Loading…
6
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
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
schmidt.eva5mo ago
Watched a documentary that showed the same thing, water makes those heavy Inca blocks slide like butter.
8
taylorc505mo ago
Doesn't the documentary mention how they needed an insane amount of water for that to work?
2
kevin2185mo ago
Soak the ground first, then slide the block like you're moving a fridge on wet grass.
3