Rant: I thought the whole 'lifting stones with water' theory was nonsense until I saw the experiment

Okay, so I've been reading about Inca stonework at Sacsayhuaman for years. All those massive blocks fitted together like puzzle pieces. I always rolled my eyes at the theory that they used water and mud to slide them into place. Seemed like a YouTube clickbait thing, you know? Then last month I went to a talk at the local museum, put on by a guy from the University of Cusco. He had a small demonstration, just a 50-pound rock and a shallow trench with muddy water. He lifted the rock with a lever, slid it right into position on a wet cobble base, no problem. It was so simple. I looked up some recent excavation reports from 2022 at Ollantaytambo and they found drainage channels that match the idea exactly. Has anyone else seen this stuff in person or am I just late to the party?

3 comments

3 Comments

schmidt.eva13d agoMost Upvoted

Watched a documentary that showed the same thing, water makes those heavy Inca blocks slide like butter.

taylorc5013d ago

Doesn't the documentary mention how they needed an insane amount of water for that to work?

kevin21813d ago

Soak the ground first, then slide the block like you're moving a fridge on wet grass.