A team of researchers working with the German Archaeological Institute have discover, what’s believed to be, the World’s largest man-made stone block. Measuring in at 19.6m (64 feet) long, 6m (19.6 feet) wide, and at least 5.5m (18 feet) tall the mountain of a stone weighs 1650 tons.
According to researchers the 2,000 year old stone was found in Baalbek, Lebanon and is only one of a number of hand-hewn rocks that are similar in scale. Archeologists working on the project believe that each of these massive blocks were meant for temples being built in the area. “The level of smoothness indicate the block was meant to be transported and used without being cut,” noted the German Archeological Institute. However whether a stone like this could have ever been moved is another matter indeed. “It would have probably cracked during transportation,” say some members of the discovering team.
Regardless, chiseling a series of faces to that level of smoothness (minus two millennia of sand blasted erosion) is no small feat. Whether or not its makers were as adept at project management is still up for debate!
Image Courtesy of Deutsches Archäologisches Institut