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Article: Baalbek keeps its secrets: after thousands of years, the stonework in Baalbek, Lebanon, remains a mystery, as locals debate whether it was achieved through Roman genius or by the work of the gods. (The Stone Traveler).(Column)
- Article from:
- Stone World
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Imagine an architect's specification that called for the foundation of a massive platform to be built of limestone blocks in sizes between 63 and 65 feet long, 14 feet 6 inches high and 12 feet deep and weighing in the neighborhood of 1,000 tons each.
The stereobate or platform that once held the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Lebanon called for such a specification, but the architects and engineers who built it in the first century BC left no indication of how they accomplished such a massive construction challenge. The limestone blocks were quarried about a quarter of a mile away from the construction site and made up the lower course of the foundation. How they ...