This is a list of monoliths organized according to the size of the largest block of stone on the site. A monolith is a large stone which has been used to build a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. In this list at least one colossal stone over ten tons has been moved to create the structure or monument.
In most cases ancient civilizations had little, if any, advanced technology that would help them move these monoliths.[citation needed] The most notable exception is that of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who had cranes and treadwheels to help lift colossal stones (see list of ancient Greek and Roman monoliths).
This article also includes a list of modern experimental archaeology efforts to move colossal stones using technologies available to the respective ancient civilizations.
Most of these weights are based on estimates by published scholars; however, there have been numerous false estimates of many of these stones presented as fact. To help recognize exaggerations, an introductory description shows how to calculate the weight of colossal stones from first principles.
In the cases of smaller monoliths it may be possible to weigh them. However, in most cases monoliths are too large or they may be part of an ancient structure so this method cannot be used. The weight of a stone can be calculated by multiplying its volume and density. Each of these presents challenges.
To obtain accurate estimates, one needs to survey the monolith, including realistic and explicit assessment of the shapes of inaccessible portions, and then calculate the volume and estimate volumetric errors, which vary crudely as the cube of linear uncertainties.
The density of most stone is between 2 and 3 tons per cubic meter. Basalt weighs about 2.8 to 3.0 tons per cubic meter; granite averages about 2.75 metric tons per cubic meter; limestone, 2.7 metric tons per cubic meter; sandstone or marble, 2.5 tons per cubic meter.[1][2][3][4][5] Some softer stones may be lighter than 2 tons per cubic meter; for example, volcanic tuff weighs about 1.9 tons per cubic meter.[6][7] Since the density of most of these stones varies, it is necessary to know the source of the stone to obtain accurate measurements.[8][9] Identifying the rock type alone is not sufficient, as this table[10] illustrates:
Material | Density |
---|---|
Sediments | 1.7–2.3 |
Sandstone | 2.0–2.6 |
Shale | 2.0–2.7 |
Limestone | 2.5–2.8 |
Granite | 2.5–2.8 |
Metamorphic rock | 2.6–3.0 |
Basalt | 2.7–3.1 |
Simply identifying the monolith as sandstone would allow a ± 15% uncertainty in the weight estimate. In practice, one would measure the density of the monolith itself, and preferably document any variation in density within the monolith, as it may not be homogeneous. Non-destructive methods of density measurements are available (e.g., electron back-scatter); alternatively, the site may contain already-separated fragments of the monolith which can be used for laboratory measurements or on-site techniques. At the crudest, a weighing device and a bucket can obtain two significant figures for a density value.
This section lists monoliths that have been at least partially quarried but not moved.
Weight | Name/Site | Type | Country | Location | Builder | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1,650 t[11] | Forgotten Stone | Block | Lebanon | Baalbek | Roman Empire | 19.6 m long, 6 m wide, ≥5.5 m high | |
1,242 t[12] | Stone of the South | Block | Lebanon | Baalbek | Roman Empire | 19.5–20.5 m long, 4.34–4.56 m wide, 4.5 m high | |
1,100 t[13] | Unfinished obelisk | Obelisk | Egypt | Aswan | Ancient Egypt | 41.75 m long, 2.5–4.4 m wide | |
1,000.12 t[14] | Stone of the Pregnant Woman | Block | Lebanon | Baalbek | Roman Empire | 20.31–20.76 m long, 4–5.29 m wide, 4.21–4.32 m high | |
[15] | Statue of Ahimsa | Statue | India | Mangi-Tungi, Nashik district of Maharashtra | Gyanmati, 2016 | 108 ft (33 m) | |
[16] | Bawangaja | Statue | India | Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh | 84 ft (26 m) | ||
400–600 t | Gommateshwara statue | Statue | India | Shravanabelagola of Karnataka | Chavundaraya | 60 ft (18 m) tall, over 30 ft (9.1 m) wide | |
Rishabha Statue at Gopachal Hill | Statue | India | Gwalior Fort of Madhya Pradesh | Jain laymen | 58.4 ft (17.8 m) tall | ||
207 t[17] | Granite column | Column | Egypt | Mons Claudianus | Roman Empire | Ca. 17.7 m (59 feet) long[18] |
This section lists monoliths that have been quarried and moved.
Weight | Name/Site | Type | Location | Builder | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1,250 t[19] | Thunder Stone | Boulder, Statue pedestal | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Russian Empire, 1770 | Moved 6 km overland for shipment,[19] and cut from 1,500 t to current size in transport[20] |
1,000 t[21] | Ramesseum | Statue | Thebes, Egypt | Ancient Egypt | Transported 170 miles (270 km) by ship from Aswan |
800 t each[22] | Trilithon (3×) | Blocks | Baalbek, Lebanon | Roman Empire | Plus about 24 blocks 300 tons each[23] |
700 t each | Colossi of Memnon (2×) | Statues | Thebes, Egypt | Ancient Egypt | Transported 420 miles (680 km) from el-Gabal el-Ahmar (near modern-day Cairo) over land without using the Nile.[21][24] |
520 tons, 170 tons, and 160 tons | Great Stele, King Ezana's Stele, Obelisk of Axum | Stelae | Axum, Ethiopia | The stelae were moved about 2.6 miles (4.2 km).[25] King Ezana's stele and the "Obelisk" of Axum were among seven such monuments set up in Axum in the 4th century AD. The Great Stele was never successfully erected and broke into pieces at its present site. | |
400 t[26] | Temple in complex for Khafre's Pyramid | Giza, Egypt | |||
300–500 t[27] | Masuda no iwafune | Asuka, Nara, Japan | Large stone structure approximately 11 meters in length, 8 meters in width, and 4.7 meters In height | ||
340 t[28] | Levitated Mass | Los Angeles, California, United States | Sculpture by Michael Heizer, 2012 | Moved 106 miles.[29] | |
330 t[30] | The Broken Menhir of Er Grah | Menhir | Locmariaquer, Brittany, France | Neolithic(4700 BC) | Moved 10–20 km. It once stood but was later broken in 4 |
250–300 t[31] | Western Stone, Temple Mount | Block | Jerusalem, Israel[32] | Herod, King of Judea during the Second Temple period | Weight is disputed; a 2006 analysis estimated the depth of this stone at only 1.8–2.5 m, for a weight of 250–300 t.[31] Weight formerly said to be 550 to 600 t.[33][34] |
230 t[35] | Mausoleum of Theodoric | Roof slab | Ravenna, Italy | Ostrogothic Kingdom | |
220 t[36] | Menkaure's Pyramid | Giza, Egypt | Largest stones in mortuary temple | ||
200 t[37] | Sahure's pyramid | Saqqara, Egypt | Largest stones over king's chamber | ||
200 t[38] | Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites | Korea | Largest stone at the site | ||
Weight | Name/Site | Type | Location | Builder | Comment |
This section includes monoliths that were quarried, moved and lifted.
Monoliths known to have been lifted into an upright position:
Weight | Name/Site | Type | Location | Builder | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
600 t[79] | Alexander Column | Column | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Russian Empire | Lifted in upright position in 1832 |
455 t[80] | Lateran Obelisk and Obelisk of Theodosius | Pair of Obelisks | Rome, Italy & Istanbul, Turkey | Thutmose III | Lifted in upright position originally in 15th century BC as a pair outside the temple of Amun at Karnak, Thebes; both subsequently shipped to Alexandria in the 4th century AD - one then shipped to Rome and erected in 357 AD by Constantius II and the other to Constantinople and installed in 390 AD by Theodosius I. Both partly broken, now 32.18m (Rome) and 19.6m (Istanbul) high. |
361 t[81] | Vatican Obelisk | Obelisk | St. Peter's Square, Vatican City | Ancient Egypt | Removed to Rome in ancient imperial times and re-erected. Relocated in an upright position by Domenico Fontana in 1586 for Pope Sixtus V. |
285 t[82] | Pompey's Pillar | Column | Alexandria, Egypt | Diocletian | Column shaft 20.75 m long, of pink granite (lapis syeneites) quarried in Aswan. Erected 298-303 AD and crowned with a grey granite Corinthian capital and 7 m-tall statue in porphyry. |
250 t | Luxor Obelisk | Obelisk | Paris, France | Louis-Philippe I | Relocated and lifted in upright position by Apollinaire Lebas in 1836 |
170 tons & 160 tons | King Ezana's Stele the Obelisk of Axum | Stelae | Axum, Ethiopia | Kingdom of Axum - Ezana of Axum and before. | The stelae were moved about 2.6 miles (4.2 km) from their quarries.[25] They were the largest Axumite stelae to survive installation; larger attempts failed. The "Obelisk" of Axum was removed from a standing position in 1937, cut into five pieces, and taken to Rome to be re-erected. It was again set up in Ethiopia at its original location in 2005. |
Monoliths that have been placed on a towering structure:
Weight | Height of the tower | Name/Site | Type | Location | Builder | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 t[83] | Vimana) | 66 m (Brihadisvara Temple | Amalaka block | Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India | Chola Empire (1010 AD) | Block of granite, a square of 7.8 m |
25 t[84] | Vimana) | 66 m (Brihadisvara Temple | Khapuri block | Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India | Chola Empire (1010 AD) | Cupolic granite dome |
Monoliths known or assumed to have been lifted clear off the ground by cranes into their position:
Weight | Height | Name/Site | Type | Location | Builder | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
230 t[35] | ~15 m | Mausoleum of Theodoric | Roof slab | Ravenna, Italy | Ostrogothic Kingdom | |
108 t[85] | 19 m | Jupiter temple | Cornice block | Baalbek, Lebanon | Roman Empire | |
63 t[85] | 19 m | Jupiter temple | Architrave-frieze block | Baalbek, Lebanon | Roman Empire | |
53.3 t[86] | ~34 m | Trajan's Column | Capital block | Rome, Italy | Roman Empire | Dedicated in 113 AD |
Roman column monuments like Trajan's Column, though not often themselves monolithic, were built using very large sculpted stone blocks, stacked atop one another using cranes and lewises. The capital block of the column was usually even larger and heavier than the column drums. The columns of Marcus Aurelius, Antoninus Pius, and Constantine, and the lost columns of Theodosius, Arcadius, and Leo were all constructed in this way, on monumental pedestals and crowned with colossal statues. A few were monoliths, including the Column of Diocletian in Alexandria, called "Pompey's Pillar", the "Column of the Goths" and the Column of Marcian in Constantinople, and the lost Column of Antoninus Pius in Rome.
These are listed with the largest experiments first; for additional details of most experiments see related pages.