The stones were placed and carved so that they would be slightly inclined and perfectly adjusted to each other. Each block has to fit exactly with the others, and each block supports the others. All the stones are locked into one another and embedded into the bedrock.”
A unique feature of the monument revealed by the study showed how the upright stones were initially embedded, likely with the use of a counterweight, into foundation sockets so deep that up to one-third of the stones would have been below ground when first erected.
Once the walls had been completed, the builders placed five huge capstones to form the roof. The builders subsequently removed the earth to the desired floor level, erecting stone pillars for extra support.
“Once the capstones were added, it was like a solid box, with the bedrock still inside, and then they carved away all that rock, all that bedrock, to make the chamber,”
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Early science and colossal stone engineering in Menga, a Neolithic dolmen (Antequera, Spain)
In summary, Menga is unique for its time for several reasons. The use of pillars to support the gigantic capstones, the embedding of a large portion of the edifice in the bedrock to attain extra-stability—acquiring earthquake-resistant properties, and the inter-locking of the uprights through lateral facets dressed at similar angles are features not seen in any other megalithic construction.
An in-depth knowledge of the properties (and location) of the rocks available in the region, notions of elementary physics (friction, activation energy, optimal ramp slope, mass center estimation, available rock load-bearing capacity, among others) was necessary to move and place the gigantic stones.
Other forms of advanced knowledge deployed to build Menga include geometry and astronomy.
This is revealed by the millimeter-scale use of obtuse and straight angles on the facets of the uprights, or the precise alignment of Menga’s central symmetry axis to 45°, thus matching the natural plane of orientation of La Peña de los Enamorados northern cliff to which the dolmen faces.
The incorporation of advanced knowledge in the fields of geology, physics, geometry, and astronomy shows that Menga represents not only a feat of early engineering but also a substantial step in the advancement of human science, reflecting the accumulation of advanced knowledge.
Menga demonstrates the successful attempt to make a colossal monument lasting over thousands of years. In Antequera, this early science materialized in the construction of a great engineering building made of stone.
TIL