Beiruting News

See that absurdly massive stone block? Yeah, that's not the one we're talking about. Look over to the right. A team led by professor at the Lebanese University faculty of Human Sciences Jeanine Abdul Massih and in collaboration with the German archaeological expedition  working at the Baalbek site in Lebanon have uncovered the largest worked ancient block.




The fully exposed block, which dates back to the Roman Period, is the well-known Hajjar al-Hibla. It's located in a stone quarry at Baalbek, site of the ancient Heliopolis in Lebanon. Similar stone blocks measuring up to 20 meters (65 feet) in length and a diameter of 4 x 4 meters (13 x 13 feet) were used for the podium of the massive Temple of Jupiter in the Roman sanctuary of Baalbek.






A few months ago, a team from the Lebanese University along with German Archaeological Institute conducted excavations at the quarry, and to their amazement they found an ever bigger stone just off to the side and underneath it. It measures 19.6 meters (64 feet) in length, 6 meters (19.6 feet) wide, and is at least 5.6 meters (18 feet) high. Its weight is estimated at a daunting 1,650 tons (that's 3,300,000 pounds, or 1,496,850 kg).






The archaeologists concluded that because of the stone's configuration and level of smoothness, the block was meant to be transported to be used on the podium of Jupiter temple. The block was shaped and left on site connected to the natural bedrock. It's thus the biggest stone block known from antiquity. They're now investigating why the stone was not transported and remained in the quarry - and by what means the Roman builders had to transport it. [ Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.]