FourWinds
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Re: Out of the mouths of Neanderthals
Sep 15, 2003, 14:07
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I agree with all your points and I think the idea was generally dismissed for those reasons.
However, it would aid getting the stone across marshy ground using Gordon's method .....
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Steve Gray
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Re: Out of the mouths of Neanderthals
Sep 15, 2003, 14:16
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Do we know what the climate was like in those days? The winter of 1987 was sufficiently severe to freeze the top 10" of ground (I know 'cos I was digging foundations for my house), so that would have been more than ample to render boggy ground passable. However, in recent years, the ice crust would have been pretty thin. I don't think it would have supported a 40 tonner.
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pebblesfromheaven
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Re: Out of the mouths of Neanderthals
Sep 15, 2003, 14:28
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Other considerations:
You can't dig a pit for the stone in frozen ground you'd have to plan months ahead
You'd have to know where all the bogs were in order to stop it from sinking in mud if it thawed!
But it'd be one way of getting it downhill fast...
.o0O0o.
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FourWinds
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Re: Out of the mouths of Neanderthals
Sep 15, 2003, 14:51
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I think months, if not longer, went into the planning. Also, you don't have to erect 'em in the winter, just move them ... if cold ground did have a role, which we can only speculate about.
Going downhill on a 40 ton sledge could be interesting ...
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nigelswift
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Re: Out of the mouths of Neanderthals
Sep 15, 2003, 19:45
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If we're 99% certain they slid them on ice I suggest academic dishonesty would be best, as it'll be hard to replicate in June. Let the Beeb try it. They could have a Christmas special...
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Wotan
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Re: Foot Where ?
Sep 16, 2003, 08:05
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With all this pushing and pulling in mind, wha would your average 'lith builder wear on his feet ?
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pebblesfromheaven
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Re: Foot Where ?
Sep 16, 2003, 08:22
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what about clogs?
with leather straps?
Is that what the Neanderthals wore?
.o0O0o.
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Wotan
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Re: clunk
Sep 16, 2003, 09:00
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flat stones ?
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Steve Gray
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Re: clunk
Sep 16, 2003, 13:20
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It was probably fashionable at the time to wear high heel (-stones) or perhaps they sang "don't you step on my blue stone shoes". ;^)
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nigelswift
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Neolithic Rope!
Sep 16, 2003, 15:52
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I’ve been chasing up some Neolithic rope. From what I’ve found, most opinion is that in England at the time of the Stonehengineers they would have used rope made from the “bast” fibre under the bark of Lime (Linden) trees. (Perhaps someone could check that I’m right about that).
I had in mind several ideas:
To get just a bit to have on display, or use in a non-crucial bit of the exercise, OR if it was good enough and we could afford it, to get it tested and certified and then try to persuade the authorities to let us use it.
Anyway, I’ve finally found someone who is willing to help us. She is Norway’s only professional ropemaker and she is with a museum that supplies traditional and archaic ropes, mainly for historic sailing ships. http://www.museumsnett.no/hfs/eng/verft/reipslaging.html
I’ll send her long and interesting reply through on the stonehengineers email system.
Perhaps we could decide if we want to take this further, and if so how far. She seems like she’d be very pleased to be involved.
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