10 misconceptions about lost technologies of the past
Miscellaneous / / May 09, 2021
Learn the truth behind the Inca-built planes of gold, Egyptian submarines, Roman concrete and Damascus steel.
1. The Incas knew the secret of indestructible masonry
Take a look at this beauty. It was built by the Incas - representatives of the ancient Indian civilization. They fitted the stone blocks to each other so tightly that you couldn't even stick a knife blade in there. And these structures have stood for hundreds of years.
Some believe that these buildings do not belong to backward Indians, but to some Atlanteans or even aliens. How else to explain the fact that the secret of such masonry is lost forever?
What really is
Inca masonry is a very cool thing. But those who overly admire her do not take into account some important points.
It is correct to call it polygonalPolygonal masonry masonry, because it was not only used by the Incas. And even more so it was not invented by representatives of ancient supercivilizations. The same masonry was used in Ancient Greece and Rome, in China and Japan, in Medieval Europe and other places.
What is really there, you can see buildings built using polygonal masonry in Russia, for example, in the city of Kronstadt. Or see the foundation of the Brest Fortress in Belarus. Have the aliens really tried there too?
In fact, there is nothing unusual about polygonal masonry - even today it is sometimes used.TYPES, METHODS AND ELEMENTS OF STONE Masonry to give aesthetics to design projects.
And yes, if desired, in fresh polygonal masonry, you canThe secret of the ancient polygonal (polygonal) masonry has been discovered stick a knife. And it is impossible to do the same with the Inca, because the stones have worn down over the centuries under their own weight.
2. Maya created crystal skulls that cannot be reproduced
The crystal skulls that the Maya created from solid pieces of quartz are a real miracle. There are 13 such specimens in the collections of historians around the world.Crystal skull.
Proponents of alternative history argue that even with modern technology, such a skull will not work. How did the Maya do it? We used the services of aliens, of course!
And they also warned the Maya that in 2012 they would collide the Earth and Nibiru, but somehow it did not grow together. Probably because the latter was invented by the Sumerians, not the Maya.
what actually
These skulls were created just with the use of quite modern technologies.Crystal Skulls Deemed Fake, Crystal skull - an abrasive wheel coated with silicon carbide and a grinding machine. They were made from imported Brazilian quartz in Switzerland or Germany in the 19th or 20th centuries.
Scientists from Great Britain and the USA came to this conclusion after examining the skulls using an elementary particle accelerator and an ultraviolet radiation receiver. These are fakes created to be sold to wealthy collectors under the flavor of legends about the achievements of the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans.
3. Damascus steel and crucible damask steel are superior to any modern alloys
Damascus steel is an invention of the armourers of the Ancient East. This alloy is incredibly lightweight, tough and holds the edge well. A blade made of Damascus steel can easily cut in half both a sword made of steel, simpler, and the famous Japanese a katana of a thousand layers of metal, and plate armor, and its owner, and a horse under it, and a silk scarf on the fly.
But even such steel, made by welding, is inferior to crucible damask steel - they could generally cut the barrels of automatic machines... If then there were automatic machines, of course.
What really is
Most likely a mythScott's "Talisman", Damastsalat und Nanodraht about the strength of Damascus steel and crucible damask steel appeared at the beginning of the 19th century thanks to the novels "Talisman" and "Ivanhoe" by Walter Scott. No sword will cut through chain mail or plate armor. Moreover, any blade will deteriorate when trying to do this - no matter what damask it is made of.
If you want to break through the armor - use a chisel, a pick or war hammer. No armor can resist here. Concussion and fractures to the victim are guaranteed in any case.
Metallurgical propertiesScott's "Talisman", Damastsalat und Nanodraht crucible damask steel and welded damascus are not bad for their time, but they are nothing particularly outstanding. Modern alloys surpass them in lightness, strength and durability. And they sharpen better.
However, the technology of production of Damascus has not been lost at all, so now the damask steel is made mainly by enthusiasts.Bulat (metal) - as a tribute to the blacksmiths of the past.
4. Heat weapons of the past melted entire fortresses
Glazed, or vitrified, fortresses and forts are ancient fortifications, the walls of which were partially melted, and the gaps between the stones in them were filled with glassy slag. Such fortresses can be found in Scotland, Ireland, the north of England, as well as in France and other places.
How were such buildings created? This is one of two things. Or the ancient Celts and other peoples burned the walls of their castles in some now forgotten way to give them incredible strength. Or regular castles have been exposed to incredible heat weapons during sieges!
The ancestors of the Scots, apparently, played with this weapon so much that they lost the technology of its production and slipped into the unwashed Middle Ages.
What really is
There is nothing particularly mysterious about the vitrified forts. The most obvious reason for the melting of sand and mortar between stones is fireArchaeomagnetic dating of a vitrified wall at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Misericordia (Serpa, Portugal), Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 2 / On the Vitrified Forts of Scotland, which were arranged by the invaders during sieges. However, there are doubts that their fire could give the temperature necessary to melt the rubble.
In addition, studies show that the thermal effects on the walls lasted for several hours, which is too long for a fire.
It is much more likely that the arson was deliberately committed byGreat walls of fire - Vitrification and thermal engineering in the British Iron Age, Séances générales tenues à… en… par la Société française pour la conservation des monuments historiques the castle builders themselves. They fired the walls and the joints between the stones in order to harden the fine-grained rubble in the masonry by sintering. This is a primitive, but quite effective technology for strengthening walls.
5. Incas and Egyptians flew in golden planes
Some more of the achievements of the aforementioned Incas: they invented no less - modern aviation. After them, golden models remained in the tombs of Kimbai IV-VII centuriesArtifacts of Kimbai airplanes. Most likely, the Incas knew how to fly, otherwise how would they deliver the stone for their pyramids with polygonal masonry in the highlands?
An enlarged copy of the Inca plane was assembled"A military secret" German enthusiasts Algund Enboom, Peter Belting and Konrad Lubbers. They screwed the motors to it, what do you think? Take off!
By the way, not only the Incas had such gliders, but also ancient Egyptians. The famous aircraft model from Sakkara confirms this. True, strange Egyptologists for some reason call it a bird, but what do they even understand?
What really is
As sad as it is to admit it, the "golden airplanes" of the Incas are just jewelry.Ancient Airplanes Sleep With the Fishesdepicting flying fish of the genus Hirundichthys, or swallow wings.
The Incas certainly did not have aviation, otherwise they would have left some kind of infrastructure: airfields, runways and the metallurgical industry.
But what is really there, these guys did not even know the wheels, and without it, it is somewhat difficult to land planes. And they could not make these figures fly, as did the German aircraft modellers: there was also tension with electric motors then.
And the famous plane from Sakkara is just a figurine of a falcon, an object of the cult of the gods Horus or Ra. Or he served as a kind of weather vane. In any case, according to the statementFlying the Saqqara Bird glider designer Martin Gregory, this plane could never fly.
6. Roman concrete was much stronger than modern concrete
The Romans erected truly impressive buildings: amphitheaters, aqueducts, palaces, fortresses and other architectural monuments.
They also created roads that lasted 2,000 years. This is not a disposable asphalt for you to lay.
How did they do it? All thanks to "Roman concrete" opus caementicium, which made the walls especially strong. The secret of this mixture has been lost, so now nothing close to the Colosseum can be built.
What really is
Roman concrete is an easy-to-manufacture mixtureRoman concrete rubble, lime and volcanic ash. In many ways, it is inferior to the modern one due to the fact that the Romans did not have the opportunity to create a really small filler: industrial stone crushers had not yet been delivered.
However, Roman concrete is strong, cheap, durable and environmentally friendly. Therefore, experiments are underway now.Unlocking the secrets of Al-tobermorite in Roman seawater concrete, Fixing Canada's Infrastructure With Volcanoes on its application. It is especially effective in the construction of offshore structures, as it only grows stronger when it comes into contact with salt water.
And it is also worth mentioning the "Egyptian concrete", which was allegedly used in the construction of the pyramids. It just never existed. Egyptians fastenedAncient Egyptian Pyramids - Concrete or Rock blocks of pyramids with pink gypsum mortar (and sometimes they simply hammered into it).
7. Petrospheres of Costa Rica - a product of advanced stone processing
These are large stone spheres of gabbro, sandstone or limestone. Their sizes range from a couple of centimeters to two meters in diameter, and their weight reaches 16 tons. There are at least threeCosta Rican stone balls hundreds of such stones.
The stones of Costa Rica were used by the Indians of the pre-Columbian times as toys, to mark celestial bodies or to establish boundaries between tribal lands. But how did primitive civilizations, which did not have grinding machines and abrasives, manage to make such perfectly round stones?
Either they were not as primitive as modern science is trying to convince us, or they were definitely helped by the Anunnaki.
What really is
These stone spheres are more correctly called petrospheres or nodules.Concretion. They are obtained naturally in sedimentary rocks. Such stones are found all over the world, and any geologist will tell you that there is absolutely nothing unusual about them.
So, if you find the petrosphere at your dacha, it will not turn all modern scientific ideas upside down. The only thing it will do is decorate your garden.
8. The Egyptians had helicopters, submarines, airplanes and airships
In the 19th century, in the temple of Osiris at Abydos, Egyptologists discoveredHelicopter hieroglyphs very strange hieroglyphs that could not be clearly deciphered. Then the find was forgotten for a long time, until in 1997 UFO and paranormal researcher Ruth Hover sawPharaoh's Helicopter? in the inscriptions of the proof of the existence of the Egyptians of advanced technology.
She saw in the pictures a helicopter, a submarine, a glider and a balloon. Take a look yourself and tell me - well, it looks like it?
What really is
Once upon a time there was a pharaohSeti I Seti I, who decided to honor the god Osiris by building a temple named after him. Relatives, after all: Pharaoh is also a god, by force of will he raises the Sun and moves the Nile. At least that's how it was thought.
Again, the name Seti meant "dedicated to the god Seth", and the latter was a very unpleasant person and killed Osiris a little, so he was expected to be disliked. Therefore, the pharaoh was ashamed of his name and preferred to use the pseudonym Merneptah.
And on his tomb, which, as it should be for a royal person, he began to build in advance, he ordered to hollow out the names of Usiri and Usiriseti, which meant "this deceased became Osiris."
In general, as you understand, Seti I had a very tense relationship with Osiris, and the pharaoh tried in every possible way to establish contact with him. But if he succeeded, it was only during a personal meeting: Seti I died safely before the temple was finished. And finish building this splendorRamses II, FATHER AND SON. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INSCRIPTIONS IN ABIDOS had to his son Ramses II.
And he, not suffering from excessive modesty, ordered to plaster the names and titles of his father, writing his own over them.
Over time, the plaster fell off, and slender hieroglyphs turned into all kinds of game. In which you can consider a submarine, a flying saucer, and the Pope with the proper skill. Here's an explanation for you.
9. The first batteries in the history of mankind were invented in Mesopotamia
Seleucian vases are an artifact of the Parthian or Sassanian periods, found in Mesopotamia by the German archaeologist Wilhelm Koenig. They are now on display at the National Museum of Iraq.
Koenig suggestedBaghdad batterythat these vessels were once filled with alkali and galvanically generated current. That is, people knew electricity more than 2000 years ago!
The people of Baghdad lit the city with incandescent lamps that the Anunnaki gave them, but this destroys Darwin's theory, so scientists hide everything. Here.
What really is
Reality, as always, is prosaic. Seleucian vases had a cultThe batteries of Babylon meaning: they contained papyrus scrolls with spells from evil spirits. Apparently, therefore, they were found in the basements of unremarkable houses, and not in some ancient power plant.
Of course, if you pour some kind of electrolyte, such as vinegar or lemon juice, into these vessels, they will give a little tension. But you can just as well get electricity from potatoes.
10. Greek fire is a superweapon head and shoulders above the mixes found in modern flamethrowers
This is a terrible weapon that was inventedGreek fire Byzantines in the 7th century. Combustible liquid was released from copper siphons, and also thrown in hand grenades and catapult shells. Greek fire destroyed ships on the water and strongholds on land. And it's good that the secret of its manufacture has been lost for centuries, because this liquid flame is much more dangerous than any modern napalm!
What really is
The recipe for "that very" Greek fire cannot be found, not because it has not been preserved anywhere, but because incendiary mixturesEarly thermal weapons in all of history, mankind has invented too much.
Greek fire was a composition of oil or bitumen, sulfur and oil.
But, despite the legends of destructiveness, in reality he, apparently, was not so effective.A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder piece. Otherwise, it would have been used in all the more or less significant military conflicts. However, everyone preferred the old-fashioned way to use hot oil, torches and burning arrows - easier, cheaper, no fuss with manufacturing.
And yes, incendiary siphons were invented in Byzantium in the 10th century. That's only if you imagine themGreek fire like modern flamethrowers, you have to upset: siphons did not work that way. First, the enemies were poured with a combustible mixture, and then they were thrown with torches or something like that.
The weapon had very limited use, because it was not always possible to persuade opponents to stand still while some nasty stuff was pouring on them. In addition, there was a risk of splashing yourself.
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