How do the archaeological experts exlain to me (construction engineer) ....

[IsamardKB]

How on earth could relatively primative societies (circa 3000 bc) lift and transport stone monoliths in excess of 1000 tons across the land and then lift them into place with startling precision.

We are led to believe that the whhel wasn't invented ...etc etc ...

[sandyRoe]

The ancients had powers which are now lost to us. I believe they could focus their minds and levitate those massive monoliths.

[bednobs]

i wasn't aware this place was teeming with archaeological experts, but you never know

[daffy654]

They would have used the 'rolling logs' method and then pulled the stones into place with a rope and pulley system.

[jackthehat]

With the tools they had to hand.

Theories alter but sheer strength of manpower was the most formidable tool available to them.

They were 'primitive' because of a lack of technology, not a lack of ingenuity or brain-power,

[firewatch]

they didnt lift-they rolled on log roads all the way from the quarry to the final destination. In egypt they floated them on the nile on special barges. They know the 'possible' method through trial and error reacreation of possible methods of moving such large objects. There placement was done through the suns position, and many of the stone henges had wooden predessors which allowed the posts to be moved and give them the correct places for the stones succesorsx

[Maydup]

We need Isambard Kingdom Brunel, he'd know.

[sammmo]

a few years ago i saw a programme on tv which explained how they did this..they rolled the stones to a beach at low tide and onto big rafts and as the tide came in the rafts lifted and they manouvered the rafts up the river severn and unloaded them and then rolled them to there new home.. easy.. what else did they have to do?thousands of bored blokes .. no tvs no pubs or clubs, no golf courses or football teams..the women were always out scavanging for food or cooking.. so some bright spark said "come on lads lets build a henge, I know where theres lots of big stones follow me" he must have been a great leader of men whoever he was.. i wonder what his name was?

[WyeDyed]

In South America they made cobbled roads and dragged them. As has already been stated, manpower was plentiful and cheep.

[beso]

There is no evidence of rope and pulley systems at that antiquity. All that was required to erect the stones would be simple lever and prop arrangements.

They mainly did it so one day others would wonder, "how the hell did they do that?"

[joko]

oh Sugar yeh... i never thought of that!... there must be a god afterall!

i am converted!

i guess he just waved his beard at the rocks and they moved...

[BillyBB]

http://www.yourdailym...com/video/watch/5268/

[wildwood]

I thought the wheel was already invented by then..... it was a thursday morning I believe.

Archimedes: "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth with a lever".

The power of a lever is only limited by it's length.

[Dodger666]

In addition, they didn't have to worry about the 'elf and Safety jobsworths in those days.

http://www.dailymail....es-origin-solved.html

[jno]

wheels were invented well before then (though not in South America, I don't think). Stones for the pyramids could be rolled up earth ramps on logs. They used to think it required slave armies of thousands, but I believe they now calculate it would take much less effort and ordinary people could do it in the non-growing season.

[emmie]

unlike today with modern methods of communicating, technical drawing, nothing was written down, they left behind no documents to say exactly how the work was carried out. The archaeologists are only now beginning to piece together much of ancient history, and that is by painstaking work. This takes years, and like forensic science has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. Much is known of the lives of the people in Rome in ancient times, because there is documentary evidence to that effect, historians and scribes who captured the life and times of those people.
There have been any number of documentaries to explain how it was done, some explained on here.

[Mattk]

What is really mind blowing is that where Stonehenge is concerned a fact that is usually overlooked is that this was a Stone-Age civilisation so they cut the rocks...with rocks! The stone used is renowned as being extremely hard so maybe that formed part of the importance.
Transportation was most likely done using logs but the common misconception is that the logs rolled which is probably not true. They would have used animal fats to lubricate the log surface and literally pull the stones across the logs. When arriving at the destination there would have been a hole already dug that one end of the rock dropped into. Then using an A-frame they would have lifted the rock very slowly supporting the raised surface as they went. This would have been relatively easy compared to the previous journey!

[jno]

of course it helped that Merlin flew some of the stones over from Wales

[heathfield]

The idea of hordes of people assembling to move huge blocks of stones across the land suffers from a rather large drawback. When the sarcen stones started being erected at Stonehenge it's been estimated that the population of the whole of Britain was a mere 20,000 people, who would have been scattered all over the country. To assemble enough people at the right time and the right place to move these stones must have needed incredible powers of organisation. Whoever these folk were, you can't help admiring their dedication.
By the way, there's a misconception that the wheel was unknown to the ancient peoples of South America. It wasn't. Wheeled childrens toys are commonly found on Aztec sites. It's thought by some that in South America the complete absence of any large draught animals was the reason that the wheel was never developed for transport purposes.

[boxtops]

I notice that isamard hasn't come back to thank anyone for all this good info.

[naomi24]

We can guess - but we really don't know.