Mausoleum of Theodoric's tomb's 300 ton monolith

I'm quite impressed after hearing about the megalitic stone roof of the Mausoleum of Theoderic - the 300 ton monolith you probably never heard of...


The Mausoleum of Theoderic was built in a Germanic Ostrogoth style in 520 AD.

The tomb was built 520 AD as a tomb for the Germanic Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great, and is a World Heritage Site.

The roof of the tomb is a single circular stone that's 10 meters (33 feet) wide and 1 meter (3 feet) thick and weighs a massive 300 tons - it's probably one of the greatest monoliths in the world to be used as a cupola. Not only that, but the massive stone was transported from the quarry in Istria, Kroatia, to the tomb in Ravenna, Italy - a sea journey 160 km (100 miles) long. A pretty impressive undertaking - considering it was all done manually without any machines. To put it into a modern perspective - that single stone weighs the same as 236 Ford Focus cars.


Mausoleum of Theoderic architecture

So, how did they manage to move this huge rock so far - I did not even know they had ships that large back in 520 AD to carry a 10 meter (33 feet) wide and 1 meter (3 feet) thick single piece of stone. At land the journey would be 5x as long, so I guess we can rule out a land transport.

reply to post by MerkabaMeditation


Where there is a will there is a way, They did have machines but not petrol or steam power and they consisted of counterbalance lifing and pully systems, also this was not long after the roman empire so some of the technical skills of ancient rome would have still be fresh and alive at that time, interesting tomb.
S+F.

I wasn't aware of this so thank you for providing me with something new to study on a slack nightshift. This is very interesting indeed and right up my street. It's pretty intriguing considering what sort of seafaring craft would have been available and that's one of the things I will be looking into. As an initial thought, could the stone possibly have been floated on a barge or barges of some sort that were towed behind sailing vessels or craft with oars and sails?

Thanks again

They were stronger back then! They didn't sit at a desk typey typing all day and getting weak!

LOL

Wow 300 Tons being moved in 500 A.D. amazing!

reply to post by abeverage


Well however it was done it's still an amazing building and looks to be still in great shape considering the period it was constructed.

S & F OP

For posting an interesting thread.

reply to post by MerkabaMeditation


Not only does it make you wonder how they moved such weight but also where did this knowledge of moving such heavy objects go? You would think such know how would have gotten passed down in at least one of these past societies.

Could it float upside down? Maybe with the help of some flotation? Maybe it was transported upside down dragged by horses? Just a guess

From an architecture book I have on this:

The constructional history of this strange aberration is reasonbly apparent. The block was quarried and dressed near Aquilea, ca 150 miles or ca 230 kms North East of Ravenna around the Gulf of Venice, and a convenient haulage way can be identified from there to its location at Ravenna (a recognised Via Maritima). There are two possible methods for raising the block into position ca 11 m above surrounding ground level. Both are founded on primeval expedients of engineering practised since Late Neolithic times - the one based on the use of the inclined plane, the other on the use of the lever. The former is the simpler and thus the more likely. The haulage way was brought in to approach the monument horizontally at the required level, and the completed masonry of the monument was englobed externally and internally by an earthen mound to secure its immobilty. The monolithic dome was then hauled into position atop the masonry walls. Then the earth mound was removed and the monument complete with roofing stood revealed.

Via Maritima is basically a trade route via canal or river, the lifeblood of Venice.

The chapter goes on about an alternative method for raising the dome as well, dragging it into place over the complete (and well braced) ground floor masonry, then jacking it up using lever and chocks, once it was elevated to its final height the upper storey masonry was build beneath it. That once is actually more feasible, as the architect for the mausoleum was thought to be a Syrian who used similar techniques on mausoleums in his homeland, albeit those had vaulted roofs.

The book also referred to the dome as weighing 100 tons, the World Heritage guide (circa 1980's) claims 230 tons. The dome was lightened with a series of niches so it's lighter than its size would otherwise indicate.

Still an accomplished feat!

LABTECH767
reply to post by MerkabaMeditation

 

Where there is a will there is a way, They did have machines but not petrol or steam power and they consisted of counterbalance lifing and pully systems, also this was not long after the roman empire so some of the technical skills of ancient rome would have still be fresh and alive at that time, interesting tomb.
S+F.

True, humans are capable of amazing things once we put our collective minds into it. If they had shared architectural sciences with the Ancient Romans, which is very likely, then why did they not make a Roman Dome instead, that would have been a much simpler task to accomplish.

TheLieWeLive
reply to post by MerkabaMeditation

 

Not only does it make you wonder how they moved such weight but also where did this knowledge of moving such heavy objects go? You would think such know how would have gotten passed down in at least one of these past societies.

They don't call it The Dark Ages for nothing. I believe that if it was not for the repression of the Church our western civilization would be atleast 500 years more advanced than we currently are.

The science of Gears is a similar example when it comes to lost ancient knowledge in the West; the Ancient Greeks used them but sometime after The Light of Rome went out the science of gears was forgotten in the West - until the Muslims brought the knowledge back to Europe again in the 13th century AD.

I found this cool site that give a panoramic view of the inside .. www.turismo.ra.it... there is a index on the side that shows other cool buildings ..thanks for the thread ..peace

Great find, S & F for you!

Human craftsmanship and intelligence never cases to amaze me....

So no 'aliens' or 'sound wave' as many other theories about Egyptian building pyramids. No theory of this being older then 500 years by 10K either... Interesting...

MerkabaMeditation

TheLieWeLive
reply to post by MerkabaMeditation

 

Not only does it make you wonder how they moved such weight but also where did this knowledge of moving such heavy objects go? You would think such know how would have gotten passed down in at least one of these past societies.

They don't call it The Dark Ages for nothing. I believe that if it was not for the repression of the Church our western civilization would be atleast 500 years more advanced than we currently are.

The science of Gears is a similar example when it comes to lost ancient knowledge in the West; the Ancient Greeks used them but sometime after The Light of Rome went out the science of gears was forgotten in the West - until the Muslims brought the knowledge back to Europe again in the 13th century AD.

edit on 17-1-2014 by MerkabaMeditation because: (no reason given)

First off ,
Star and flag for posting about that magnificent piece of stone work.

But I have to disagree with the above statement about the dark ages. The "dark ages " was coined in the late 530's by casiodorus, in response to a dimming of the sun.

Casiodorus-(Roman)-”The sun seems to have lost its wonted light and appears of a bluish color. We marvel to see no shadows of our bodies at noon, to feel the mighty vigor of the sun’s heat wasted into feebleness”

Michael the Syrian: "the sun was dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months. Each day it shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble shadow ... the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes."

It was recently thought that an eruption at krakatoa was responsible, but new evidence suggests that along with the eruption there were multiple comet strikes during that decade.
Theodoric himself was responsible for the loss of technology and learning as the visigoths sacked and burned Rome to the ground. That combined with Rome's slave based culture ensured that knowledge would have been lost.
It really had little to do with the church, but everything to do with Roman cultural practices.
Also the plague of Justinian decimated both eastern and western empires, while sparing the barbarians, as they did not trade with the Romans.
I do agree if the empire had not split we would be a few hundred years ahead. It has been said that the Romans, in the 300's, were only a couple of generations from modern industrial revolution, as they were experimenting with steam power and were on the verge of discovering electricity.

It has been said that the Romans, in the 300's, were only a couple of generations from modern industrial revolution, as they were experimenting with steam power and were on the verge of discovering electricity.

Not to mention the Roman invention of the screw press, which they had already been using for pressing grapes, and in printing textile patterns, they were this close to inventing a proper printing press. Having the ability to preserve, share, and pass on knowledge is tantamount to having a modern society.

As impressive as carving and lifting a dome from a single block of stone is, it's a step backward technology wise from the Roman concrete dome in the Pantheon.

No way people 1500 years ago had the means to move and raise such a massive rock - they must have used space alien technology!

Blackmarketeer

It has been said that the Romans, in the 300's, were only a couple of generations from modern industrial revolution, as they were experimenting with steam power and were on the verge of discovering electricity.

Not to mention the Roman invention of the screw press, which they had already been using for pressing grapes, and in printing textile patterns, they were this close to inventing a proper printing press. Having the ability to preserve, share, and pass on knowledge is tantamount to having a modern society.

As impressive as carving and lifting a dome from a single block of stone is, it's a step backward technology wise from the Roman concrete dome in the Pantheon.

You are absolutely correct that the dome is a step backwards, even though the visigoths ruled Italy at the time they had already lost most of the technical skills of the Romans.
I don't thnk most people appreciate how technically advanced the empire was in it's heyday. By 100 ad legionary armor and weapons were be mass produced by water powered hammers. Electroplating was common by then as well.

reply to post by punkinworks10


The ruins of the great bath house in rome show's evidence of having had three sheet's of rolled glass in the window's so we can add triple glazing to there itinery of inventions, Heron of alexandria (though a greek under roman rule) is one of the most interesting, indeed he was the leonardo davinci of his day and had all the elements of the steam engine, it merely needed putting together and if that had happened the fourth century romans may well have had the steam engine, but for the missed chances of history.
The Chinese of the time may have been in many areas more advanced than Romans though but the Romans had giant crossbow's but no small carried ones and I am certain they must have encountered chinese imports along the silk road as the chinese had infantry crossbows from before emperor chin.


And To MerkebahMeditation you are correct on that point and I can not answer it as it is a glaring hole in my argument, well thought out.