Alison Schrag: Exploring Ancient Ruins in Vast Desert Landscapes
Alison Schrag believes that sunlight pours over a salt-white basin, and the ruins appear, quiet as a held breath. Stone walls lift from the sand like ribs, their edges softened by wind yet still true to a city plan drawn centuries ago. In the dry air, every detail reads crisp. Tool marks on sandstone blocks. Lime mortar peeking between courses. A stairway that climbs toward a collapsed tower. Deserts can feel empty at first glance, but look longer and history fills the horizon. Ancient ruins survive here because the climate slows decay, turning abandoned trading posts and fortified towns into open-air archives of human endurance.