Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum

Steve Gray

931 posts

Re: Stone Shifting 2

Aug 29, 2003, 14:19

> Assuming one tonne of lift per oar, twenty oars spread out over thirty two feet doesn`t leave much room between the oars, especially as they`d have to be closer together near the base of the upright.

That's true, but Gordon reckons that the lift is actually well in excess of 1 ton per man. There's also no reason why we can't have more than one man per lever, assuming the timber is strong enough.

> We wont be able to get away with a flimsy structure under present-day regulations. Serious thought must go into their construction.

True. Raising the 40 ton uprights is likely to require towers of around 5 metres high. Gordon's idea is to use logs with a ripping taken off each side to give them a uniform thickness and a flat face. The logs would be laid alternately in each tier and we would install diagonal bracing logs from ground level at periodic intervals to ensure that the tower can't topple over. I am familiar with the calculations necessary to design timber structures for planning applications (e.g. traditional purlin roofs), the only difference here is one of scale. The logs in the layer that the braces reach would need to be properly jointed to transfer the loads correctly.

Raising the lintel requires greater height, but the principle is the same. The lintel weighs around 10 tons.

> Where will the oarsmen stand? They`ll need to be above ground level.

I've just posted a reply in another part of the thread to say that for safety reasons we may have to use modern scaffolding towers and safety harnesses.

baz

In reply to:
Re: Stone Shifting 2 (baza)

Replies:
Re: Stone Shifting 2 (baza)

The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Stonehenge » Stone Shifting 2	Log In to post a reply

161 messages	Topic View: Flat \| Threaded