Discover the largest ancient stone by humans

German archaeologists discovered the largest chiseled stone, dating back more than 2,000 years.

The research team at the German Institute of Archeology found a block of rock at a limestone quarry in Baalbek, Lebanon. It was once considered Heliopolis - the city of sunshine during the Roman period.

The largest mass of human stone chiseled since ancient times.(Photo: Discovery News)

The stone block has a part buried under the ground. The monolith is 19.6m long, 6m wide, 5.5m tall and weighs an estimated 1,650 tons, Discovery News reported.

Archaeologists believe that limestone blocks date from at least 27 BC, when Baalbek is a Roman colony. This is the time of three great temples and many additional temples were built and the process lasted until the second century AD.

The giant stone is used as the base of the temple of Jupiter. Currently, there are only a few parts of the temple left, including 6 large columns and 27 huge limestone blocks at the base.

"The smooth, smooth level of the rock shows that it is transported and used without being cut off," the Archaeological Institute said. "So this is the biggest stone ever known since ancient times."

However, the way of transporting monoliths to the exact construction site of the temple is still a mystery. Some people believe that this stone was created by an unknown civilization, before the time of Alexander the Great, who founded Heliopolis in 334 BC.