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Stone Shifting 3
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Steve Gray
Steve Gray
931 posts

Re: The hole for stone 56
Sep 05, 2003, 23:41
I have to say, Gordon, I'm impressed by your style. You bounce back like a trampoline.

I have calculated a few figures for you to ponder. The first set shows the pulling force needed to raise a stone from various angles assuming that a rope is attached to the top of the stone and is pulling at an angle of 10 degrees below horizontal:

Angle Pulling force (tons)
70 7.9
75 5.7
80 3.7
85 1.8

The second set shows how the pulling force can be reduced if a simple A-frame is used just to change the direction of pull so that it is perpendicular to the stone:

Angle Pulling force (tons)
70 6.8
75 5.2
80 3.5
85 1.7

You will notice that the A-frame is more effective at low angles, but becomes less so as the stone gets close to being upright.

A person pullling on a horizontal rope and leaning back at an angle of 45 degrees exerts a pulling force of half his own weight. So to exert a force of say 8 tons would need 16 tons of people, a little over 200 at 12 stones each.

There are other possibilities we could consider:

1. Use props and wedges behind the stone to raise it up.

2. Use another stone to load the middle of a tensioned rope. This would amplify the weight of the secondary stone considerably. We could lever it up like the big one, attach it to the rope and then allow its weight to do the work. We would need a damned good ground anchor like another sarsen block. If the erection is not achieved in a single pull we just prop the back of the stone, retension the rope and do it again. I reckon the secondary stone may only need to be a couple of tons. I can work out the numbers if you think it's worth it.
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Re: The hole for stone 56 (GordonP)		 Replies:
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