Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Like us on Facebook
Curiosmos
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists
No Result
View All Result
Curiosmos
No Result
View All Result

Did MIT Scientists Find a Way to Move Massive Stones Just as the Ancients?

Ivan PetricevicbyIvan Petricevic
April 19, 2019 - Updated on May 2, 2023
in Ancient Civilizations
An image of the Terraces of Pumatallis at Ollantaytambo. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

An image of the Terraces of Pumatallis at Ollantaytambo. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It remains a profound enigma just how ancient civilizations across the globe managed to move supermassive blocks of stone and transport them into position to build some of the most amazing ancient sites we all look upon in astonishment today.

Some of the best examples are the Pyramids at Giza, Stonehenge, Tiahuanaco, and Ollantaytambo, among many others. All these sites have one thing in common: their builders somehow managed to transport and put into position massive blocks of stone that weigh between 10 to 100 tons.

MIT Scientists Find a Way to Move Massive Stones

Wall of the Six Monoliths at Ollantaytambo. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Wall of the Six Monoliths at Ollantaytambo. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

How the ancients did it has remained a profound mystery. Did they use some lost ancient technology? Did aliens help them? Or did we not study the ancients well enough? Scholars continue searching for clues that may help answer how megalithic structures like Stonehenge were built.

Now, researchers at the design lab Matter Design have found a revolutionary way to move massive stones, some of them weighing more than 25 tons with their bare hands.

Related Posts

An illustration of Medusa

Strange Beings of Greek Mythology: From Centaurs to Harpies

August 3, 2023 - Updated on January 20, 2024
An image collage with the entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza and one of its interior chambers. Shutterstock.

The Heart of a Pyramid: 8 Stumping Images of the Great Pyramid’s Interior

December 2, 2019 - Updated on January 21, 2024

As noted by the Business Insider, the secret lies in harnessing ancient civilizations’ same methods to build Stonehenge and the statues on Easter Island.

It seems difficult to accept that ancient cultures could move stones weighing on average 25 tons thousands of years ago. But the group of researchers from MIT says it may not be impossible after all, and they have even shown us how to do it.

Everything began back in 2014 when researchers from the design lab Matter Design studied ancient civilizations and how they built and moved supermassive structures like the Moai Statue on Easter Island and the Egyptian Pyramids.

They discovered something surprising yet fairly simple: using stones with the right density and a balanced center of mass, you could move objects as heavy as a great white shark with their bare hands.

Image Credit: Matter Design.
Image Credit: Matter Design.

They got help from the construction research company Cemex Global R&D. The researchers found they could rotate massive stones that appeared light as a feather and even assemble these massive objects into staircases or larger structures without using ‘modern technology’ like trucks or cranes.

However, to determine which building materials they needed to use and where to place the center of mass, the researchers from Matter Design relied on a computer algorithm to make it easier for them.

If the computer algorithm encounters a formula that won’t work in real life, Matter Lab can adjust it to ensure the ‘objects’ are moveable by humans. “Of course, there are a lot of struggles along the way,” Brandon Clifford, an MIT assistant professor and one of the lab’s partners, told Business Insider. But “as we’re designing the element,” Clifford said, “we can always ensure that the center of mass is pulled to where it needs to go.”


Join the discussion and participate in awesome giveaways in our mobile Telegram group. Join Curiosmos on Telegram Today. t.me/Curiosmos

Share6118Tweet98Share27ShareSend
Ivan Petricevic

Ivan Petricevic

I've been writing passionately about ancient civilizations, history, alien life, and various other subjects for more than eight years. You may have seen me appear on Discovery Channel's What On Earth series, History Channel's Ancient Aliens, and Gaia's Ancient Civilizations among others.

Related Posts

Aerial view of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Shutterstock.
Ancient Civilizations

5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Ancient Egypt’s Oldest Pyramid

November 15, 2019 - Updated on December 12, 2022
Apollonius of Tyana may have been the real Jesus according to a controversial theory. An illustration showing the Bible.
Ancient Civilizations

Scientific facts in the Bible that align with modern discoveries

February 18, 2019 - Updated on April 18, 2025
A close-up image of the h-blocks at Puma Punku. Shutterstock.
Ancient Civilizations

How did the Ancients Move 100-Ton Megaliths at Puma Punku?

April 22, 2020 - Updated on January 21, 2024
Ram in the Thicket and sunrise rituals in ancient Ur
Ancient Civilizations

Ram in the Thicket and sunrise rituals in ancient Ur

May 27, 2025
The Sigiriya ancient rock fortress hides the secrets of a lost city carved into a 200 meter high lion-shaped monolith
Ancient Civilizations

The Sigiriya ancient rock fortress hides the secrets of a lost city carved into a 200 meter high lion-shaped monolith

March 2, 2019 - Updated on April 18, 2025
Aerial view of the Step Pyramid complex and the Saqqara Royal Necropolis in Egypt.
Ancient Civilizations

Ancient Egypt’s Oldest-Known Stone Structure Predates the Great Pyramid By Generations

May 11, 2020 - Updated on February 11, 2023
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Fair Use Notice
  • DMCA / Removal
  • Impressum
  • Contact
  • Fact-Checking Policy
  • Ethics Policy
  • Ownership and Funding Information
  • Impressum
CURIOSMOS.COM

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Unsolved Mysteries
  • Ancient Civilizations
  • Cosmic Phenomena
  • Alien Theories
  • Curious Lists