The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
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The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
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Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#2I did some reading around to see how chariot axles were done at the time. This predates the chariot, the wheel and possibly domestication itself.
So even my visions of a nice iron age pig farm is as likely to be a reality of hunting wild boar in the forest, on foot.
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#3140 miles to haul a bunch of 1-2 ton stones on perfectly flat ground with grease is one thing, if there are any minor hills or a good set of them, that would require massive amounts of energy.. any chance they used animals at all?
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#4140 miles to haul a bunch of 1-2 ton stones on perfectly flat ground with grease is one thing, if there are any minor hills or a good set of them, that would require massive amounts of energy.. any chance they used animals at all?
If you want some archaeological engineering theories that aren't obviously wrong, I highly recommend this youtube series about how the Antikythera mechanism could have been made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML4tw_UzqZE
It's the complete antithesis of this pig fat hogwash.
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#5Bill Bryson on Stonehenge:
"Can you imagine trying to talk six hundred people into helping you drag a fifty-ton stone eighteen miles across the countryside and muscle it into an upright position, and then saying, 'Right, lads! Another twenty like that...and then we can party!'"
(Yes, I only know that quote from Civ 6)
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#6I suspect that if we could figure out how Edward Leedskalnin did it[0], we could probably piece-together if Stonehenge was done the same way.
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#7About 2/3 down of this page suggests grease has been tried before and was not effective:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_about_Stonehenge#Cons...
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#8About 2/3 down of this page suggests grease has been tried before and was not effective: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_about_Stonehenge#Cons...
As someone who's moved a lot of machinery the hard way (i.e. not paying someone else to do it with a fork lift) I like the stone rollers and wood track the best. One dude with a pry bar can roll a >3-ton (per the manufacturer, not just a guess) mill sitting on rollers sitting on 2x4s sitting on rough ground (protip: vary the thickness of the lumber depending on how much you want it to conform to the ground). A 100+ people should have no problem rolling a 40-ton stone if said stone is sitting on a wood and roller sandwich. If you have a 10yr project deadline you could build a few miles of track a year, get the whole village together, roll the stone a few miles over the course of a week then throw a party to celebrate how far you've moved the stone then leave it to sit for 6mo and do it again.
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#9About 2/3 down of this page suggests grease has been tried before and was not effective: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_about_Stonehenge#Cons...
As someone who's moved a lot of machinery the hard way (i.e. not paying someone else to do it with a fork lift) I like the stone rollers and wood track the best. One dude with a pry bar can roll a >3-ton (per the manufacturer, not just a guess) mill sitting on rollers sitting on 2x4s sitting on rough ground (protip: vary the thickness of the lumber depending on how much you want it to conform to the ground). A 100+ p…
In Peru I saw are several very large stones sitting on the trail between the quarry and a partially finished temple. One of them at the bottom of a very steep hill. Our guide did speculate that getting the stones on site was a gradual process.
Re: The “greased sled” theory of Stonehenge
#10Bill Bryson on Stonehenge: "Can you imagine trying to talk six hundred people into helping you drag a fifty-ton stone eighteen miles across the countryside and muscle it into an upright position, and then saying, 'Right, lads! Another twenty like that...and then we can party!'" (Yes, I only know that quote from Civ 6)
If you consider how much time and effort goes into making a lot of movies and music which to all intents and purposes are identical as far as I can tell (but which I'm assuming makes someone a lot of money) then it's not clear why people find it puzzling that a bunch of smart (if missing some modern implements) people moved a few stones around a bit for a laugh.