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Five Thousand Years Ago
- Thread starter Uncle Bob
- Start date
As I added that about hard copper a thought was in my head. I know a little more about iron than copper... which ain't much. Around here prior to iron furnaces iron was smelted in bloomeries. The output was a sponge of unpourable iron that contained impurities, the primary one was silica, glass. Old timers talk about the old wrought iron not rusting, Eric Sloane for one wrote about it. Back during the "Chariots of the Gods" period one proof of aliens was an obliesk in India that was made of a non rusting iron. The balcony rod that failed at UVA during graduation a few years back was original from Jefferson's time. The Rockbridge Bloomery experiment a few years ago tried to replicate the old ways. As they tried to forge the bloom they quickly learned that they needed to start by hammering to consolidate and densify the bloom by squeezing out the molten glass that squirted out everywhere. I suspect that the comments are describing iron protected by glass.This is a nearby furnace that produced pourable cast iron in the period between bloomeries and Bessemer converters. Notice the stone corbels (putlogs?) for scaffolding sticking out of the sides. I've got an old photo of the furnace with scaffold boards resting on those.
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Yikes
Gold Member
Sorry, UB, I'm REALLY late to the game to see this one. Architects usually aren't much help on these issue - - we'd just draw it up, and leave it to contractor's "means and methods" to figure out a solution. LOL
Seriously though, that is some incredible stone work. It helps tremendously that it is sandstone, which enables minute levels of accurate sculpting, provided you have the patience.
We quickly tend to dismiss such precision as impossible for that era... but before we do, think of similar feats of complexity:
1. The precise work of bhuddist monks when they carve entire texts onto a grain of rice, or their detailed "paintings" made of individual grains of colored sand.
2. The metallurgy of ancient swords.
3. The early concrete structures of the Romans, so welll done that for hundreds of years people had know idea how to build to such levels of precision.
I've been told that even in our own culture, some prisoners can go to this level of detail and precision in their craft (the biggest example being body art - tattoos). All it takes is all the time in the world, and unparalleled mental focus, often aided by amphetamines.
The key is a lifetime of patience and dedication to craft.
Think about even some of the everyday stuff that we use, such as a machine screw. How did we ever get to the level of precision that it works so flawlessly?
Seriously though, that is some incredible stone work. It helps tremendously that it is sandstone, which enables minute levels of accurate sculpting, provided you have the patience.
We quickly tend to dismiss such precision as impossible for that era... but before we do, think of similar feats of complexity:
1. The precise work of bhuddist monks when they carve entire texts onto a grain of rice, or their detailed "paintings" made of individual grains of colored sand.
2. The metallurgy of ancient swords.
3. The early concrete structures of the Romans, so welll done that for hundreds of years people had know idea how to build to such levels of precision.
I've been told that even in our own culture, some prisoners can go to this level of detail and precision in their craft (the biggest example being body art - tattoos). All it takes is all the time in the world, and unparalleled mental focus, often aided by amphetamines.
The key is a lifetime of patience and dedication to craft.
Think about even some of the everyday stuff that we use, such as a machine screw. How did we ever get to the level of precision that it works so flawlessly?