Despite the fact that mankind has been researching its own ancestors for thousands of years, ancient civilizations still keep some of their secrets.
Thus, it is possible to single out a number of technologies from the past, which, according to modern historians, are absolutely uncharacteristic for the period of their application. And some of them are still impossible to repeat, even with the use of modern achievements of science and technology. Your attention is the “nine” of unique technologies of ancient civilizations, whose secrets have not yet been able to unravel.
1.Indian complex “Shravanabelagola”
In the Indian city of Shravanabelagola, located in the state of Karnataka, there is a temple complex of the same name. Researchers date it to about the 10th century AD, that is, during the reign of the dynasty of the ancient Indian kings of the Western Ganges, who patronized Jainism, and they reigned in Karnataka from the 4th to the 11th century.
The name, original for the ear of a domestic man in the street, is translated as “a monk standing on top of a hill.” The Shravanabelagola complex is striking in its scale, but the main attraction, which delights tourists, and historians and archaeologists into a stupor, are the columns of the temples.
Their phenomenon is that they are made with such perfect geometry and precise details that it seems absolutely impossible given the level of development of tools that builders could then have at their disposal. Column processing technology can only be compared with the work of modern lathes, but official science cannot yet find its analogs of a thousand years ago.
2.” Plasticine” Kenko technology
In the Peruvian city of Kenko, there are several elevations collected from stones of a rather unusual type, the technology of creating which is reliably unknown even now. The thing is that these heaps of rock, regardless of their size, look as if they were either processed with modern sharpening tools or … they were simply crumpled by hands – that is why they are called “plasticine”.
Most slides have stones with processed sides, and in a variety of forms – from simply smooth edges to perfectly polished plumb lines of impressive monoliths. Of particular interest are stones, in which depressions are clearly visible, which are sometimes compared even with imprints of huge fingers: the stones were really “crushed” in the palm of your hand.
The most curious detail among Kenko’s stones, however, is the monoliths, which have been cut to strikingly resemble a huge chair. Several niches are located nearby, which differ in a carefully and neatly outlined geometric shape. All these surviving monuments of the past suggest that ancient civilizations were able to master the technology of softening stones, which has been lost to this day.
3.Polygonal masonry technology
Polygonal masonry is a construction technology known for a fairly long time widespread use and found in many parts of the planet, which are famous for the traces of ancient civilizations. It is the use of polygonal stones of various sizes, which are pressed against one another and docked at arbitrary angles. The main advantage of this technology is the saving of time and effort because during its use it was not required to adjust each stone to the same parameters.
For example, numerous structures of the era of Ancient Greece and Rome are a vivid evidence of the widespread use of this type of masonry in Europe. Among others, we can highlight the retaining wall of the terrace of the famous Temple of Apollo, located on the territory of the ancient Greek city of Delphi. Its length is about five hundred meters, and it dates back to about 500 BC.
This technology was also used in the Middle Ages, although at that time more advanced methods of building walls were already known. Thus, polygonal masonry can be seen in some castles and defensive fortifications, among them – buildings in the city of Kronstadt on the island of Kotlin. However, most examples of polygonal masonry can be found in the territory of the settlement of the ancient Incas and Mayans, that is, in modern Peru, Bolivia, as well as on the territory of Easter Island. According to historians, it was the Incas who mastered this technology best of all. Prominent examples of the use of technology can be found in the Peruvian cities of Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Puno.
In fairness, it should be noted that the general mechanism of application of this technology is known to researchers. However, the same Incas adjusted the stones to each other so accurately, and without using in most cases a fixing composition, regularly cause controversy in the scientific community, and also contribute to the emergence of various kinds of theories and even legends, which explain how ancient people were able to build such strong constructions of huge monoliths, using a rather primitive technology.
4.Curved stones and monoliths of the temple “Khafre”
In the Egyptian Khafre’s Valley Temple, on the Giza plateau, there is a temple, the construction features of which are not fully understood to date. One of the points that raise questions among researchers is the mechanism for transporting and raising stone blocks to a height, despite the fact that each of them weighs several tens of tons. All of them were made of red granite, while the floor was made by laying limestone slabs.
In addition, huge stones were built into the walls using polygonal masonry technology. Only they were adjusted to each other with such amazing accuracy that even a knife blade could not be squeezed between the individual blocks. It is especially surprising to see the quality of such masonry in a structure that is considered one of the most ancient Egyptian buildings that have survived to this day, and the style and nature of technology can only be compared with the current temple of the Sphinx, which is located next to the temple of Osiris in Abydos.
However, the greatest mystery, which has been stirring the minds of researchers and curious inhabitants for more than one hundred years, is kept, in the literal sense of the word, by the corners of the temple: there you can see nothing more than curved stones. It is to the algorithm for the manufacture of blocks of this type that scientists, Egyptologists and modern architects have not yet managed to even come close. The stones look like monoliths and fit perfectly together, like pieces of a puzzle. Moreover, there are no traces of chiseling or hammering on them – the blocks seem to be poured into solid forms.
5.Caves “Kondana”
Another unique point on the tourist map of India, which delights ordinary people and baffles researchers, is a complex of 16 Buddhist caves located near the cities of Lonavala, called “Kondana”. According to the official version, their appearance dates back to around the 1st century BC. This monument of ancient civilization is still considered one of the most unusual and mysterious in India.
The thing is that scientists to this day have not been able to establish exactly what images they were erected. After all, as it was established for certain, all the elements of the structure were created from scratch. In fact, ancient engineers and architects from ordinary rocks, created impressive in size and detail, man-made interiors, and with the use of extremely primitive tools, then available. But even today’s technologies require a rather long period of work to achieve such a result, and how it was achieved more than two thousand years ago remains a mystery.
So, for example, the entrance to the caves is distinguished by very smooth, processed walls, which are decorated with ornaments and various figures. The interior has the same decoration – through the use of many patterns and shapes. But not a single series of inspection and research of caves gave historians and archaeologists the slightest idea about the tools and technologies that could be used during construction work.
6.Man-made caves of Barabar
Other Indian caves, which are considered a prime example of the use of unique, unsolved technologies by civilizations of the past, are located in Makhdamper Block in Jehanabad district of the Indian state of Bihar, 24 kilometers north of the city of Gaia. This complex is considered one of the most ancient among those that have survived to this day: researchers date them to about the 3rd century BC, that is, during the era of the Mauryan empire.
It is difficult to imagine, but the Barabar caves are completely man-made, that is, they were literally carved out of the rock from scratch. In total, seven of them were created: four caves are located in the Barabar, and three in the Nagarjun rocky heights. Almost all of them have the same internal structure – they consist of two rooms, the first of which is a rectangular hall in which ministers gathered, and the second was smaller and round, domed, where, most likely, sacred rites and services were performed.
However, the main mystery, as well as the main attraction of the Barabar Caves, is the peculiarities of the processing of the walls of their premises. The thing is that they are amazingly professionally polished. Careful grinding turned out to be almost mirror-like, and, together with the precise geometry of the rooms themselves, create unique acoustics. How ancient engineers more than two thousand years ago managed to polish huge areas so perfectly with primitive tools, researchers still cannot understand.