While it is difficult to precisely date the exact age of buildings, it is relatively easy date the relative age of buildings that have been built in stages.
What is striking about ancient buildings is that the older layers are generally built with larger blocks of rock than more recent parts. This is particularly interesting when it applies to basic structures such as the foundation of buildings.
The base of a building is not a part that is meant to impress. There is no point in not being practical about the size and material used. Why then were the ancients more interested in using huge blocks of rock than more recent people? Why did the Egyptians build with enormous blocks of rock where the Greek and the Romans later chose to build with smaller blocks?
Some believe that the ancients had access to some fantastic technology that allowed them to build with very large blocks of stone. However, there is nothing in the art of the ancients to suggest that they were highly advanced. The Greeks and Romans were much more refined in their artwork.
Nevertheless, there is one aspect of ancient building techniques that indicate a significant difference in technology. Despite the crudity and primitive nature of their tools, ancients appear to have been able to carve rock with ease. They might even have been able to pour granite as if it was concrete.
The ease with which the ancients cut rock, and the size of the blocks they chose to build with, suggest that something has changed in our environment. Not only does it seem like gravity has changed. The chemistry of rocks appear to have changed. How else could they mold and cut rock with such ease, when all they had at their disposal were primitive bronze tools?
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