Good theory but i cant see the giant recumbents being wizzed along on these :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Towriepetrosphere.jpg

Be a bumpy trip much like this

http://www.americandigest.org/mt-archives/square_wheels.jpg ;0

"Attempts to re-enact transporting the blocks on wooden rollers or floating them on the sea have not proved convincing."

Sounds like they're talking about the Millenium Project. They weren't at Foamhenge evidently.

"The true test was when a colleague used his index finger to move me forward - a mere push and the slabs and I shot forward."

Bit of an exaggeration I reckon. You can't move a car like that. Unless it was on a slope. ;)

"The demonstration indicated that big stones could have been moved using this ball bearing system with roughly 10 oxen"

Well that's just cheating! Ten oxen could drag a blue stone if two were pulling the other way.....

Balls. A lot of.
Over-engineered.

"He added: "This is a radical new departure, because previous ideas were not particularly effective in transporting large stones and left unanswered questions about the archaeological record they would have left behind."

Ooh.... another "radical new" departure (*Yawn*). Surprise, surprise... What this actually means is...

I've hit upon a possible source of academic funding. I may be able to play with the nation's heritage for years to come. I may - somewhere down the line - share it with the taxpayer."

I hereby lay claim to the first "Bah! Humbug!" of the season.

Peace

Pilgrim

X

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1330917/Stonehenge-builders-used-ball-bearings-giant-slabs-stone.html

Around 400 stone balls have been found in Scotland. Around half of those have no decoration and are sort of "half finished". The finished ones can be incredibly ornate and have all sorts of geometric patterns and ornate knobs and projections.

http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/collections/museum/online_exhibitions/stones/carvedStoneBall.jpg

They tend not to be found in the context of stone circles but in ploughfields. I think the exceptions were these incredible pieces found in the houses at Skara Brae.

http://feralstrumpet.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/carved_stone_objects_skara_brae.jpg?w=535

Ball bearings? Research Grant? Unbelievable.

So, what would the Team think is the most likely method of shifting the stones over long or short distances...remembering that some stones (Avebury's Swindon stone for instance) is thought to be around 63 tons!!

I'm going to fence sit and guess at it either being a sensible mixture of the well documented suggested ways, but with an as yet unrecognised method yet to be discovered as my long shot.

Now that we've all slagged the theory off I'd like to put a few points in its defence (without implying I actually support it) (though it would need amending) -

The lack of evidence of such balls isn't significant - a few dozen, used repeatedly, is all you'd need so the fact none have been found isn't necessarily significant.

I don't think their idea of two precise grooves for them to run in is necessary. Wide grooves, say 9 inches wide into which balls were thrown randomly would support a moving "stone-barge" adequately.

The above arrangement would mean all the balls wouldn't necessarily have to be of identical size as there would be a tendency for them to migrate laterally and take up a supporting position wherever the underside of the barge was subject to variations.

Perhaps the lack of stone balls found near me in South Lanarkshire (just two - one at Biggar and one at Carnwath) goes some way to explain the lack of big megaliths in the area.
They just didn't have enough ball bearings.
The ancient South Lanarkshirians did make a metal one though. The only one if its kind ever found anywhere. A unique and beautiful item from just over the back from me at Walston.

http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/media.php?file=postcard/image/0098/00987615.jpg&PHPSESSID