Largest Stone Block From Antiquity Found

[Skywizard]

German archaeologists have discovered the largest stone ever carved by human hands,
possibly dating to more than 2,000 years ago.

Still partially buried, the monolith measures 19.6 meters (64 feet) in length, 6 meters (19.6 feet) wide, and is at least 5.5 meters (18 feet) high. Its weight is estimated at a bulky 1,650 tons, making it biggest stone block from antiquity.

It was found by a team from the German Archaeological Institute in a stone quarry at Baalbek in Lebanon. Known as Heliopolis, “the city of the sun,” during the Roman rule, Baalbek housed one of the grandest sanctuaries in the empire.

The limestone quarry was located about a quarter of a mile from the temple complex and houses other two massive building blocks – one weighting about 1,240 tons, the other, known as the “Hajjar al-Hibla,” or The Stone of the Pregnant Woman, about 1000 tons.

Right next to the fully exposed Hajjar al-Hibla stone and underneath it, the archaeologists found a third block.

“The level of smoothness indicate the block was meant to be transported and used without being cut,” the German Archaeological Institute said in a statement.

“Thus this is the biggest boulder known from antiquity,” it added.

The team worked under the local supervision of Jeanine Abdul Massih, a long-term cooperation partner in the Baalbek project of the German Archaeological Institute’s Orient Department. The main purpose was to find new information about the mining techniques and the transportation of the megaliths.

Archaeologists believe the limestone blocks date back to at least 27 B.C., when Baalbek was a Roman colony and construction on three major and several minor temples began, lasting until the 2nd century A.D.

“Massive stone blocks of a 64-foot length were used for the podium of the huge Temple of Jupiter in the sanctuary,” the archaeologists said.

Only portions of the temple remain, including six massive columns and 27 gigantic limestone blocks at its base. Three of them, weighting about 1,000 tons each, are known as the “Trilithon.”

How these monoliths were transported and precisely positioned during the temple construction remains a mystery. Some even argue the block was laid by an unknown earlier culture predating even Alexander the Great, who founded Heliopolis in 334 B.C.

The newly uncovered stone block was likely cut to be used in the temple, but was probably abandoned because it was unsuitable for transporting.

Indeed, the Hajjar al-Hibla block nearby provided some clues: it was probably left in the quarry because the stone quality at one edge proved to be poor.

“It would have probably cracked during transportation,” the archaeologists said.

Further excavations will attempt to establish whether the bigger block suffered from the same problem.



Source: http://news.discovery.com/history/ar...und-141201.htm



peace...

[Meggings]

It is not outside the realm of possibility that Baalbek was a spaceship landing area, that that subsequent civilizations (such as Romans) built on the ruins their own structures. This quarried stone ("boulder" is hardly the correct term for it as given in the article quoted) is likely thousands upon thousands of years old - "dating from 27 B.C." indeed!

So-called "authorities" say Nemrut sculptures are from around 200 B.C. or so, yet they have holes in them from beam weapons and perhaps were felled when the "gods" were having one of their wars.

[Ernie Nemeth]

The Sumerians , perhaps not so clearly, state that Balbek was the landing/launching facility of the gods who from heaven to earth came - the Anunnaki.

Stones of comparable size have been found in South America as well, although at 1600+ tons, that's the biggest to date.

Amazing

[A Voice from the Mountains]

I agree, this site is not Roman. The Arabs themselves have legends that this site was built by giants, and the real time period of its construction probably dates back at least to the period where the Bible describes tribes of giants living in the same general area.

The Romans just tried to build on top of the site and couldn't even finish that. The temple where these huge stones were taken is on the side of a hill and needless to say there were no cranes back then that could lift 1600 ton blocks.