The Mystery of the Temple of Baalbek, Where Modern Technology Cannot Replicate the Construction Process!
Some of these ruins, located along the Litani River in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, date back to the Roman period, but most of them are believed to date from an even older civilization.
When we think of ancient civilizations, we often think of the pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon in Greece, the Colosseum in Rome, etc.
These are masterpieces in human history, demonstrating the wisdom and art of different cultures and eras. However, there is a mysterious place that can break our understanding of human civilization.
The site also bears witness to the existence of an earlier civilization. The Sun Temple at Balbec is also known as the largest temple to Jupiter in Rome, but most people refer to it as the Temple of Baalbek.
It is now commonly thought to be an ancient Roman site, but in fact it may be a fusion of Phoenician and Roman influences. It is also known by archaeologists as the site of the last civilization , because of the unexplained man-made artifacts found here.
The Temple of the Sun at Balbec is also known as the largest temple of Jupiter in Rome, but most people call it the Temple of Baalbek. (Photo: CNN).
The Baalbek Sun Temple is located in Lebanon and is a veritable megalithic city. The scale of the megaliths here is much larger than the pyramids of ancient Egypt. The most prominent feature inside the temple is the three giant stone platforms. On these stone platforms, there are many stone columns, stone statues, stone steps, stone gates of different sizes and shapes, all containing the wisdom and ingenuity of the ancients.
What is truly impressive, however, are the three foundations of the Balbek Temple . These three stones are 21 meters long, 4 meters high, 3 meters wide, hand-cut into rectangular shapes and placed so tightly at the bottom that even a needle cannot be inserted. The key point is that these three stones are all 4 meters above the ground , the heaviest weighs more than 1,400 tons, the smallest weighs about 1,200 tons. The stone strips under the stone also weigh 350 tons each. Standing in front of these stones, humans seem extremely small.
These walls are formed from many megalithic blocks of different sizes. (Photo: CNN).
On the path of this temple, people placed pre-cut stones, each weighing more than 800 tons. There are artificial holes on the face of these stones, showing the great ingenuity of the ancients.
Outside the temple is a stone lying empty, 19.6 meters long, 6 meters high, 5.5 meters wide, weighing about 1,650 tons, the stone is partially buried in the ground, on the surface there are some traces of cutting and drilling. The purpose of this stone has always been a mystery . Some believe that it was brought by the Romans or an earlier civilization to build a monolithic building or statue, but for some reason it was never completed. However, what makes many people feel puzzled is how they could have transported it here?
What has puzzled scientists is how the ancients were able to transport such large monolithic blocks to the exact construction site of the temple. (Photo: Ancient-origins)
Archaeologists speculate that the megalithic blocks of the pyramids were built and transported by the Egyptians based on the principles of rivers or rolling logs. However, this theory cannot be applied to the case of the Baalbek temple.
First of all, Baalbek had no canals, so it was impossible to float the stones on rafts. Second, these stones weighed over 1,000 tons, and if transported with rolling logs, the rolling logs below would be crushed. Even if they could be transported to the designated location with rolling logs, how would they be lifted and placed four meters above the ground?
Because transporting and lifting megaliths are completely different techniques. Some people believe that the ancients may have used simple machines such as levers, pulleys and ropes to accomplish this feat. However, the operating principles and efficiency of these machines are limited, requiring a lot of manpower and time to pull and lift these stones.
Furthermore, the materials used in these machines must be strong and durable, otherwise they are very easy to break or damage. Some scholars have conducted experiments in which they built a one-ton boulder out of logs and found that it took 16 people 22 hours to move 500 to 700 meters. If calculated at this rate, it would take 16,000 people and 22,000 hours to move a 1,000-ton boulder. This is clearly impractical.
These giant stones have left archaeologists with many unanswered questions. With today's technology, it would take 24 heavy cranes to lift it, but moving it is impossible. (Photo: Ancient-origins).
If the incredible trio of megaliths doesn't blow your mind, some more ancient and mysterious structures lurk beneath the Baalbek Temple. These buildings could be traces of the Phoenicians or an earlier civilization , or they could be evidence of the existence of a previous generation of civilization.
According to archaeologists' research, the foundation of the Baalbek Sun Temple and the buildings above were not built at the same time. In other words, it is not known who laid the foundation stones below, and whether the Phoenicians or the Romans later built the Baalbek Temple above the foundation stones.
It is speculated that the construction of this monument can be dated back to around 9,000 years ago, while the temple above was built around 3,000 BC.
It is generally believed that the temple was built by the Phoenicians . They called the site Baalbeck, where 'Beck' means city, and 'Baal' is the name of the Phoenician and Canaanite sun god. The Phoenicians who later lived here mysteriously disappeared, and the Romans took over the site, turning it into a Roman site.
The Trilithon is a group of three megalithic stones used in the foundation of the Baalbek temple. (Photo: Ancient-origins).
The construction of the Baalbek Temple has always been a mystery. One theory is that the Baalbek Temple was built by the Romans or earlier civilizations, using some advanced technology and methods that were not beyond human capabilities.
According to this theory, the Balbek Temple was originally a Phoenician sacrificial center for the worship of the Sun god and the Moon goddess Astarte. Another theory suggests that the Baalbek Temple was built by an ancient civilization, using techniques and methods beyond the scope of modern human understanding. This theory suggests that the Baalbek Temple predates the Phoenicians or Romans, and may have been built by aliens or ancient supercivilizations to serve as a power station or communication station.
Many people believe that the Baalbek Temple was not just a temple but an astronomical observatory. The stones here were not placed randomly but were arranged according to certain rules and directions.
These stones could be used to observe the movements of the Sun, Moon, stars and planets, and could even predict the occurrence of solar eclipses, lunar eclipses and comets.
These two statements have a certain basis and rationality, but they also have certain errors and controversies. And until now, there is still no definite answer. For the rest, the Baalbek Temple is not only an ancient architectural complex but also an ancient information repository. It not only records the history and culture of ancient civilizations, but also conveys the beliefs and wisdom of ancient civilizations. It allows us to have more thoughts and imagination about the origin of human civilization, and it also gives us more expectations and hopes for the future of human civilization.
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