Hermione Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Byrd Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> > Where on earth does the notion that the blocks
> > would have been moved by wind come from??
>
> Well ... I couldn't find any helpful reference or
> citation in Schoch's article
> [
www.robertschoch.com],
> so it's difficult to say.
>
> Some time ago, Scott Creighton suggested that
> balloons were used -
> [
www.abovetopsecret.com]
> - so, if not wind, possibly hot air ...
>
> But, returning to Schoch's text, perhaps such an
> idea might depend on how a particular term or word
> has been, first, translated; and, second,
> interpreted by readers of that translation...
>
> The medieval Akhbar al Zaman, for instance, also
> mentions "blow" in the context of pyramid
> construction:
>
>
Quote
> The king ordered the construction of tall
> monuments, the cleaving of huge slabs, the
> extraction of lead from the land of the West, and
> the rolling in of stones from the region of Aswan;
> these great black rocks were drawn on chariots. He
> laid the foundations of the three pyramids,
> Eastern, Western and Colored; the last of these
> was entirely made of white and black colored
> stones. It is said that the builders had palm wood
> sheets covered in writing, and after having
> extracted every stone and having it cut, they
> placed over each stone one of these sheets; they
> then gave a blow to the stone, and it traveled far
> beyond the reach of sight. [Akhbar al Zaman,
> trans: Colavito
> [
www.jasoncolavito.com]]
>
>
> But in this context, of course, "blow" (in
> English) means "hefty wallop," rather than "puff
> of air".
The problem was that balloons of a size to carry an average 2.5 ton rock to x altitude would be all but uncontrollable in even a light wind. At Giza you get gusty winds of the Sahara. Same problem with kites. Notably no one used balloons or kites to try and construct stuff (there may have been at some time a one off in a very limited ways but I cannot recall any - they certainly weren't used for any protracted construction) in any age. Balloon or kite versus wind? = Disaster as the age of airships showed.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2022 04:20PM by Hans_lune.