The
Mystery of the Stones at Baalbek (3)
By Alan F.
Alford
Author
of 'Gods of the New Millennium', 'The Phoenix Solution' and 'When The Gods
Came Down'
Part 3 of 5
The Climax of Baalbek
It is now time to
experience the climax of Baalbek, and this requires retracing our steps to
the entrance, and skirting around the outer walls of the acropolis. On the
way we see the stark contrast between more 300-ton megaliths and the much
smaller fortifications of the Arabs.
 At
last we turn a corner and see, in the western (strictly south-western)
wall of the platform, the great Trilithon.
The Trilithon is the lighter-coloured course in the wall and comprises
three granite stones beautifully fitted together at a height of 20 feet
above present ground level.
The angle of this photograph - compromised by the fence and woods which
now obstruct the view of this wall, hardly does justice to the huge size
of these blocks, which are 14 feet 6 inches in height, 12 feet thick, and
a staggering 64 feet in length (on average).
These three stones are slightly smaller than the Stone of the South,
which we saw earlier, and are estimated to weigh approximately 800 tons
each.
Now feast your eyes once again on the awesome 1000-ton Stone of the
South, which weighs approximately as much as three Boeing 747 aircraft:
Give your imagination a little exercise by mentally trimming this 1,000
ton megalith into an 800-ton block - that is four fifths of this size -
and now, keeping that image in your mind, take another look at three
such stones in the Trilithon. Can it be true? Are these stones really
there? Yes, sir. I have seen it with my own eyes.
The locals call this the 'Miracle of the Three Stones'. I, on the other
hand, prefer to call it 'the Archaeologist's Nightmare', for our minds
immediately begin to reel with questions - who built this megalithic wall,
when did they build it, how did they build it, and, more importantly, why
did they build it in the way that they did?
This
is one of the most amazing sights in the ancient world - the three 800-ton
blocks of the mighty Trilithon (the lighter-coloured course), situated in
a wall of the great acropolis of Baalbek in Lebanon.
Michel Alouf, the former curator of the ruins, once wrote of the
Trilithon:
'... in spite of their immense size, they [the Trilithon stones] are
so accurately placed in position and so carefully joined, that it is
almost impossible to insert a needle between them. No description will
give an exact idea of the bewildering and stupefying effect of these
tremendous blocks on the spectator'. [4]
Analysis of the Baalbek
Platform
Observe in the
above photograph the impressive platform of stones which underpins the
Trilithon. Each of these stone blocks (the fifth visible layer of the
wall) measures 33 by 14 by 10 feet and thus, according to my calculations,
weighs approximately 300 tons. Note the outward tapering of these blocks.
In my view this was once the platform's uppermost layer, with the
Trilithon being a later addition.
Observe, too, the supporting layers beneath the 300-ton blocks - at
least four layers of carefully constructed smaller stones.
Now look closely at the adjoining wall, i.e. the south-eastern wall of
the acropolis.
Here we see another row of 300-ton megaliths, measuring 33 feet in
length and 14 feet in height. This layer of megaliths is quite
ill-matched; some blocks are tapered, others are not, and the cut of the
tapering does not match, even on adjacent blocks. It is as if this
south-eastern side of the platform (perhaps the uppermost layer of the
original platform) has at one time sustained serious damage and been
subsequently reconstructed.
The significant fact, which is not readily apparent without a visit to
Baalbek, is this: the rows of 300-ton blocks in the adjoining
south-western and south-eastern walls are at exactly the same level - in
other words, the Trilithon layer rises above any of the other megalithic
stones and does not form part of a level terrace. This fact has led me to
a conclusion which is shared by some conventional researchers - that the
Baalbek platform as it stands is incomplete, perhaps being part of an
unfinished defensive wall.
Such a conclusion is supported by the Stone of the South, which is
still attached to the rocky floor of the quarry. Whilst it is possible
that the block was considered faulty, it is perhaps more likely that the
Stone of the South was abandoned when the project as a whole was suddenly
cancelled.
How was Baalbek built?
 This
view from the quarry shows that the distance to the Baalbek acropolis is
not huge - no more than a third of a mile. Nor is the elevation very
different between the two points. Although we do not know the topography
of the site at the time the wall was constructed, it does seem feasible
that the stones might have been dragged up a ramp to the position where
they now lie. Theoretically, then, the lifting of the stones would have
been limited only to positional adjustments.
Nevertheless, when we consider the size and weight of the Baalbek
stones and the fact that the route to the acropolis is not entirely flat,
transportation via non-technological means would have presented the
builders with formidable problems.
So, how was the job done? How were three 800-ton stones cut, moved and
erected in the Baalbek acropolis?
This is a question which must be tackled with great caution, for it is
not at all clear who the builders of Baalbek actually were.
If you ask an archaeologist, he will tell you that the Romans built the
temples of Baalbek and he or she might well point out that there are work
gang inscriptions which date the construction of the Temple of Jupiter to
the 1st century ad, i.e. to the Roman era. The archaeologist might also
point out to you that the Romans did know how to move and lift heavy
stones; after all, we know that they transported a large number of
multi-hundred ton obelisks to Rome from Egypt, and that was no mean feat
two thousand years ago.
The archaeologist will thus suppose that the platform of Baalbek, on
which the Roman temples stand, must also belong to the Roman era. And he
or she will thus explain the construction of the Trilithon by reciting
what is known about Roman construction techniques. Thus the explanation
involves the erection of the Trilithon by push-and-shove methods, with the
Romans probably using nothing more than wooden rollers, ropes, wooden
lifting frames and human muscle power.
Archaeologists typically overlook the fact that experiments with stones
much lighter than 800 tons have crushed the wooden rollers. And even if
such a method was feasible, it would, by one estimate, have required the
combined pulling power of 40,000 men to move the Stone of the South.[5]
Incredible indeed.
Is there any evidence that the Romans built the platform of Baalbek as
well as the temples upon it? One text book assures us that: 'Part of a
[Roman] drum or column similar to those found in the Temple of Jupiter was
used as a block in the foundation under the Trilithon'.[6] But where is
the evidence for this Roman drum? I myself have been to Baalbek and I can
show you dozens of photographs of the foundation walls, but I cannot show
you the alleged Roman drum. It seems to have vanished into thin air.
A good counter argument lies in the fact that the Baalbek platform is
out of all proportion to the temples which stand upon it, being thus
suggestive of two different phases in construction.[7] This same
observation was made by Professor Daniel Krencker of the German
archaeological mission, although it led him to the conclusion that the
Temple of Jupiter was originally planned on the same colossal scale as
these foundations.[8] In other words, Krencker believed that the Roman
builders must have had a change of mind. (How many times have we heard
this before? Call me a sceptic but it seems to me that 'a change of mind'
is archaeologist-speak for anything which the archaeologist cannot
comprehend!)
In the absence of any proof as to who built the platform of Baalbek, it
becomes very difficult to draw any firm conclusions as to the construction
methods used. What we can do, however, is demonstrate the scale of the job
by explaining how the Trilithon would be erected using today's technology.
Copyright Notice
This article is the copyright of Eridu Books 2004. The images and
diagrams are the copyright of Alan Alford or of other photographers, where
indicated. Eridu Books welcomes the reproduction and dissemination of
these pages, in original, unaltered form, for non-commercial purposes, but
permission must be sought for any other usage, other than 'fair dealing'
quotations.
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