. While time has worn and weathered them since the last blocks were laid, the ruins of Uxmal are among the best preserved Maya sites in the Yucatán, easily spotted from a distance due to the pyramid's great prominence.