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Stonehenge
Re: Which Method?
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There is another way to get a stone up to vertical even from the horizontal and that is to use wedges and props. For our purposes, let's assume that the stone is already at some angle from the vertical. You place two layers of timber against the stone and then put in props from the ground to support the timbers. You then drive wedges from the top between the two layers of timber, forcing them apart and raising the stone a little. Follow the small wedges with bigger ones until the wedges are too big to be handled comfortably. Place more props between the original ones to support the stone and then remove the wedges. Replace the original props with longer ones closing the gap between the timbers. Start again driving in wedges. Repeat the whole process until the stone is upright. I believe (though I have no direct evidence) that this is the only method that the ancient Egyptians could have used to erect the 1100 ton unfinished obelisk at Aswan.


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Steve Gray
Posted by Steve Gray
31st August 2003ce
10:45

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Re: Which Method? (nigelswift)

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