Baalbek Stones
The Baalbek Stones are six massive Roman[1] worked stone blocks in Baalbek (ancient Heliopolis), Lebanon, characterised by a megalithic gigantism unparallelled in antiquity.
The smallest three are part of a podium wall in the
The remaining three are
Numerous archaeological expeditions have gone to the site starting in the 19th century, primarily German and French groups, and research has continued into the 21st century.[3]
Stone of the Pregnant Woman
The Stone of the Pregnant Woman (
In 1996, a
The rectangular stone block is:
- 20.31–20.76 m long[8]
- 4 m wide at the base[8]
- 4.14–5.29 m wide at the top[8]
- 4.21–4.32 m high[8]
- Has an estimated density of 2.6–2.8 g/cm3[8]
There are multiple stories behind the name. One says the monolith is named after a pregnant woman who tricked the people of Baalbek into believing that she knew how to move the giant stone if only they would feed her until she gave birth.[9] Others say the name comes from the legends that pregnant jinn were assigned the task of cutting and moving the stone,[10] while others say that the name reflects the belief that a woman who touches the stone experiences an increase in fertility.[11]
Stone of the South
The Stone of the South (
These are dimensions of the rectangular stone block, assuming that its shape is consistent in its still-buried parts:
- 19.5–20.5 m long[12]
- 4.34–4.56 m wide[12]
- 4.5 m high[12]
- Has an estimated density of 2.6–2.8 g/cm3[12]
Forgotten Stone
The Forgotten Stone, also called the Third Monolith, was discovered in the same quarry in 2014 by archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute. Its weight is estimated at around 1500 tonnes (1650 Tons), making it the largest stone ever quarried.[13]
It is 19.6 metres (64 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and at least 5.5 metres (18 ft) high.
Trilithon
The Trilithon (
Although they do not form a
See also
- Western Stone
- List of ancient architectural records
References
- ISBN 978-0415208666.
- ^ Ruprechtsberger 1999, pp. 7–56
- ^ Adair, Aaron. "Moving the Stones of Baalbek–The Wonders of Roman Engineering". Fleeing Nergal, Seeking Stars. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
- ^ Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 10
- ^ Ruprechtsberger 1999, pp. 9–11
- ^ Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 15, the calculation is based on a length of 21 m.
- ^ a b Adam 1977, p. 52: 970 t
- ^ a b c d e Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 15
- ^ Ruprechtsberger 1999, pp. 12f.
- ^ Hanauer, James Edward (1907). Folk-lore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish. Duckworth & Company. pp. 74–. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ISBN 9781841623702. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 17
- ^ "Archaeologists Discover The World's Largest Ancient Stone Block". io9. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
- ^ Sophocles, Evangelinos Apostolides (1914). Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 1092.
Bibliography
- Adam, Jean-Pierre (1977), "À propos du trilithon de Baalbek: Le transport et la mise en oeuvre des mégalithes", Syria (in French), 54 (1/2): 31–63,
- Ruprechtsberger, Erwin M. (1999), "Vom Steinbruch zum Jupitertempel von Heliopolis/Baalbek (Libanon)" [From the quarry to the Jupiter temple of Heliopolis/Baalbek (Lebanon)], Linzer Archäologische Forschungen (in German), 30: 7–56
- Massih, Jeanine Abdul (2015). "The Megalithic Quarry of Baalbek: Sector III the Megaliths of Ḥajjar al-Ḥibla". Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies. 3 (4). Penn State University Press: 313–329. .
External links
- Media related to Stone of the Pregnant Woman at Wikimedia Commons