The most significant falsehood perpetuated about humanity is the notion that the further back in time we go, the more ignorant and undeveloped people were. This myth is widely endorsed, with claims that during the Middle Ages, individuals at 30 were deemed very old.
<...>
You may come across some rather outlandish claims about the ancients, such as fears of dying in their sleep leading them to sleep sitting up, using urine to wash clothes, or employing a sponge on a stick for toilet purposes. These notions seem illogical, yet they are often presented as historical facts in educational settings.

In contrast, there is evidence of a decline from a once-great civilization that had an exquisite appreciation for beauty and constructed magnificent cities, palaces, roads, and aqueducts across the world. They employed advanced construction techniques and technologies that appear superior to ours, moving massive stone blocks and fitting them together without cement, creating structures that have endured for centuries. T

This civilization, as observed, was obliterated by a flood—nearly all the ancient edifices were buried under mudflows composed of mud and stones, necessitating excavation, even atop hills. Ancient streets lay hidden beneath a five-meter-thick layer of mud, replete with scoops, plinths, and bones. Excavations of such remnants continue in Turkey and Italy, and perhaps similar sites await discovery elsewhere if excavated correctly.
<...>
The term “elven civilization” is quite fitting; it encompasses not only the harmony and beauty of their architecture but also the fact that, as depicted in Tolkien’s books, this civilization was in decline. Many structures, such as the grand Baalbek, remain unfinished. There was a period when the elven civilization existed alongside us, the so-called human barbarians, and afterward, it was humans who inhabited these grand edifices, which were certainly not any kind of temples.