The Thunder Stone: World’s Largest Monolith Moved By Man
AncientPages.com - The Thunder Stone is the world’s largest monolith ever to be moved by man. It gained its name from an ancient local legend that thunder split a piece off the stone.
The monolith was discovered at Lakhta, 6 km (3.7 mi) inland from the Gulf of Finland in 1768.
The stone was moved from Finland to St. Petersburg, Russia to serve as a pedestal for the Bronze Horseman, the equestrian statue of Peter the Great.
Catherine the Great, a German princess who married into the Romanov line wished to to connect herself to Peter the Great to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the people. She ordered therefore ordered the construction of the Bronze Horseman. It was her way of showing her admiration for her predecessor and her view of her own place in the line of great Russian rulers.
Today, the statue is one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg, in much the same way that the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of New York City.
See also: Great Pyramid of Cholula: World’s Largest Pyramid
It is said that the Thunder Stone was moved by manpower, rollers, and capstans. Later it was transported by barge up the Neva River to St. Petersburg. Moving the stone required 400 men and took nine months, during which time master stonecutters continuously shaped the enormous granite monolith.
The workers made over 150 m of progress a day while on level ground. Upon arrival at the sea an enormous barge was constructed exclusively for the Thunder Stone. The vessel had to be supported on either side by two full-size warships.
After a short voyage, the stone reached its destination in 1770, after nearly two years of work. A medal was issued to commemorate its arrival, with the legend "Close to Daring". The stone's dimensions before being cut were 7 × 14 × 9 m. Based on the density of granite, its weight was determined to be around 1500 tones.
The entire effort is considered a historic feat of engineering!
AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesReferences:
Wikipedia
More From Ancient Pages
-
Mysterious Deaths Around Empress Cixi – Cruel Tyrant Or Victim Of Propaganda?
Featured Stories | Apr 9, 2018
-
Extraordinary Ancient Mosaics, Crucifixes, And Long-Lost Church Discovered In The Holy Land
Archaeology | Dec 22, 2017
-
Octopus Lures From The Mariana Islands Are The Oldest Known Artifacts Of Their Kind In The World.
Archaeology | Jul 29, 2022
-
Why Were Swords So Important To Ancient Vikings?
Ancient History Facts | Oct 4, 2017
-
1700-Year-Old Iron Trident Found In The Ancient City Of Assos, Turkey
Archaeology | Nov 1, 2023
-
Sobek: A 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Nile Crocodile – On Display At The British Museum
Archaeology | Dec 9, 2015
-
Common Ancestor Of Neanderthals And Humans That Lived 700,000 Years Ago Holds Clues To A DNA Mystery
Archaeology | Feb 22, 2023
-
Piecing Together Scotland’s Religious Past With Shards Of Glass
Archaeology | Feb 28, 2023
-
Ptolemaic-Era Warship Discovered Near The Sunken City Of Heracleion In Alexandria By Underwater Archaeologists
Archaeology | Jul 20, 2022
-
Rare 2000-Year-Old Celtic Sword Unearthed In East Bohemia
Archaeology | Sep 15, 2020
-
New Clues Why Neanderthals Visited La Cotte de St Brelade In Jersey 250,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Jun 18, 2023
-
Hammer Of Thor – Great Loss Of Treasure That Protected Aesir Gods And Asgard
Featured Stories | Mar 14, 2018
-
New Huge Viking Ship Discovered By Radar In Øye, Norway – What Is Hidden Beneath The Ground?
Archaeology | Apr 9, 2022
-
Steamship SS Mesaba Sent Warning To RMS Titanic In 1912 – Her Wreck is Now Identified
Archaeology | Sep 27, 2022
-
Early Humans Risked Life -Threatening Flintknapping Injuries – Long-Lasting Tradition
Archaeology | May 26, 2023
-
Teotihuacán: Enigmatic Birthplace Of The Gods And Its Obscure History
Civilizations | Jul 26, 2016
-
Mystery Of The Seven Sages In Ancient Myths And Legends
Featured Stories | Feb 20, 2016
-
Neolithic Watermelons Reveal Some Surprises About Our Ancestors
Archaeology | Aug 6, 2022
-
Oedipus – Tragic Prophecy About A Man Who Couldn’t Escape Fate
Featured Stories | Jan 10, 2019
-
What Was Humor Like In The 13th Century?
Featured Stories | Jun 22, 2018