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00:00:00
But Balbeck, if there was one example,00:00:02
one ancient site on Earth that is00:00:04
evidence of a lost ancient advanced00:00:07
civilization,00:00:08
>> a single stone block in Lebanon weighs00:00:10
1,500 tons. That's heavier than 10 blue00:00:14
whales stacked on top of each other.00:00:17
This is Balbeck in the Lebanon. Each of00:00:20
these three blocks weighs 900 tons.00:00:24
>> Our most powerful cranes today can00:00:26
barely lift 20% of that weight. Yet00:00:29
somehow, ancient people not only moved00:00:32
these monsters, but placed them with00:00:34
surgical precision 23 ft in the air.00:00:44
After decades of investigation, we00:00:46
finally know who did this and how.00:00:49
>> This block and another two00:00:52
are actually far older than the Roman00:00:55
period. And the answer will completely00:00:57
change how you think about ancient00:00:59
civilizations.00:01:05
Cracking the ancient mystery of Balbec.00:01:09
Before we tell you how this was built,00:01:11
you need to understand just how00:01:13
impossible it should be. The largest00:01:15
stone ever moved by modern machinery00:01:18
weighs 340 tons. At Balbeck, there are00:01:22
stones weighing 1,500 tons.00:01:26
>> And Balbeck has the largest stones that00:01:28
were ever cried in human history, the00:01:29
largest stones ever lifted, stacked, and00:01:31
transported in human history, and the00:01:33
largest stone columns in all of00:01:34
classical history.00:01:36
>> Over four times heavier, placed with00:01:38
millimeter precision. NASA's vehicle00:01:41
assembly building crane, one of the00:01:43
world's strongest, couldn't even lift00:01:46
these blocks. Imagine trying to move the00:01:48
Statue of Liberty. Now, imagine moving00:01:51
five of them stacked together. But00:01:54
here's what really makes your head spin.00:01:57
The Romans, who were obsessed with00:01:59
bragging about their engineering feats,00:02:02
wrote absolutely nothing about these00:02:04
massive stones. Not a single mention.00:02:08
Think about that for a moment. We're00:02:10
talking about the same civilization that00:02:12
documented everything from building00:02:14
aqueducts to constructing the coliseum.00:02:18
They loved showing off their00:02:19
architectural achievements. Yet, when it00:02:22
comes to Balbeck, known to them as00:02:24
Helopoulos, their records are completely00:02:27
silent about the trilithon and these00:02:29
colossal blocks. You don't see the Roman00:02:32
foot in those stones, which is weird.00:02:34
You would expect to see some sort of00:02:36
breakdown of the Roman foot in these00:02:37
measurements, but they're not there at00:02:38
Val.00:02:39
>> This silence is deafening, and it raises00:02:42
a huge question. Were these stones00:02:45
already there when the Romans arrived?00:02:48
Did they simply build their temples on00:02:50
top of an existing foundation that was00:02:52
far older than anyone realizes? It's00:02:55
like discovering that someone built a00:02:57
skyscraper on top of mysterious ancient00:02:59
foundations, but never bothered to00:03:02
mention who created those foundations or00:03:04
how they got there in the first place.00:03:07
For all the feats of Roman history, why00:03:09
would they have the most uh impressive00:03:11
feats over 2,000 miles away from the00:03:13
capital?00:03:14
>> This gap in the historical record has00:03:16
opened the door to some wild theories.00:03:19
Some researchers believe Balbeck's true00:03:22
origins stretch back thousands of years00:03:25
before the Romans,00:03:27
possibly to a time when human00:03:29
civilization possessed knowledge and00:03:31
techniques that have since been00:03:33
completely lost to history. And that's00:03:36
exactly why Balbeck isn't just an00:03:38
archaeological puzzle. It has become00:03:41
crucial to some of the most00:03:43
controversial debates in ancient00:03:45
history. We're not just talking about00:03:47
missing construction records here. We're00:03:50
talking about the possibility that this00:03:52
site holds secrets about human00:03:54
capabilities that don't fit our current00:03:56
understanding of the past. The00:03:59
megalithic stones of Balbeck in Lebanon00:04:02
have left every expert, historian, and00:04:05
engineer completely speechless.00:04:08
>> Roman architecture always uses the most00:04:10
impressive things right in the front.00:04:12
You walk in the front of the thing, and00:04:13
that's where you're going to see the00:04:14
biggest stones, the most impressive, for00:04:16
obvious reasons. These are in the back,00:04:18
completely on the opposite end of the00:04:20
entrance.00:04:21
>> These stones are so huge that they00:04:23
challenge everything we know about00:04:25
ancient construction. But it doesn't00:04:28
stop there. Even modern construction00:04:31
techniques and sophisticated machinery00:04:34
cannot withstand these structures.00:04:36
>> We're talking about pillars buried in00:04:38
dirt. It's 2024. Do not tell me that we00:04:41
do not have the technological capability00:04:43
to to dig rocks up.00:04:46
>> Some say the structures signify some00:04:48
powerful civilization.00:04:50
While others think they show something00:04:52
beyond our physical world. Every aspect00:04:55
of the structure, from the size of00:04:57
blocks used to their impeccable00:05:00
placement, represents outstanding00:05:02
engineering, the type of which we may00:05:05
never see elsewhere in the world. These00:05:08
aren't your average building blocks. The00:05:11
trilithon, as they are called, is three00:05:14
huge limestone slabs stretching 62 ft00:05:18
long, 14 ft high, and 12 ft wide. The00:05:23
weight of each one begins around 80000:05:26
tons. But as extraordinary as that is,00:05:29
it isn't the most mindblowing part.00:05:33
These giant stones aren't just sitting00:05:35
on the ground. They're suspended 23 ft00:05:39
in the air, fitted together perfectly00:05:42
with no space for even a speck of dust.00:05:47
Now, think about this for a second. How00:05:50
do you even begin to move something that00:05:52
weighs as much as several jumbo jets,00:05:55
let alone lift it up and place it with00:05:57
surgical precision? And remember, this00:06:00
was accomplished thousands of years00:06:02
before we had cranes, hydraulic lifts,00:06:05
or modern machinery. But here's where00:06:08
things get really interesting. About00:06:10
half a mile from the main temple,00:06:12
there's a quarry that holds even bigger00:06:14
secrets. It looks like the birthing00:06:17
place of the stones with evidence that00:06:19
they weren't supposed to be the only00:06:21
ones. Sitting there, abandoned for00:06:24
centuries, are three unfinished stone00:06:27
blocks that make the triilon look small00:06:30
by comparison. The first one is what00:06:32
they call the stone of the pregnant00:06:34
woman. It weighs nearly 1,000 tons.00:06:39
Then there's the stone of the south,00:06:41
discovered in the 1990s, weighing a00:06:44
staggering 1,200 tons. And if that00:06:48
doesn't blow your mind, archaeologists00:06:51
found an even bigger one in 2014, the00:06:54
forgotten stone, which weighs around00:06:58
1,50000:06:59
tons. The local legends around these00:07:02
stones are fascinating, too.00:07:06
One story tells of a pregnant woman who00:07:08
convinced the people to feed her by00:07:10
claiming she knew the secret to moving00:07:12
these massive blocks, hence the name00:07:15
Stone of the Pregnant Woman. Another00:07:19
speaks of supernatural beings such as00:07:21
pregnant gin who were supposedly00:07:24
responsible for cutting and transporting00:07:26
them. Some locals even believe touching00:07:29
the stone of the pregnant woman can00:07:31
increase fertility. These folk tales00:07:34
might sound far-fetched, but they reveal00:07:37
that these monuments have puzzled people00:07:39
for generations. Each one passing down00:07:42
stories that try to justify the00:07:44
seemingly impossible. Even modern00:07:47
engineers are equally baffled. One study00:07:50
suggested you'd need over 500 people00:07:53
working with sophisticated machines to00:07:55
move a 55700:07:57
ton block across flat ground. But moving00:08:00
it uphill and lifting it 23 feet into00:08:03
the air, engineers today estimate you'd00:08:06
need 40,000 workers, that's more people00:08:09
than the population of most small00:08:10
cities. And that raises the ultimate00:08:13
question. Why? Why would ancient00:08:16
builders choose to work with stones so00:08:18
impossibly large when smaller ones would00:08:21
have been just as effective? What drove00:08:24
them to attempt something that pushes00:08:26
the boundaries of what seems physically00:08:28
possible even by today's standards? The00:08:31
Balbeck megaliths don't just challenge00:08:34
our understanding of ancient00:08:35
engineering. They completely rewrite it.00:08:38
And the more we study them, the more00:08:41
questions they raise about what our00:08:42
ancestors were truly capable of00:08:44
achieving. The question of who built00:08:47
Balbeck has sparked more arguments,00:08:49
theories, and sleepless nights among00:08:52
researchers than almost any other00:08:54
ancient mystery. And the more evidence00:08:57
we uncover, the more complicated the00:08:59
answer becomes.00:09:04
Fact or myth? All right, let's talk00:09:07
about the elephant in the room. Balbeck00:09:10
has spawned some absolutely wild00:09:12
theories over the centuries. And it's00:09:14
not hard to see why. When you're staring00:09:17
at stones that weigh as much as these00:09:19
stones, perfectly fitted with ancient00:09:22
technology, your brain starts reaching00:09:24
for explanations that feel as00:09:26
extraordinary as what you see. The00:09:29
supernatural theories go way back. Local00:09:32
legends claimed that Cain built the00:09:34
temple while wandering the earth under00:09:36
God's curse.00:09:38
Other stories said Nimrod ordered giants00:09:41
to construct it as part of the Tower of00:09:44
Babel project. Some whispered about the00:09:47
Nephilim, those mysterious giants00:09:50
mentioned in ancient texts being the00:09:52
real architects.00:09:55
But in our modern age, the most popular00:09:57
theory has gone full sci-fi.00:10:00
The ancient alien hypothesis suggests00:10:03
that only beings with technology far00:10:06
beyond anything humans possessed could00:10:08
have moved and positioned these massive00:10:10
stones. Writers like Graham Hancock and00:10:14
Zechariah Sitchin have kept these ideas00:10:16
alive, proposing everything from lost00:10:19
advanced civilizations to the Anunnaki,00:10:22
the otherworldly beings from00:10:24
Mesopotamian mythology. So, if these00:10:27
stones are so impossible to move, how do00:10:30
skeptics explain Balbeck? Let's test00:10:33
their theories against the actual00:10:35
evidence, and you'll see why none of00:10:38
them fully work.00:10:40
Now, here's where science steps in with00:10:42
a reality check. Archaeologists point00:10:45
out that what seems impossible might00:10:47
just be really, really difficult. The00:10:51
Romans were absolute masters of00:10:53
engineering. They had sophisticated00:10:55
cranes, pulley systems, capstands, and00:10:59
massive wooden wheels. We have examples00:11:02
of Roman engineering feats all across00:11:05
the ancient world that prove they could00:11:07
move enormous weights. When you examine00:11:10
the Balbeck stones up close, you can00:11:13
actually see chisel marks carved into00:11:16
them, which is clear evidence of human00:11:18
craftsmanship.00:11:20
Experimental archaeologists have00:11:22
attempted to replicate ancient00:11:24
construction techniques and shown that00:11:26
while it would require incredible00:11:28
organization and massive amounts of00:11:30
labor, it's not beyond human capability.00:11:34
Still, skeptics argue that these00:11:37
explanations don't fully account for the00:11:39
sheer size of the heaviest stones, which00:11:43
seem to exceed the known limits of Roman00:11:45
machinery, leaving open questions that00:11:47
fuel speculation.00:11:49
So why do these extraordinary theories00:11:52
persist? Maybe it's because ordinary00:11:55
explanations don't fire up our00:11:57
imagination the way extraordinary ones00:12:00
do. Philosopher Daniel Dennett once00:12:03
suggested that when people lack00:12:05
imagination about what's actually00:12:07
possible, they lean toward supernatural00:12:10
explanations.00:12:12
Balbeck continues to captivate us00:12:15
because it sits right on that border00:12:17
between documented fact and tantalizing00:12:20
legend. There are no detailed ancient00:12:24
records explaining exactly who ordered00:12:26
its construction or how the work was00:12:29
organized.00:12:30
That silence creates this perfect blank00:12:33
canvas where people can project their00:12:35
own theories and stories.00:12:37
Some see it as evidence of lost00:12:39
civilizations with advanced technology.00:12:43
Others view it as proof of00:12:44
extraterrestrial contact. Scientists see00:12:48
it as a testament to human engineering00:12:50
capabilities that we're still trying to00:12:53
fully understand. And maybe that's the00:12:56
real magic of Balbeck. It's not just00:12:59
about massive stones or ancient00:13:01
construction techniques. It's about how00:13:03
a single archaeological site can00:13:06
simultaneously challenge our00:13:08
understanding of the past while00:13:10
inspiring our wildest theories about00:13:12
what might be possible. The truth is,00:13:16
whether built by ingenious humans or00:13:18
mysterious forces, Balbeck remains one00:13:21
of the most extraordinary achievements00:13:23
in human history. And that's pretty00:13:26
incredible either way you look at it.00:13:32
Modern investigations and findings.00:13:35
When archaeologists finally got00:13:37
permission to dig deep at Balbeck, what00:13:39
they found changed everything. Pottery00:13:42
with Cunia form writing proves people00:13:44
were here thousands of years before the00:13:46
Romans. Stone blueprints carved directly00:13:50
into the temple floors. And most00:13:52
shocking of all, construction techniques00:13:55
that match buildings in Jerusalem with00:13:57
impossible precision.00:14:00
While everyone's been debating how the00:14:02
stones were moved, there's been over a00:14:04
century of serious scientific00:14:06
investigation quietly uncovering the00:14:09
real secrets of Balbeck. And what00:14:12
researchers have found is absolutely00:14:14
fascinating.00:14:16
The modern scientific story begins in00:14:18
1898 when Kaiser Vilhelm II of Germany00:14:22
visited the site. His visit sparked the00:14:26
first major archaeological excavations00:14:28
that ran until 1904.00:14:31
What started as imperial curiosity00:14:34
turned into groundbreaking research that00:14:37
began rewriting Balbeck's entire00:14:39
history. Each layer they uncovered00:14:42
raised more questions than answers. The00:14:45
most shocking revelation came when they00:14:48
cleaned the temple of Jupiter and found00:14:50
evidence that human settlement at00:14:52
Balbeck goes all the way back to the00:14:54
Neolithic period. We're talking about00:14:57
people living on this site potentially00:14:59
10,000 years ago, long before anyone00:15:03
thought this place was significant. If00:15:06
people lived at Balbeck 10,000 years00:15:08
ago, it suggests the site's importance00:15:11
goes way deeper than Roman colonization00:15:15
and that the massive foundation stones,00:15:17
the trilathon and other megaliths have00:15:20
been in place before colonization by the00:15:23
Romans. Hence, the complete silence by00:15:26
the Romans. After all, you couldn't00:15:30
expect the Romans to document how they00:15:32
came about if they knew nothing about00:15:34
it. Meanwhile, the theory that an00:15:37
ancient settlement capable of such00:15:39
sophisticated engineering remains.00:15:42
Finding out that the structure predates00:15:44
Roman settlement doesn't solve the00:15:46
engineering puzzle. If anything, it's00:15:49
more evidence that a particular00:15:51
civilization existed before the Romans00:15:53
that had engineering methods that are00:15:56
currently lost to humans. However,00:15:59
another breakthrough that may help us00:16:01
get more explanation was unearthed in00:16:03
2004 when Lebanese University teamed up00:16:07
with the German Archaeological Institute00:16:09
for a major collaborative project00:16:12
focused on documenting those mysterious00:16:14
ancient quaries. What they found was00:16:18
mindblowing. They discovered Persian00:16:20
pottery fragments marked with ununiform00:16:22
writing dating back to the 6th and 4th00:16:25
centuries BCE.00:16:27
So were the Persians behind these giant00:16:30
structures? The Persian pottery fills a00:16:33
crucial gap, but we already know from00:16:35
the Neolithic discovery that the00:16:37
settlement goes way back 10 millennia00:16:39
ago. Again, it tells us it was there00:16:42
before the Romans, suggesting continuous00:16:45
occupation of the lands until the Romans00:16:48
took over. This raises a new question of00:16:51
whether the Persians have always been00:16:52
the original inhabitants of the land,00:16:54
therefore the ones who carved the00:16:57
monoliths. The Persians have00:16:59
organizational capacity as well as the00:17:02
engineering knowledge to accomplish00:17:04
remarkable structures.00:17:06
Theoretically, they can handle00:17:08
megalithic constructions and are viable00:17:11
candidates for the megalith builders.00:17:14
The Persian Empire is also known for00:17:16
massive construction projects like the00:17:19
ones at Pepilolis.00:17:21
However, the structures built by the00:17:23
Persians like those at Pipilus are still00:17:26
nothing compared to the monoliths at00:17:29
Balbeck. The Procepilus structures, for00:17:31
example, are made up of small blocks00:17:34
that weigh between 1 and 20 tons, while00:17:37
blocks at Balbeck weigh over a 100 times00:17:40
more. The approaches are also different.00:17:43
The builders at Pipilus worked by00:17:46
breaking large boulders into smaller00:17:48
forms, which contrasts with the Balbeck00:17:51
builders who favored larger blocks.00:17:54
Additionally, the Persians do not have00:17:56
any record crediting them with building00:17:58
the Balbeck stones. Just like the00:18:01
Romans, they were completely silent on00:18:03
the construction. That may be00:18:06
understandable considering the Persians00:18:08
were not as detailed or keen on00:18:10
preserving history as the Romans. So00:18:12
maybe they did build Balbeck and were00:18:15
let down by their poor recordkeeping.00:18:18
But there's another issue. The Persians00:18:20
never demonstrated the ability to move00:18:22
stones remotely close to Balbeck's00:18:25
scale. While the Persians were00:18:28
accomplished builders, the megalithic00:18:30
construction at Balbeck represents00:18:32
something far beyond anything they00:18:35
demonstrated elsewhere. Surely, we00:18:38
should have seen them demonstrate the00:18:40
same skill in other places if they were00:18:42
capable. The pottery fragments marked00:18:45
with cunioform writing prove that they00:18:48
were there. But the engineering00:18:50
challenge of the megaliths seems to00:18:52
exceed their demonstrated capabilities.00:18:56
Now, that wasn't even the biggest00:18:58
surprise. German researcher Margaret Van00:19:01
S made another crucial discovery when00:19:04
she studied how these massive stones00:19:06
were actually cut. She found that the00:19:08
ancient builders were incredibly smart.00:19:11
They cut the megaliths along natural00:19:13
fissures between rock layers. This00:19:16
technique made it much easier to remove00:19:18
enormous blocks without cracking or00:19:20
breaking them. What's really interesting00:19:23
is that this same method shows up in00:19:25
other Roman projects like the famous00:19:28
Pondard aqueduct in France. So, we know00:19:31
the Romans had this technique in their00:19:33
engineering toolkit. The more we learn00:19:36
about Balbeck through scientific00:19:38
investigation, the more questions seem00:19:41
to emerge. Each discovery doesn't just00:19:44
add to our knowledge. It completely00:19:46
reshapes what we thought we knew about00:19:48
this incredible site. Now, let's discuss00:19:52
something most people never hear about.00:19:55
The actual Roman blueprints carved right00:19:57
into the site itself. These are not00:20:01
drawings on papyrus that crumbled away00:20:03
centuries ago. We're talking about00:20:06
architectural plans literally etched00:20:08
into the stone floors. The German00:20:11
excavations between 1900 and 1904 were00:20:15
the first to document these incredible00:20:17
finds.00:20:19
The most striking discovery was a00:20:21
detailed blueprint carved directly onto00:20:23
the floor of the great courtyard. This00:20:26
wasn't some rough sketch. It was a00:20:28
precise floor plan of part of the00:20:30
hexagonal courtyard drawn to an00:20:32
impressive scale of about ratio 1 to 1200:20:36
to 6. Think about what this means. These00:20:40
weren't just skilled laborers throwing00:20:42
stones together. These were master00:20:45
planners who carefully calculated every00:20:47
angle, every measurement, every design00:20:51
element before they placed a single00:20:53
block. Were these carvings practical00:20:56
guides for construction workers? Or were00:20:58
they something more like symbols of00:21:00
engineering pride to show off the00:21:02
incredible skill of the architects?00:21:05
However, the most shocking connection00:21:08
emerged when researchers took a closer00:21:10
look at podium 1, which is the00:21:13
foundation supporting the six massive00:21:15
columns that still dominate the skyline00:21:18
today. When they analyzed the00:21:21
construction techniques, they found00:21:23
something absolutely startling. The00:21:26
style and methods used in Podium 1 were00:21:28
virtually identical to Herodian00:21:30
architecture found in Jerusalem. These00:21:33
were precise matches. Both sites used00:21:36
the exact same pattern of alternating00:21:38
headers and stretchers. Both featured an00:21:41
identical drafted margin stonework. Even00:21:44
the average course height was exactly00:21:46
the same at 3.6 ft. That's way too00:21:49
specific to be a coincidence. This00:21:52
suggests there might have been direct00:21:54
involvement of Herodian builders at00:21:56
Balbeck or at least shared construction00:21:59
traditions connecting these sites across00:22:01
the ancient world. So step by step from00:22:05
Kaiser Vilhelm's initial visit to these00:22:07
modern discoveries, our picture of00:22:09
Balbeck has become incredibly rich and00:22:12
complex. What started as a site famous00:22:16
just for its massive stones has turned00:22:18
into this amazing historical textbook00:22:21
spanning the Neolithic period, Persian00:22:24
civilization, Roman engineering and00:22:27
Herodian construction techniques. Every00:22:30
single discovery raises new questions.00:22:33
Who really built this place? Why did00:22:35
they use these specific techniques? and00:22:38
how much more is still buried under00:22:40
centuries of soil waiting to be00:22:43
uncovered. Now that you understand the00:22:46
engineering impossibility, here's what00:22:48
makes it even more mysterious. This site00:22:51
has been continuously occupied for00:22:54
11,000 years. Each civilization that00:22:58
found it treated it as sacred, but none00:23:01
of them claimed to have built those00:23:03
massive foundation stones.00:23:05
Let's go through the years to explore00:23:07
how each civilization has leveraged the00:23:10
structure.00:23:15
Balbeck through the civilizations.00:23:19
In 1984, UNESCO recognized Balebeck as a00:23:23
world heritage site, putting it on the00:23:25
map as one of humanity's most important00:23:28
archaeological treasures. But this00:23:30
wasn't the first time Balbeck had00:23:32
captured the world's attention. Balbeck00:23:34
is a site that has witnessed over 11,00000:23:38
years of human history. That's right,00:23:41
11,000 years. That means it was already00:23:44
standing when the Egyptians were00:23:46
wondering how to bring about the00:23:48
pyramids.00:23:50
Archaeological evidence shows people00:23:53
were living on this hilltop as early as00:23:55
9,000 BCE.00:23:58
That's mindblowing when you think about00:24:00
it. Excavations have turned up pottery00:24:03
from the Chalolithic period, Bronze Age00:24:06
artifacts and architectural fragments00:24:10
that tell the story of civilization00:24:12
after civilization, building on the same00:24:15
sacred ground. The first settlers chose00:24:19
the highest point of the hill for their00:24:21
community. Even the Romans did the exact00:24:24
same thing thousands of years later.00:24:27
They placed their altar on the summit.00:24:30
They all knew how special this spot was.00:24:33
Everything about the site is00:24:34
fascinating, even the name. Scholars00:24:38
believe Balbeck comes from Baal Neb,00:24:41
which means lord of the source. This00:24:44
refers to a natural spring near the site00:24:46
that likely made this hilltop a sacred00:24:48
place of life and abundance for ancient00:24:51
peoples. Around 3,200 B.CE, CE the00:24:55
Phoenicians took over and turned Balbeck00:24:57
into something truly spectacular. They00:25:00
built a massive temple complex dedicated00:25:03
to their gods Aardi and Baal, the sky00:25:07
god who probably gave the city its name.00:25:10
You can even still find traces of this00:25:12
Phoenician temple buried beneath the00:25:14
later Roman temple of Jupiter. Under00:25:17
Phoenician rule, Balbeck became a00:25:20
pilgrimage destination. People traveled00:25:23
from across the ancient world to worship00:25:25
Bale Hadad, the fertility god, and00:25:28
Ataratus, the goddess of love and00:25:31
motherhood. But here's where things get00:25:34
really interesting. Many researchers00:25:36
suspect that those massive stones we've00:25:39
been talking about, the triilon and the00:25:42
other massive blocks forming the western00:25:45
wall might actually date back to this00:25:48
Phoenician period, not the Roman era.00:25:51
That means we could be looking at00:25:53
5,000-year-old engineering that involved00:25:56
moving and precisely placing stones00:25:59
weighing hundreds of tons with nothing00:26:02
but human power, basic tools, and00:26:04
techniques we can barely comprehend00:26:07
today. The question isn't just how did00:26:10
they do it anymore. It's how did they00:26:13
even conceive of doing something this00:26:15
ambitious? What drove ancient people to00:26:17
attempt construction projects that00:26:20
challenge our modern understanding of00:26:21
what's physically possible? When00:26:24
Alexander the Great conquered this00:26:25
region in 334 B.CEE, he gave Balebeck a00:26:29
makeover, including renaming it00:26:31
Helopoulos, the city of the sun. But the00:26:35
real transformation began when the00:26:37
Romans took over. First came Pompy the00:26:40
Great in 64 B.CEE.00:26:43
Then Julius Caesar made it an official00:26:46
Roman colony in 47 B.CEE. But it was00:26:51
Emperor Augustus around 16 BCE who00:26:55
really went all out, launching the most00:26:58
ambitious construction project the00:27:00
ancient world had ever seen.00:27:02
Interestingly, the Romans didn't just00:27:04
bulldo everything and start fresh.00:27:07
Instead, they merged their god Jupiter00:27:11
with the local deity Bale, creating this00:27:14
powerful hybrid god called Jupiter Bale.00:27:17
It was like ancient cultural diplomacy00:27:20
through architecture.00:27:22
The construction timeline is staggering.00:27:24
Emperor Nero continued building the00:27:26
massive temple of Jupiter. Emperor00:27:29
Antonyinus Pas threw in the temple of00:27:31
Bakus. And finally, the Severign Dynasty00:27:35
completed the whole complex with the00:27:37
Temple of Venus in the 3rd century. At00:27:40
its absolute peak, it had towering00:27:42
columns stretching toward the sky,00:27:44
marble surfaces gleaming in the sunlight00:27:47
and thousands of pilgrims flooding the00:27:50
courtyards.00:27:52
Anyone standing there would have felt00:27:54
like they were literally at the center00:27:56
of the divine universe.00:27:58
But then, Christianity changed00:28:01
everything.00:28:02
When Emperor Constantine converted in00:28:05
the early 300 CE, construction stopped.00:28:09
Emperor Theodosius went even further. He00:28:12
destroyed pagan statues, tore down00:28:15
altars, and converted the sacred spaces00:28:18
into Christian churches. The Temple of00:28:21
Venus became a chapel. The hexagonal00:28:24
courtyard was turned into a church.00:28:27
Emperor Justinian ordered eight massive00:28:30
columns from the temple of Jupiter to be00:28:32
shipped all the way to Constantinople to00:28:35
decorate the Hagia Sopia. These stones00:28:39
were so magnificent that an emperor00:28:42
wanted them for one of the greatest00:28:44
churches ever built.00:28:47
By 637 CE, Muslim armies conquered00:28:50
Balbeck and the site transformed again.00:28:54
This time the temples became a fortress00:28:57
also known as Kala. It's why the locals00:29:00
still call it Kalat Balbeck today. Over00:29:04
the centuries dynasty after dynasty left00:29:07
their mark. The Umayads, Abbisids,00:29:10
Fatameides and Aubids. Each one00:29:13
reshaping walls, adding towers and00:29:16
building new structures on top of00:29:19
ancient foundations. What we have today00:29:21
is essentially a historical layered00:29:24
cake. Every civilization that touched00:29:27
this place left something behind. But00:29:30
here's the thing that keeps haunting00:29:31
researchers. Who were the very first00:29:34
people to lift those impossibly massive00:29:36
foundation stones into place? Who made00:29:39
the original decision that this hill00:29:41
would become a stage for gods, emperors,00:29:44
and conquerors for thousands of years?00:29:48
But every great mystery deserves some00:29:50
serious investigation.00:29:52
So the big question everyone wants00:29:54
answered is pretty straightforward. How00:29:57
did ancient people move stones weighing00:30:00
over 1,000 tons? The theories that00:30:03
researchers have come up with are00:30:05
absolutely mindbending. Some as puzzling00:30:08
as the mystery itself. Let's start with00:30:11
the most obvious theory. Wooden rollers00:30:14
and ramps. At first glance, it sounds00:30:17
pretty logical. You place these monster00:30:19
stones on cylindrical wooden logs, which00:30:22
reduces friction, and then you just push00:30:25
or pull them across the ground. Simple00:30:28
physics, right? Number. When00:30:32
archaeologists actually tried to test00:30:34
this theory in real life, it was a00:30:37
complete disaster.00:30:39
Richard Atkinson, a respected00:30:41
archaeologist,00:30:42
attempted to move just a replica00:30:44
Stonehenge blue stone, a tiny stone00:30:48
compared to Balbeck's giants. The moment00:30:51
they started pulling it uphill, the00:30:53
whole thing began sliding sideways00:30:56
uncontrollably.00:30:58
In another experiment, researchers were00:31:00
transporting a replica statue when it00:31:03
suddenly lost balance, tumbled right off00:31:06
the rollers, and smashed into pieces.00:31:10
Now, picture trying this with stones00:31:13
that are literally hundreds of times00:31:16
heavier across nearly a mile of rocky,00:31:19
uneven terrain. So, researchers pivoted00:31:22
to what seemed like a more promising00:31:24
explanation. Roman engineering genius.00:31:28
And let's be honest, the Romans were00:31:31
absolutely incredible builders. They00:31:33
created crane systems that were00:31:35
centuries ahead of their time. Their00:31:38
basic model, the Triastos, used a simple00:31:41
setup, a winch, rope, and three pulleys.00:31:45
Then they upgraded to the Pentispastos00:31:48
with five pulleys. But their heavyduty00:31:51
machine was the Polyastos with 1500:31:54
pulleys, four masts, and just four00:31:57
people to lift 2.2 pounds. When they00:32:01
added tread wheels to the mix, they00:32:03
could handle up to 4.4 lb. For the00:32:07
really massive jobs, Romans built these00:32:10
enormous wooden lifting towers powered00:32:12
by teams of people and animals working a00:32:14
capston together. For way too long,00:32:18
modern scholars have seriously00:32:20
underestimated ancient workers,00:32:22
dismissing them as basically unskilled00:32:24
laborers. But that's wrong. These people00:32:28
were brilliant engineers and problem00:32:30
solvers. We have ancient Egyptian00:32:32
paintings showing00:32:34
172 men working together to haul a00:32:38
colossal statue with just pure human00:32:41
ingenuity and coordination.00:32:43
When you see that kind of teamwork and00:32:46
strategic thinking, you realize these00:32:48
weren't primitive people fumbling around00:32:50
with rocks. But even when you give00:32:53
ancient workers full credit, Balbeck is00:32:57
still in a league of its own.00:33:00
Moving an 800 to 1,000 ton block isn't00:33:04
just a bigger version of dragging a00:33:06
statue. We're talking about a completely00:33:09
different category of challenge.00:33:12
Margaret Vaness from the German00:33:14
Archaeological Institute actually00:33:16
suggested that human-driven capston00:33:19
could explain how the Balbeck stones00:33:21
were moved. On paper, it sounds like a00:33:24
solid theory. But here's where the math00:33:26
completely falls apart. Even the most00:33:29
advanced Roman cranes couldn't carry00:33:31
more than six tons. 6 tons. We're00:33:35
talking about stones at Balbeck that00:33:37
weigh 800 to 1,000 tons. The Balbeck00:33:41
tones were more than 100 times heavier00:33:43
than what their best equipment could00:33:45
handle. So we're left with this00:33:48
incredible puzzle. If wooden rollers00:33:51
were completely impractical and even the00:33:53
most sophisticated Roman machinery was00:33:55
laughably inadequate, then how did they00:33:58
do it? After centuries of research,00:34:01
countless experiments, and heated00:34:03
academic debates, we are still left00:34:06
scratching our heads. No single theory00:34:09
fully explains how this was00:34:11
accomplished. The stones were simply too00:34:14
massive for any lifting technology we00:34:16
know the Romans possessed. And dragging00:34:19
them across that rocky terrain seems00:34:22
virtually impossible.00:34:25
This has led to some interesting00:34:26
alternative theories. Some researchers00:34:29
insist there must have been lost00:34:31
engineering techniques, sophisticated00:34:34
methods that were perfected by ancient00:34:36
builders, but never written down or00:34:38
passed on to future generations.00:34:41
Others have suggested that maybe the00:34:43
stones were never transported at all.00:34:46
What if they were quarried and partially00:34:48
shaped right at the construction site?00:34:51
It's an intriguing possibility, but even00:34:54
that doesn't fully explain the precision00:34:56
and scale of what we see. When you stand00:34:59
at Balbeck today, looking up at those00:35:02
towering columns and impossible stone00:35:05
blocks, it's hard not to feel like00:35:07
you're looking at something that refuses00:35:09
to give up all its secrets. It's a00:35:12
mystery that keeps whispering new00:35:14
questions about what ancient00:35:15
civilizations were truly capable of00:35:18
achieving. Thanks for watching. If00:35:21
you're yet to do so, it's time to smash00:35:24
the like button. And if you enjoy deep00:35:27
dives like this, we have many more00:35:30
ancient mysteries to explore with you.00:35:32
Hit the subscribe button and we'll see00:35:34
you in the nextDescription:
Lebanon's Greatest Mystery Finally Solved — Baalbek Megalithic Structure No Human Could Ever Build. A single stone block in Lebanon weighs 1,500 tons - that's heavier than 10 blue whales stacked on top of each other. Our most powerful cranes today can barely lift 20% of that weight. Yet somehow, ancient people not only moved these monsters but placed them with surgical precision 23 feet in the air. After decades of investigation, we finally know who did this and how - and the answer will completely change how you think about ancient civilizations. Disclaimer: The content presented in our videos is intended solely for entertainment purposes. While we may draw upon facts, rumors, and fiction, viewers should not interpret any part of the content as factual or definitive information. Please enjoy responsibly. Check Out These Videos: Lebanon's Greatest Mystery Finally Solved — Baalbek Megalithic Structure No Human Could Ever Build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QIomB4kYDw Lebanon's Greatest Mystery Finally Solved — Baalbek Megalithic Structure No Human Could Ever Build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVNtkEg00kA Lebanon's Greatest Mystery Finally Solved — Baalbek Megalithic Structure No Human Could Ever Build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkd85MoLc14
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