, Constantinople or the "New Rome" had to
have at least one. The Byzantines succeeded in fetching the monument from
Deir el Bahri near Thebes, although in a sawn-off form. The original shaft
was probably a great deal longer. Yet having brought it to the harbor on
the Sea of Marmara side of the city, no one could figure out for an entire
century how to get it up the hill"
At the same time the big 323 ton Lateran obelisk from
Karnak was still in
Alexandria, remaining there until after Constantine's death. His son,
Constantius II [reigned A.D. 337-340] had then taken it to Rome instead.
However, it did not get to Rome's Circus Maximus until A.D. 357, seventeen
years after the death of Constantius II. Finishing the centuries old project
took almost fifty years...
Knowing all these facts then bears heavily on our judgment of what the
Roman could, or could not do at Baalbek.
a) Roman engineers had failed to even budge the 455 ton
at Karnak for emperor Augustus.
b) But, allegedly, the same Roman engineers had successfully transported the
three Trilithon blocks weighing twice as much, plus, twenty-four more blocks
weighing pretty well as much, i.e., 300 - 400 tons, all of which we see in
the enclosure wall of the Baalbek temple terrace.
Moreover, the transport of the
Trilithon blocks would have had been
incredibly rapid, because the retaining walls should be in place prior to
the construction of the temple itself, as logic would seem to dictate
Unable to move the 455 ton Karnak obelisk, Augustus took two other obelisks
from the Sun Temple in Heliopolis, instead. It was the first transport of
obelisks to Rome. The obelisks are now in the Piazza del Popolo (235 tons),
and the Piazza di Montecitorio (230 tons). Funny, 235 + 230 = 465. So,
Augustus got his 455 tons, plus change, but it was in two parts. These are
solid indications of the then Roman capacity in moving heavy objects.
Why did Romans pick the remote
Baalbek? Did they do it for practical
reasons, utilizing older structures, and perhaps plentiful building
materials already onsite?
Even the fifty-four enormous yet typically
Roman columns from Aswan granite,
which had once surrounded the courtyard, of which six are still standing
may be pre-Roman, but later recarved in the Roman style. Despite being as
magnificent as they are, the spectacular and unprecedented construction
achievements at Baalbek were not heralded to the world as its own by the
proud and glory hungry Rome. Why not?
Making such a claim would have been impossible, if the world already knew
about the awesome Baalbek ruins, of course. If Roman and other writers had
failed to mention the great Baalbek blocks, they were in
amazing sync with
the modern day's attitude.