re: #184 Decatur Deb

Survivor bias. A lot of old buildings didn’t survive into this century or even the last millenium, in part due to neglect, in part due to shoddy construction, war, reclamation of a primo building spot, materials salvage etc.

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert… . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The older buildings that do survive to this day stand out and are notable, that’s all. As for successfully building large constructions in swamps, there’s a Monty Python reference in there somewhere…