15 of The Worlds Greatest Living Rocks

reply to post by ROBL240


Yup that is another great site in this world but I can see why it didnt make the cut so to speak All the places listed here are all carved out of the rock, stone Thisor mountains in which they are now. Nothing was moved or put together. Everything was carved out of a single piece of stone or mountain side. Look at Petra, The Sphinx or Abu Simbel in Egypt. All these places were carved from where they stand so to speak. Same with Mount Rushmore as well and the rest of them.
This type of architecture has been labeled "rock-cut architecture." I myself did not know this until I started reading more and more about these types of structures today.

Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating buildings by carving natural rock. In India the term 'cave' is often applied, and in China 'cavern,' but one must differentiate natural caves from rock-cut architecture which is man-made and designed along the conventions of architecture itself and thus in every respect a part of architecture and its history.[1] Though rock-cut architecture differs from traditional buildings in many obvious ways, many are often made to replicate real architectural forms in the facades and even in their interiors. The interiors were usually carved out by starting at what would wind up being the roof and then working downward, for the obvious reason that stones would not be falling on one's head. The three main uses of rock-cut architecture were temples (like those in India), tombs (like those in Petra, Jordan) and cave dwelling (like those in Cappadocia, Turkey).

Rock-cut architecture is also said to be cut, hewn, etc., "from the living rock".[2] Another term sometimes associated with rock-cut architecture is monolithic architecture, but it would apply only to completely free-standing structures

rock-cut architecture

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
... All the places listed here are all carved out of the rock, stone Thisor mountains in which they are now. Nothing was moved or put together. Everything was carved out of a single piece of stone or mountain side. Look at Petra, The Sphinx or Abu Simbel in Egypt. All these places were carved from where they stand so to speak. Same with Mount Rushmore as well and the rest of them.

Based on this quote I assume that you are either too young or didn't know but Abu Simbel was moved between 1964 and 1968 or it would have been flooded by the rising waters of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan dam...it was moved up 195 feet and back 600 feet from the river to a man made hill built exclusively to house it. It is one of if not the most impressive feats of engineering in modern times.

That is not to detract to the structures themselves or to this thread for that matter.

[edit on 19-9-2009 by grover]

Originally posted by grover

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
... All the places listed here are all carved out of the rock, stone or mountains in which they are now. Nothing was moved or put together. Everything was carved out of a single piece of stone or mountain side. Look at Petra, The Sphinx or Abu Simbel in Egypt. All these places were carved from where they stand so to speak. Same with Mount Rushmore as well and the rest of them.

Based on this quote I assume that you are either too young or didn't know but Abu Simbel was moved between 1964 and 1968 or it would have been flooded by the rising waters of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan dam...it was moved up 195 feet and back 600 feet from the river to a man made hill built exclusively to house it. It is one of if not the most impressive feats of engineering in modern times.

That is not to detract to the structures themselves or to this thread for that matter.

[edit on 19-9-2009 by grover]

I didnt know it was moved. I have never even read that, thanks! I have read about it many times and I have never seen it mentioned. It was still cut from one solid huge piece of rock. Also when I said "moved" I meant the structures werent built somewhere else and put together Egypt IMO has the coolest monuments and temples in the world, but that is just me. Im glad they moved it! Thanks for the info!

It may sound strange in this age of 24 hour news cycles and sound bites but i remember regular reports on the evening news with Walter Cronkite and others about its progress...they ended up having to build casement dams around it as they finished decontructing it.

From Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org...

The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir.

The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt's top tourist attractions...

...In 1959 an international donations campaign to save the monuments of Nubia began: the southernmost relics of this ancient human civilization were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964, and cost some USD $40 million. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons averaging 20 tons), dismantled and reassembled in a new location – 65 m higher and 200 m back from the river, in what many consider one of the greatest feats of archaeological engineering. Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. Today, thousands of tourists visit the temples daily. Guarded convoys of buses and cars depart twice a day from Aswan, the nearest city. Many visitors also arrive by plane, at an airfield that was specially constructed for the temple complex.

[edit on 19-9-2009 by grover]

reply to post by grover


Wow at least they moved it successfully. Egyptians really took pride IMO in their monuments and temples. Its amazing what they could do with stone and rock. I would have loved to of lived back then when Egypt was in her prime. Thanks for the info.... I mostly read about the Sphinx, Karnak and the Great Pyramid. I would like to do a thread on the water erosion theory which I did a paper on in college but most of the info I received was from Robert Schoch himself via email. I only have them in print in my storage. I no longer have the emails. It was great personal information and was amazed he responded. Zahi Hawass well he didnt which I expected since he doesnt favor the water theory much. Anyways thanks for pointing this out. I learn so much from people on here

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I've been to petra... its beyond cool... they have the remains of clay pipes going through the cliff side... they friggin had running water... its amazing!

Originally posted by Odessy
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

I've been to petra... its beyond cool... they have the remains of clay pipes going through the cliff side... they friggin had running water... its amazing!

Wow Im jealous Yea I recently saw a show on Petra and they did a virtual simulation of what it might have looked like with the running water and I was like WOW! That place is probably the coolest next to Egypt and Puma Punku I really need to get over my extreme fear of flying if I ever plan on seeing some of these places one day.

There are also the troglodyte caves in Kandovan (Iran) I include here some of my own photos.

50 kms south of Tabriz and on the slopes of Sahand Mountain.

With Sahand Mountain behind me, these are the beehive dwellings

Close-up

reply to post by mblahnikluver

You mention Karnak...one thing I did not know and learned in Robin Lane Foxes most recent book "From Homer to Hadrian: a History of the Classical World" (like all of his books an excellent read) that many of the great monuments we see like Karnak were actually reconstructions made by the Poltmies.

Another thing he pointed out that I didn't know...ancient Egypt had universal health care. Everyone from the Pharoh on down paid a physicans tax and should they fall ill they were taken care of...

...if ancient Egypt could do it why can't we?

reply to post by mblahnikluver


wow, thanks for sharing. this is some amazing stuff that really shows what humans (with maybe a little help) and the earth can do

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Great locations! Here's another i visited 10 years ago...


www.asi.nic.in...#

reply to post by hangerhead


Wow thanks! Those are very cool.

reply to post by McGinty


I was looking at those yesterday online. I was thinking of doing a thread on them or just adding them here but I see you did thanks!

Here is the pic you posted earlier and a couple others I found

Ellora Caves

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/132d9b835aaf.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a70cea1f64d8.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3af95371205e.jpg[/atsimg]

edit to add pictures





[edit on 9/20/2009 by mblahnikluver]

reply to post by grover


I never knew either of those myself. I might have to check out that book. ...Wow if Egyptians had health care then what is wrong with us?! I might have to looking into that and do a thread on it For some reason I have always been drawn to Egypt. Its an amazing place I hope to visit one day. Thanks for sharing

Originally posted by ineverknew
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

wow, thanks for sharing. this is some amazing stuff that really shows what humans (with maybe a little help) and the earth can do

You are welcome

As far as what humans can do I go back and forth on the "help" part. I just dont think we give our ancestors enough credit for what they could have done. We werent around then and we have no idea the ways they could have done things. I mean think about it in about 1000 years from now all of our information from this time is in paper or online, what if those items are lost and the people of that time are wondering how we did things just like we did with places like Egypt. I am open to these people finding their own ways to do things and maybe help from "above." It would be great if we knew but I think its kind of fun trying to find out on your own

The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian (London: Allen Lane, 2005, ISBN 978-0713998535)

So I got the title backward...so sue me. LOL Still an excellent read...the man is no slacker...you should also try his massive Pagans and Christians: religion and the religious life from the 2nd century AD to the rise of Constintine.

No easy read but a fascinating one.

[edit on 20-9-2009 by grover]

Originally posted by grover
The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian (London: Allen Lane, 2005, ISBN 978-0713998535)

So I got the title backward...so sue me. LOL Still an excellent read...the man is no slacker...you should also try his massive Pagans and Christians: religion and the religious life from the 2nd century AD to the rise of Constintine.

No easy read but a fascinating one.

[edit on 20-9-2009 by grover]

Why thanks Yeah I am reading a hard one now "Morals and Dogma" by Albert Pike. A friend gave it to me to read after we talked about Masons and the Illuminati. I need google with that book! Its been interesting but its a huge book. I read a little every other day.....I will check both those books out. Thanks

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Thanks for posting those - i couldn't work out how

The temple (pictured top) apparently took hundreds of years to make. Can you imagine being born to one of the rock carvers and he says, "Son, will will continue this when i die." But all the can see is a pile of rock with an ornate spire carved at the top. Years later the boy says the same thing to his son, point to the modest progress he's made in his lifetime...

It's inconceivable to imagine devoting your life to something that you'll hardly effect and will take many generations to finish. This kind of devotion is certainly amiss these days. People can't even keep families together, or watch a movie longer than 90 minutes without complaining.

Nice side note: While i was at those caves a rabid monkey took a small chunk out of my leg and i spent the rest of the day crossing back and fourth across the town trying to figure out how the Indian health service works, hoping i'd get the right injection before the incurable '28 Days Later-symptoms' kicked in. But that's another story - anyhow i'm still here

Edited to fix my crappy typos

[edit on 20-9-2009 by McGinty]

absolutely remarkable, what lucky people the 1st people who witnessed these places were

would love to visit such incredible places in person

reply to post by McGinty


Yea its amazing how they took pride and time in their work back then. Now-a-days its nothing like that. IMO thats what makes these places so special.

Oww! That had to hurt! At least you are fine now