[Sca-cooks] Circles

[Martin G. Diehl]

Stefan li Rous wrote:

Thanks for your response.  

>   WdG proposed:
> > I have long had a (completely) unsubstantiated theory 
> > that the Standing Stones in many Neolithic or 
> > pre-historic sites were dragged/leveraged into place, 
> > and then shaped/carved over the following decades. 
> > Stonehenge *may* be one of the foils for this theory, 
> > but, like I said, it's wholly unsubstantiated.
> 
> Why not carve them to shape where you first dig them up? 
> Then you have less weight to haul.  This is what the 
> Egyptians did for their pyramids.  The quarries still 
> exist and I believe there are may be pictures of the 
> stones being hauled.  

<slight digression>

The Greeks used quite a different method in their public 
works -- the rough stone was moved to the construction 
site and finished there.  

For a column barrel, the undressed (rough-cut) stone 
became a wheel by placing two iron pins set in lead and 
attaching a yolk drawn by an ox team.  

For a rectangular block, 2 wheels were constructed at 
each end of the block ... pins as above.  

Sources: 

Landels, J. G.; "Engineering in the Ancient World" 

Pennsic XXX class ... 
"Machines, Technology and Change: Ancient through Medieval"

</slight digression>

Colin Richards discusses this in one of the papers on 
"Orkney Archaeological Trust website"
http://www.orkneydigs.org.uk

"Papers and Pictures ..."
http://www.orkneydigs.org.uk/dhl/papers/index.html 

In Richards, Colin; "Rethinking the great stone circles of
Northwest Britain"; 
http://www.orkneydigs.org.uk/dhl/papers/cr/index.html 
Scroll down to or text search for "The research project"; 
around "Figure 1", a discussion of quarries and techniques.  

> It's easier to carve the stone while it is on the ground 
> then after it has been tilted vertically.
> 
> If you place the rough stone in the hole, lever it into 
> a vertical position and then carve it to its final shape, 
> would you really dig a hole around it again so you can 
> get to it to finish the part below the ground? If not, 
> then it should be easy to determine whether the stones 
> were shaped in position or before. Simply check the 
> rock below the ground and compare it to the portion of 
> the megalith above the ground.
> 
> Stefan

Vincenzo

-- 
Martin G. Diehl

http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=MGD

Reality: That which remains after you stop thinking about it.
  inspired by P. K. Dick