General Question

imrainmaker's avatar

Can someone explain how these structures might have been built (details inside)?

Asked by imrainmaker (8380points) November 18th, 2017

This is an interesting video of a temple in india built 900 years ago. Looking at the details it looks impossible to achieve it using primitive tools available at that time. Do you want take a shot at it?

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9 Answers

Patty_Melt's avatar

Obviously it was loli’s ancestors.

Call_Me_Jay's avatar

Ancient architects and engineers were fantastically ingenious. People were doing stonework with the same tools available thousands of years ago until the 19th century brought steam power.

900 years ago, the Great Pyramid of Giza was 3,600 years old.

The hypostyle hall at Karnak was 2,200 years old/

The intricate stonework in the medieval cathedrals was done 900 years ago.

Regarding the turning on the Indian columns, you could build a cylindrical wooden frame around the rock and spin the cutting tool around it.

If the rough column was lying down, you could cut the top half into a semi-circle (semi-cylinder?) and then turn it over and finish. But with the varying diameter on the Indian columns, I think it would be easier to cut standing up, with the cutting making full circles.

MrGrimm888's avatar

To me, a lot of ancient construction was amazing because of motivation. Lots of slaves were used in some cases. If someone told me that they would torture me to death, if things didn’t look perfect, I could probably get pretty cloee. Many of these ancient marvels, were constructed for religious, or their rulers reasons. There wasn’t much of a choice, but for the finished product to be, pristine.

imrainmaker's avatar

^^ I got your point. Can we build another pyramid in this century if someone make people work at gunpoint?

stanleybmanly's avatar

@Patty Melt more likely the work of the immortal loli him/herself.

MrGrimm888's avatar

@imrainmaker . I think the short answer is yes. Many amazing structures were built by large slave populations. The latest I’ve read on the pyramids, is that not only was there a large slave population, but a massive city to supply them. These projects took some real man power, and long view thinking.

I would add that enough people can move some amazing things. In sheer numbers, they can accomplish some wild stuff. People underestimate the ability of a large group of people.

Call_Me_Jay's avatar

The people who excavated the city next to the pyramids think the workers were not slaves. They were well-fed and they had decent burials for people who (presumably) died on the project.

Harvard Magazine – Who Built the Pyramids? – Not slaves. Archaeologist Mark Lehner, digging deeper, discovers a city of privileged workers.

imrainmaker's avatar

^^ Nice story..)

rojo's avatar

One of the comments suggested a 3D Granite Printer

Well, I thought it was funny.

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