Friday 19 February 2016

The Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan

Well, one of the most prominence stones left behind is the “Unfinished' Obelisk,” taller than any known obelisk ever raised.  The unfinished obelisk is located in the northern region of Aswan Egypt (500 miles south of Cairo). It is roughly one third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected. If this obelisk finished, then it’d have been measured 137 feet and weighed 1,200 tons. The creator of Obelisk started to carve it directly from bedrock, but cracks appeared in the granite and project was abandoned. However, the bottom side is still attached to the bedrock gives important clues to how the ancient quarried granite. 

The unfinished obelisk is basically a Greek architecture, defined as a tall and slender monument with 4 sides converging to a mini pyramidal shape at the topmost point. The Unfinished obelisk was constructed by Hatshepsut, the queen of Thutmose II, who ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh from 1478 to 1458 B.C., jointly with Thutmose III, who was then only a child.

The abandoned project provides strange insight into ancient Egyptian stone working methods, notions the idea of tools they had used visible as ocher-colored lines marking where they were working. The Aswan area is the main region of providing red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came from quarries.  The unfinished obelisk base was discovered in 2005 and still lies being hewn from the rock. Moreover, some rock carvings and leftovers may correspond to the area where most of fame obelisks were worked. Initially it was believed that the stone had an undetected flawless; however quarrying process let the cracking to develop by releasing the stress. The unfinished objects are an open-air museum and are officially protected by the Egyptian government as an archeological site

The purpose behind to done obelisk is not known, because the main tool employed for carving the granite were small balls of Dolerite. The unearthing of obelisk allows observing how they were made. Therefore, the means of separating the stone from the bedrock was a simple method used around the ancient world. Also small cavities were made in the stone, which were then filled with wood and soaked water causing it to expand. Source: Charismatic Planet

The Gate of Sun, Bolivia



The Gate of Sun is constructed by Tiwanaku culture of Bolivia more than 1500 years ago. The Gate of Sun is a megalithic solid stone arch located near Lake Titicaca near La Paz, Bolivia.  The Gate of Sun is almost 9.8ft tall and 13 ft wide and constructed single piece of stone. The Gate of Sun is rediscovered by European Explorers in the mid of 19th century. Megalith was lying horizontally and had a massive crack going through it and weight is more than 10 tons. The Gate of Sun is still stands in the same situation where it was found. 

Somehow, many people believed that is not original location which remains uncertain.  However, few elements of Tiwanaku iconography spread throughout Peru and parts of Bolivia. Moreover, different modern interpretations of the secretive inscriptions have been found on the object the engravings that adorn the gate are thought to possess astronomical and/or astrological implication and may have used for calendrical purpose connotations and look like human-like beings with wings and curled-up tails, and appear to be wearing rectangular “helmets”, though interpretations differ.

Furthermore, various people believe that Gate of Sun was used as a calendar, called it “The Calendar Gate” reflects a solar year. It wasn’t fit into the solar year, because calendar year has 290 days as off now by dividing into 12 months of 24 days each. However, other theories suggest it was used as a portal to another dimension may be the mysterious land. So, it is believed Tiahuanaco as the place of creation and important place to visit. Source: Charismatic Planet

The Bubbling Hells of Beppu, Japan

Southern Japan city of Beppu is set on a steaming collection of geothermal hotspots. Here, you can bathe in a mineral-rich spring, get buried up to your neck in warm sand, or you can sink into a mud bath. You can also visit Chinoike Jigoku, the blood-red pond from hell. It is translated as "Bloody Hell Pond," Chinoike Jigoku is one of the eight "Hells of Beppu", where "hell" equals "touristy hot spring meant for viewing, not bathing." 

Japan is figuratively soaking in hot-spring spas, though no place in the country gushes more thermal waters than Beppu, on Kyushu’s eastern coast. This is spewing sufficient water to fill 3,600 swimming pools daily and encompassing the world’s second-largest hot springs after Yellowstone United States.  Moreover, Beppu has long been one of Japan’s famous spa resorts, with more than 11 million people visiting the city’s 80 public bathhouses annually. 

However, every hell has a theme. Moreover Shaven Monk's Head Hell is a pool of simmering mud, so this is easily called the belching bubbles look like bald guys' noggins. Furthermore, sea Hell is a vivid fake turquoise, while murky Demon Mountain Hell has been populated with a horde of disconsolate crocodiles. None of it makes considerably sense, but the swirls of steam that billow from for each pond make for dramatic photographs. Therefore, Beppu has witnessed a spa revolution the past few years that has replaced outdated, hangar-like bathhouses with new, sophisticated spas, many constructed of soothing natural woods and surrounded by greenery

So, you can't go for a dip in any of the hells in accordance with their name, they are too hot since but you can eat eggs, vegetables, and pudding that have been cooked in the springs. Moreover, on your way out, please don't forget to pick up some relaxing skincare products made from the crimson sludge of Bloody Hell Pond. But while Beppu has reinvented itself in a bid to attract Japan’s younger generation, it still remains wildly popular with older vacationers, and many of its attractions are so endearingly old-fashioned – if not downright hokey.

The Monks Mound



Well, Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas and the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica. In 1988, Monks Mound size was about 100 feet height, 955 feet long. The Mound is located at the Cahokia Mounds UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsville, Illinois. The Monks Mound base circumference is larger than the Pyramid of Sun at Teotihuacan and roughly same size of Great Pyramid of Giza 13.1 acres. However, Egyptian Pyramids built with stones in contrast of platform mound was constructed entirely layers of basket transported soil and clay. Due to flattened top, the rainwater accumulated within the structure result in slumping, the avalanche-like sliding of large sections of the sides at the highest part of the mound. 

The recent excavations have exposed, the slumping problem, though the mound was being made. These days, researcher are stunned how native engineers built Monk’s Mound, and their findings concludes, that the massive earthwork may have been built surprisingly fast, may be in just a fraction of the time that archaeologists once thought. Monks Mound is an extremely complex bit of earthen architecture; with certainly in tune with their materials. 

The original concept was much smaller mound; however several types of earth and clay from different sources had been used successively. Construction of Monks suggests that the stability of the mound was improved by the incorporation of bulwarks, some made of clay, others flood-plain, which allowed steeper slopes than the use of earth alone. Moreover, the structure rises in four terraces containing 22 million cubic feet of adobe, carried basket to the site. So, in brief, it took a lot of smarts to build Monks Mound and have it last for as long as it has.