Stone Rower

Last crawled date: 2 years ago

I've always been interested in how the ancients moved the monoliths used in their monuments and buildings. This model is based on a concept that I saw re-created in a documentary, where friction is overcome by lifting the stone in a forward rowing motion. In this model, the monolith is a ~50,000 lb (22,680 kg) block of granite with a density of 0.097222 lb/in^3. By using large beams over 16 feet long to leverage the block, it can be moved by as few as 20 men. The runners are pulled forward by several men with ropes and the team of lifters leverage the block up and forward, using the runner as a fulcrum. There are pegs at the lift end of the levers which serve several purposes. They can hold a counter weight to assist in lifting, they can hold a rope with a foot loop/stirrup so that the lifter can apply all his weight with more ease, and they can hold ropes that can be pulled by additional men (like the runner-pullers) to assist with the forward motion. At this length, each lever needs ~ 340 lbs of downward force to lift the block. With this configuration you would probably use 2 men per lever and possibly sling a counter weight, like a sack of rubble, over the end peg. The weight of the lever itself also provides quite a bit of lifting force. There are plenty of ways to mix it up, like lengthening the levers, or lengthening the tie beam to accommodate more levers, but it gets the concept across. This method of moving stones doesn't require a completely smooth, compacted road like ground rollers would.