The Timeline
A chronological journey through humanity's lost creative works — from ancient wonders to modern casualties of time.
36 dated losses spanning 2900 BCE to 2022 CE
Art
Text
Music
Architecture
Language
Ancient World
Medieval Era
Modern Era
20th Century
Contemporary
Undated Losses
These exhibits have no known loss date — their disappearance is lost to history itself.
Marin Marais — Lost Operas
Marin Marais
MusicTartessian Script and Language
Tartessian civilisation (southwestern Iberia)
LanguagePórtico de la Gloria — Original Polychrome (Santiago de Compostela)
Master Mateo
ArchitectureAgatharchides' On the Erythraean Sea
Agatharchides of Cnidus
TextHomer's Margites
Homer (attributed; disputed)
TextThe Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon — Lost Sections
Sei Shōnagon
TextEnnius's Annales
Quintus Ennius
TextSuetonius's Lost Works
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
TextThe Book of the Wars of the Lord
Unknown
TextThe Lost Plays of Sophocles
Sophocles of Athens
TextThe Gospel of Eve
Unknown (attributed to Gnostic communities)
TextLivy's Ab Urbe Condita — Lost Books
Titus Livius (Livy)
TextSappho's Complete Poems
Sappho of Lesbos
TextAristotle's Lost Dialogues
Aristotle
Text