5 Incredible Examples of Ancient Engineering

though most don't get much coverage amazing examples of ancient engineering are nearly everywhere from south america and southeast asia to north america and europe they come in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from the tiny devices like the antikythera mechanism to sprawling temples like those found in the jungles of angkor wat like angkor wat we've all heard of the egyptian pyramids the roman aqueducts and the great wall of china that from end to end stretches nearly 13 200 miles but today we're going to be focusing on five lesser-known marvels of ancient engineering that often get overlooked [Music] when it was built on the island of jersey off the coast of normandy in france more than five thousand five hundred years ago le ugby was among the largest and earliest passage graves in europe so named because of its narrow tunnel leading to internal tombs covered by thousands of tons of earth and stone le ogbe's origins and symbolism have baffled archaeologists and historians for centuries like many historical sites in the region la ugby includes elements of both pagan and christian occupation but despite its classification as a passage grave it was probably equally significant religiously and ceremonially as it was as just a final resting place it bears similarities to other continental sites primarily in that its dark central tomb is often interpreted as representing the womb of mother earth and its characteristic narrow tunnel leading inwards is a birth canal in addition the structure was precisely aligned so that when the sun rose on the spring and autumn equinoxes the interior would have been flooded with light another common symbol of life and rebirth la ugby was originally constructed by some of the island's earliest inhabitants but was added onto many centuries later by christians as evidenced by the two medieval chapels built atop the prehistoric mound the site was first excavated in 1925 by the local historical and archaeological society and consists primarily of an 18.6 meter long passageway covered by a 12.2 meter tall earth mound estimates suggest that nearly 15 000 cubic meters of material were moved during its construction and excavations have uncovered numerous part and vase shards as well as the scattered remains of at least eight individuals all of whom probably held lofty religious and ceremonial positions in addition to its unequaled state of preservation radiocarbon dating of items found inside suggest that the tomb may have been permanently sealed off as far back as 3000 bc which means it probably lay relatively undisturbed for nearly 5 000 years though most of the structure is composed of earth and stone at one time there were also rudimentary wooden mud and thatch longhouses around the mounds that most likely functioned as meeting places for worshippers in the early 18th century the site's christian chapels were abandoned and in the 1790s a stone tower known as the prince's tower was built by a wealthy local playboy who turned into a theater more known for its risque performances drunken revelers and all around debauchery rather than religious piety between the late 1920s and the nazi occupation in the 1940s the site was open to the public but during the second world war it functioned as a german command bunker though it's the most preserved and well-known logby is just one of five passage grave sites spread across the channel islands located just a few kilometers inland from west central peru's south pacific coast the archaeological site at cech in bio may have been one of the most prominent centers for trade art and culture in pre-incan south america spread over about 90 acres overlooking the picturesque in river valley sachin bio is characterized by multi-tiered stone foundations and earth and walls that in their heyday were homes to some of the new world's oldest civilizations one that radiocarbon dating has pegged at more than 5 000 years old though the site's multiple structures had been badly damaged by the elements and vandals it wasn't until the late 1930s that official excavations began under the watchful eye of julio teo a man commonly referred to as the father of peruvian archaeology the site's most prominent features include a number of centrally located multi-storied structures known as oedipuses that once contained stairs hallways and multiple rooms for living in storage the first edifice is the oldest while the second and third were constructed over and around it much later on and covered much larger areas in its final form the third edifice contained a large public square on eight wall carvings and private living areas and it was built facing serosection two kilometers away which indicates cooperation between builders near section bios center in earthen mound with a base approximately 180 by 120 meters towers nearly 18 meters over the grounds below and the site also features a large 50-foot square adobe slab raised a few feet over a sunken circular plaza not unlike the kivas built by the anasazi in the american southwest despite early excavations however many of the site's most impressive finds weren't revealed until well into the 20th century one of which was a badly worn carved adobe tablet two meters tall that appears to depict a man holding what looks like a knife in one hand and a separate human head in the other some archaeologists claim that is actually a shield but those who think it's ahead theorize that the site may have once been a ceremonial center that included human sacrifice historians think that cech and bio and surrounding sites were conquered by marauders from the highlands around 1000 bc after which agriculture domesticated animals and distinctly different styles of art and architecture became more prominent though section bio is the region's most well-known ruin it's just one of many collectively known as the section complex the complex's multiple urban centers were once thought to be relatively autonomous but it's now believed that they were all parts like neighborhoods or suburbs of a larger integrated city session bio was probably abandoned permanently in the 15th century a.d after which it was largely used as a graveyard by locals located in the village of aounari in rajasthan india the massive chan baori step well is another wonder of ancient engineering that's remained relatively obscure to all but locals historians and archaeologists stepwells are large inverted pyramid-shaped tanks or systems for collecting rainwater and though they're found in other countries like cambodia and pakistan they're most common on the indian subcontinent and chand bowery is one of the largest and most impressive examples as their name suggests stepwells have steps built into their sides that allow access regardless of whether the water level is high or low more than a thousand years ago multiple stepwells were built in arid indian regions to provide year-round water and due to their immense size and stone construction most took decades to build according to local legend ghosts built the jan's bowery stepwell in just one night but that seems unlikely what's generally more accepted is that during the reign of raja chanda somewhere between the 8th and 9th centuries the region experienced a particularly harsh multi-year drought that dictated the world be built by more earthly means namely skilled craftsmen and laborers wielding relatively crude iron tools concerned with the well-being of his people and probably even more so with his own ability to remain ensconced in the lap of luxury to which had become accustomed chanda realized that something needed to be done and to that end he commissioned the construction of what would become one of the country's largest and most ornate stepwells but no definitive evidence exists of how or when it was constructed and if raja was looking for a relatively quick solution to a pressing water problem a multi-year project like a giant stepwell wouldn't have given him a particularly speedy return on his investment nonetheless chan bowery was built and its lowest point stretches more than 100 feet below the earth's surface though that may not sound particularly impressive each of the world's four top sides are nearly twice that long and more than 3 500 precisely hewn and perfectly level stone steps taper downwards towards the well's bottom in fact the structure more resembles a temple or roman theater than an indian water collection project but unlike other stepwells one of chan bowery's four sides isn't stared but includes an impressive three-story stone pavilion with carved pillars ornate sculptures and expansive balconies in addition the upper stories of the pavilion and the wells perimeter are ringed by a continuous row of arched porticos that were built much later probably in the 18th century along with nearby harsh at mata temple both sides served as destinations for religious pilgrims and probably served a number of ceremonial roles in addition to providing water for the area's residents now chand bowery is owned and managed by the government and though it no longer serves its original purpose it's still popular with pilgrims and tourists [Music] in many respects the ancient greeks were well ahead of their time but during eupolinus's lifetime compasses gps surveying equipment and massive rock crushing diesel and hydraulic boring machines were still millennia away from being invented but despite the limitations of the era in which he lived the now famous greek engineer planned and built one of the ancient world's most impressive engineering marbles the 3300 feet tunnel was commissioned by poligrites the tyrant of samoson the mid 6th century bc to carry water from a natural spring just inland of the island's capital city the spring was about 171 feet above sea level and more than a kilometer away from where its water was most needed and historians agree it was likely the first time that digging began at both ends of a tunnel with the intent of meeting somewhere near the middle at over a kilometer in length the tunnel may not seem overly impressive by contemporary standards but the tools of the day were woefully unsuited to the task and euclid's geometric principles that even now the foundation of engineering and mathematics wouldn't be formalized until two centuries later in addition the proposed tunnel would have to wind its way under dozens of meters of rock and the spring and outlet would need to be hidden to prevent them from being destroyed or poisoned by invaders during times of conflict after careful calculations and preparation workers began digging into rock from two distinct portals most accounts claim that construction lasted multiple decades and was carried out by common laborers as well as innovative tunnel boring machines though no evidence of the latter actually exists so probably not and even now it's not exactly clear how eupolinas created the two boring roots some claim the marked the ground above the tunnel's planned route then used pythagoras theorem to determine its length and course and since even then it was known that parallel lines never meet euplinous decreed that the two shafts zigzag as they approach one another to ensure that they could be joined with reasonable accuracy even if the original calculations were off but experts agree that his measurements were so accurate that had his workers continued digging in straight lines the tunnel would have intersected almost perfectly due to adverse conditions however a number of diversions were necessary during construction after which even more complex calculations were required to get the two converging tunnels back in line with one another when completed the tunnel carried about 400 cubic meters of water per day to the city's subterranean reservoir that was covered by massive rock slabs supported by more than a dozen pillars none other than the famous greek historian herodotus made reference to the tunnel's significance lording eupolinas's revolutionary use of mathematics and previously untested engineering principles the donald supplied the city with water for more than a thousand years before being abandoned after which it served as a place of last retreat for citizens during times of war and civil unrest [Music] located deep within the rainforest of the mirador basin in south central ecuador the archaeological site at el mirador the lookout in spanish is often referred to as the cradle of man civilization the sprawling complex is home to the largest number of sites from the pre-classic era which lasted from about 1000 bc to 250 a.d though it's agreed that construction of its most iconic and monumental structures didn't begin until around 600 bc some claimed that at its height el mirador was the largest city in the americas and that it spread across nearly 15 square miles and had a population of more than a hundred thousand the sprawling jungle city was particularly well known for its raised stone causeways that connected urban residential and commercial areas with suburbs up to 12 miles away the site also includes the centrally located pyramid of ladanta with an internal volume purported to be greater than 2.8 million cubic feet as 80 000 cubic meters making it one of the ancient world's largest structures at its peak the pyramid tower is more than 230 feet 73 meters over the jungle below and is actually composed of three distinct sections of temples one built on top of the next giving it a distinct stepped structure the pyramid's base measures an impressive 980 by 2 000 feet and encompasses an area of approximately 50 acres by some estimates construction took as many as 15 million man days to complete or in simpler terms required thousands of laborers possibly working for multiple decades making it one of the new world's most epic construction projects like many south american structures the pyramid appears to have been designed along astronomical lines which were probably used to predict important celestial events like solstices and equinoxes that were particularly relevant for ceremonial purposes in agriculture archaeologists and historians think that despite its splendor and prosperity el mirador reached its peak between 400 bc and 280. then after centuries of slow economic decline and the cessation of large building projects the site was eventually abandoned around 900 a.d as the population migrated northward and westward and assimilated with nearby cultures el mirador would remain largely hidden until the 1920s and 1930s when it was inadvertently photographed from the air but professional excavations didn't begin until decades later in the early 1960s so i really hope you enjoyed today's exploration of some lesser known ancient marvels if you did please do smash that like button below don't forget to subscribe if you've got if you want a follow-up of this video first let me know in the comments below if you've got a suggestion for other sorts of future side projects videos you can also let me know in the comments below thank you for watching [Music] you

Channel: Sideprojects

Views: 594,215

Keywords: megaprojects, construction, engineering, projects

Id: 0rFKaNZwFyo

Length: 14min 21sec (861 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 27 2021