Thursday, October 19, 2006

Rocks

3 comments:

Ed onWestSlope said...

How many people are amazed at the accomplishments of the ancients. As if these 'primatives' were stupid or something. They lived in a world which most of our society would find difficult to survive in.

I see nothing in this man's demonstration which an old fashion water well driller, away from equipment, could not show them.

What I find interesting is the cooperation of quite a few people, who must take time out from hunting and agriculture(?) to quarry, dress & move these stones quite a distance and then erect them.

Rick Ballard said...

Knuck,

The principle works fine if you use nice flat chunks of basalt or granite at about a 3" thickness. 18X36X3 inch pieces would weigh about 180 pounds. Your very own portable road.

I used to work by myself in a little marble shop (at 16) handling 4'X9'X1 1/4" slabs. Hard dirt in the slab yard and rough concrete in the shop. Not a mechanical lift in sight - unless you want to call a single axle two wheel dolly a lifting device. Lots of fun with simple mechanics.

I'd bet they used oak rollers over an oak over dirt roadbed rather than the pebble though - lots easier and a two 4" oak will handle 25 ton blocks with no problem.

Rick Ballard said...

Whoops.

"lots easier and two 4" oak rollers will handle 25 ton blocks with no problem."