Dunnottar Castleis a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and the strength of its situation. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A work by Chinese artist ROBBBB is seen on a wall in the ruins of a building in Beijing September 27, 2015. The 25-year-old artist in Beijing prefers to display his work on the walls of abandoned buildings, rather than a gallery. His artwork is mostly derived from photos of people he sees in the Chinese capital, anyone ranging from elderly people to construction workers. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

An airplane house is pictured in the village of Miziara, northern Lebanon May 12, 2015. Miziara prides itself on building residential homes that resemble ancient Greek temples and Egyptian ruins, one is even built in the shape of an Airbus A380. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

The ruins of a castle stand above the town of Rocca Calascio, close to Santo Stefano di Sessanio in the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, inside the national park of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, Italy, September 7, 2016. (Photo by Siegfried Modola/Reuters)

An Afghan boy plays in the ruins of a house that at one point belonged to the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 25, 2015. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)

These pictures show the beautiful ruins of abandoned temples. The incredible shots, taken at temples in Angkor, Cambodia, show the striking yet haunting temples as they crumble to ruins. While they may have lost some of their former glory, the stunning temples show the beauty of the Cambodian landscape through the historic architecture. Here: Sun rises over the 5 towers of Angkor. (Photo by Alex Teuscher/Caters News)

An alpaca is seen near the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco December 2, 2014. Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Peru's top tourist attraction, with the government limiting tourists to 2,500 per day due to safety reasons and concerns over the preservation of the ruins. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)