"Located
at Baalbek in Lebanon are the largest megalithic stones ever carved
from the “living” rock of a quarry. Often referred to as Cyclopean, they
range in size and mass but the most sizeable is estimated to weigh
nearly 1,300 tons and lies unused. It seems that thousands of years ago
they were shaped into gigantic rectangles and moved over a kilometre to
be used in the early construction of the Baalbek Archeological Complex
which was expanded during the Roman period when the town was known as
Heliopolis (City of the Sun).
They are not merely foundation
stones as it is quite clear that they rest on a deeper layer of smaller,
but still very large, blocks. These massive units each weighing
approximately 750 tons were built into the western retaining wall of the
plaza and known as the Trilithon.
The precision with which these megaliths have been carved is incredible
and would be nearly impossible to achieve even today. How they were
moved and placed within the construction of the greater Baal-Jupiter
(Zeus) Temple plaza remains unexplained.
Over the years
various experiments have taken place that show that while it is possible
for vast numbers of men with levers and rollers to move large building
stones of up to 300 tons for short distances these megaliths are more
than twice as large. The size of the largest megalith and the fact that
moving it even with modern technology would be extremely difficult does
suggest that the ancient civilizations may well have had more advanced
technology than we currently believe.
What that technology was and how it worked will remain a mystery for now.
"Located
at Baalbek in Lebanon are the largest megalithic stones ever carved
from the “living” rock of a quarry. Often referred to as Cyclopean, they
range in size and mass but the most sizeable is estimated to weigh
nearly 1,300 tons and lies unused. It seems that thousands of years ago
they were shaped into gigantic rectangles and moved over a kilometre to
be used in the early construction of the Baalbek Archeological Complex
which was expanded during the Roman period when the town was known as
Heliopolis (City of the Sun).
They are not merely foundation stones as it is quite clear that they rest on a deeper layer of smaller, but still very large, blocks. These massive units each weighing approximately 750 tons were built into the western retaining wall of the plaza and known as the Trilithon.
The precision with which these megaliths have been carved is incredible and would be nearly impossible to achieve even today. How they were moved and placed within the construction of the greater Baal-Jupiter (Zeus) Temple plaza remains unexplained.
Over the years various experiments have taken place that show that while it is possible for vast numbers of men with levers and rollers to move large building stones of up to 300 tons for short distances these megaliths are more than twice as large. The size of the largest megalith and the fact that moving it even with modern technology would be extremely difficult does suggest that the ancient civilizations may well have had more advanced technology than we currently believe.
What that technology was and how it worked will remain a mystery for now.
They are not merely foundation stones as it is quite clear that they rest on a deeper layer of smaller, but still very large, blocks. These massive units each weighing approximately 750 tons were built into the western retaining wall of the plaza and known as the Trilithon.
The precision with which these megaliths have been carved is incredible and would be nearly impossible to achieve even today. How they were moved and placed within the construction of the greater Baal-Jupiter (Zeus) Temple plaza remains unexplained.
Over the years various experiments have taken place that show that while it is possible for vast numbers of men with levers and rollers to move large building stones of up to 300 tons for short distances these megaliths are more than twice as large. The size of the largest megalith and the fact that moving it even with modern technology would be extremely difficult does suggest that the ancient civilizations may well have had more advanced technology than we currently believe.
What that technology was and how it worked will remain a mystery for now.
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