Easier to cast than gouge: Antique Reinforced Stone Casting

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Several examples of ancient products with reinforcement elements. What according to the history of the ancient world should not be.

During the Bronze Age, iron products were not in use. Iron supposedly could not yet be smelted from ore. Although, according to artisanal technology, iron smelting is not more difficult than copper smelting and bronze production. But how to explain not only iron elements, but also iron reinforcement in antique buildings? See examples:

Armature in the buildings of Palmyra

If these are fittings, then they are cast masses. Filled them during ancient construction or restoration? These photographs indicate that this breed is something like a plaster cast.

I don’t think these are fittings from the restoration. If we assume that all these objects are restored, then nothing remains of the objects of ancient history.

Why doesn't anyone in science pay attention to these details? Inconvenient facts or do they know that this is a remake, a reproduction of ancient products? No comments.

Next example:

Hippos- the center of Hellenistic culture. Its other name: Antioch-Hippos, as well as Susita, on the territory of modern Israel. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 749. Excavations began for some reason only in 1951.

The remains of the columns have been excavated. From this "Lego" they tried to reconstruct something. But the most important thing, as usual, is in the details:

A rod sticking out of a column or a piece of ancient reinforcement. Let's enlarge the place where the metal reinforcement sticks out of the column:

On the right in the photo is another column. The example in this place is not unique.

If you don't understand, then this is a metal rod embedded in a granite column. Not driven in, not inserted into the hole, but poured during its manufacture. Those. ancient builders knew how to make imitation of compositions for natural granite.

Excerpts from I. Sinelnikov's book "Artificial marble":

It is possible that the columns in the photographs above were made using this technology. Similar recipes were found in the book "Handicraft Recipes", 1931. editions.

Moving on, the following example:

Image from the video below. Armature sticking out of a fragment of an antique statue found during excavations in the Lavra? It turns out that it is cast, and not from natural limestone! The fittings are not modern, not ribbed. The twigs are clearly ancient. But how much? Is the product hundreds of years old or only 100 years old (since the 19th century, when they already knew how to make rolled steel)?

Screen taken from 11:23 min from the video:

A similar reinforcement came across in the footage in the video, where the Islamists destroyed ancient statues in museums in Iraq:

This is one example of reinforced elements in Iraqi antiquities. There were photographs where iron beams, after the destruction of the elements, protruded from the facades of ancient buildings.

The next example is the dissemination of ferruginous compounds in granite:

1. Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The bottom element of the column. Ferruginous compounds in granite. 2. Iron vein in granite. Can this be?

Foreign inclusions are found in granites. These are usually basalt stones. But what would be ferruginous inclusions, I think, for granitoids it is impossible. Or did the ancient masters know how to imitate concrete compositions that were no different from granite? And in this case, something was not completely stirred, there was a trace of this inclusion.

Below is the most striking example of either restoration, or the capabilities of the technologies of the ancient world, which are not described in history:

Salamis. Cyprus

Reinforcement inside the stone base, column stands.

In these photographs, it is surprising that all the columns are standing, they are equally preserved in height. But there are no other structural elements: blocks, debris, etc.

It can be seen that the inner part of the column is also a casting. Layers from the formwork hoops are visible. In this example, it is possible that this is a reconstruction.

Two possible explanations:

one. Either the iron was in antiquity, then its chronology and dating need to be revised. Or to reconsider the technological capabilities of that culture.

2. Either the restorers did it: they restored it, made replicas.

The following example, although it does not have reinforcement, but these pipeline elements are clearly cast:

Archaeological Museum of Istanbul

It is clear that it is easier to cast it than to gouge it out. Do not get inside the element of the stone water pipe with a chisel and hammer. A cast rectangular rod at the base of the column (in the same place in the museum on an open-air site). Of course, it can be assumed that the metal element can be inserted into the hollowed out hole and then covered with mortar.

And at the end of this short article, I propose to watch a video of one Indian researcher of antiquities:

Video about Fort Warangal in India: “Ancient geopolymers are proven!”. The video presents interesting observations that sandstone can in fact be ordinary lime-based concrete (with sand filler, plus burnt lime).

What conclusion can be drawn? Either it's all a remake, and as one skeptic told me recently: all the columns and antiquities were removed to museums (!?), and reproductions were put on display. Or the ancients possessed the technologies of smelting iron and rolled steel already during the Bronze Age. As well as concrete technologies that imitate natural rocks such as marble and granite.