{"it":{"id":"BAA-TRI","kind":"site","sub":"Levant and Anatolia","name":"Baalbek: Jupiter temple podium (Trilithon) + Hajar al-Hibla quarry","place":"Lebanon","lat":34.006,"lon":36.207,"date":"Podium/temple mid-1st c. AD (graffito: temple nearing completion AD 60); tell occupied…","mat":"Local limestone","facts":[{"a":"E-W axis length / width","v":"400 / ~120","u":"m","r":38}],"nfacts":84,"tags":["Near East","Temples"],"sum":"Each of the three Trilithon stones in Baalbek's temple podium is more than 19 m long (verified) and is usually estimated at about 800 tonnes. They were raised several metres off the ground and set side by side in one course.\n\nBaalbek, in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, held a Roman temple of Jupiter. A graffito records the temple nearing completion around AD 60, and the nearby Hajar al-Hibla quarry still holds huge cut blocks, such as the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, that never left it.","why":"The largest stone blocks ever quarried, cut for a Roman temple in Lebanon.","src":[261],"nsrc":19,"yt":"The quarry is uphill from the temple. How much of the mystery does that remove, and how much remains?","rel":["CUZ-SAC","SAQ-SER","GIZ-G1"],"hook":"The largest stone at Baalbek never left the quarry. It weighs an estimated 1,650 tonnes."},"S":{"38":["Ito","https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf"],"261":["Wikipedia: Baalbek","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek"]},"rec":{"id":"BAA-TRI","alias":[],"ms":[{"f":"Trilithon (3 blocks, podium course 2)","a":"length each","v":">19","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1977","m":"survey","c":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"Ruins","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"V","bb":"Wood 1757, Puchstein/Wiegand, Adam all describe; values consistent","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0470"},{"f":"Trilithon","a":"height","v":"4.3","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1977","m":"","c":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0471"},{"f":"Trilithon","a":"breadth","v":"3.6","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1977","m":"","c":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0472"},{"f":"Trilithon","a":"mass each","v":"~800","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Adam 1977 p.52 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1977","m":"computed","c":"Adam 1977 p.52 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"I","bb":"estimate","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0473"},{"f":"Stone of the Pregnant Woman","a":"mass","v":"~1000","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Ruprechtsberger 1999 p.15 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1999","m":"computed","c":"Ruprechtsberger 1999 p.15 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"I","bb":"estimate","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0474"},{"f":"Third quarry stone","a":"mass","v":"~1200","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Ruprechtsberger 1999 p.17","yr":"1999","m":"computed","c":"Ruprechtsberger 1999 p.17","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"I","bb":"estimate","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0475"},{"f":"2014 DAI block","a":"dimensions","v":"19.6 x 6 x 5.5","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"DAI / Abdul Massih (Kehrer 2014 press release)","yr":"2014","m":"field measurement","c":"DAI / Abdul Massih (Kehrer 2014 press release)","pg":"Excavations","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"S","bb":"DAI press release; primary report not opened","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0476"},{"f":"2014 DAI block","a":"mass","v":"~1650","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"DAI (Kehrer 2014)","yr":"2014","m":"computed","c":"DAI (Kehrer 2014)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"I","bb":"estimate","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0477"},{"f":"Quarry","a":"elevation relative to temple","v":"quarry slightly higher; ~800 m away","u":"","o":"","unc":"","by":"Adam & Mathews 1999 p.35; Abdul Massih 2023 p.170","yr":"1999/2023","m":"survey","c":"Adam & Mathews 1999 p.35; Abdul Massih 2023 p.170","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"V","bb":"2 independent sources","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0478"},{"f":"Jupiter temple","a":"platform","v":"47.7 x 87.75","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Cook 1914 p.560 (via Wikipedia)","yr":"1914","m":"","c":"Cook 1914 p.560 (via Wikipedia)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0479"},{"f":"the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley about","a":"distance (not a site dimension)","v":"67","u":"km","o":"Baalbek ( ; REF1 , ; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about 67 km northeast of Beirut.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0858"},{"f":"water from the east and northeast made holes","a":"width","v":"30","u":"m","o":"The revived settlement was again destroyed by a flood on 10 May 1318, when water from the east and northeast made holes 30 m wide in walls 4 m thick. 194 people were killed and 1500 houses, 131 shops, 44 orchards, 17 ovens, 11 mills, and 4 aqueducts were ruined, along with the town's mosque and 13 other religious and educational buildings.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0859"},{"f":"northeast made holes 30 m wide in walls","a":"thickness","v":"4","u":"m","o":"The revived settlement was again destroyed by a flood on 10 May 1318, when water from the east and northeast made holes 30 m wide in walls 4 m thick. 194 people were killed and 1500 houses, 131 shops, 44 orchards, 17 ovens, 11 mills, and 4 aqueducts were ruined, along with the town's mosque and 13 other religious and educational buildings.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0860"},{"f":"theorised could use 512 workers to move a","a":"mass","v":"557","u":"tonne","o":"In 1977, Jean-Pierre Adam made a brief study suggesting most of the large blocks could have been moved on rollers with machines using capstans and pulley blocks, a process which he theorised could use 512 workers to move a 557 tonne block. \"Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee\", UNESCO reported in making Baalbek a World Heritage Site in 1984.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0861"},{"f":"It is estimated to weigh REF47","a":"mass","v":"1650","u":"tonne","o":"It is estimated to weigh REF47 1650 tonne.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0862"},{"f":"Roman town and some fell as close as","a":"distance (not a site dimension)","v":"300","u":"meters","o":"During the 2006 Lebanon War, many Israeli bombs fell inside the historic Roman town, and some fell as close as 300 meters from the temple of Baalbek.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0863"},{"f":"the country giving it an annual average of","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"450","u":"mm","o":"It is located in one of the drier regions of the country, giving it an annual average of 450 mm of rainfall compared with 800 to in coastal areas, overwhelmingly concentrated in the months from November to April.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0864"},{"f":"complex is located on a raised plaza erected","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"5","u":"m","o":"The complex is located on a raised plaza erected 5 m over an earlier T-shaped base consisting of a podium, staircase, and foundation walls.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0865"},{"f":"24 monoliths at their lowest level weighing approximately","a":"mass","v":"300","u":"tonne","o":"These walls were built from about 24 monoliths, at their lowest level weighing approximately 300 tonne each.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0866"},{"f":"Trílithon a row of three stones each over","a":"length","v":"19","u":"m","o":"The tallest retaining wall, on the west, has a second course of monoliths containing the famous \"Three Stones\" (, Trílithon): a row of three stones, each over 19 m long, 4.3 m high, and 3.6 m broad, cut from limestone.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0867"},{"f":"of three stones each over 19 m long","a":"height","v":"4.3","u":"m","o":"The tallest retaining wall, on the west, has a second course of monoliths containing the famous \"Three Stones\" (, Trílithon): a row of three stones, each over 19 m long, 4.3 m high, and 3.6 m broad, cut from limestone.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0868"},{"f":"19 m long 4 3 m high and","a":"width","v":"3.6","u":"m","o":"The tallest retaining wall, on the west, has a second course of monoliths containing the famous \"Three Stones\" (, Trílithon): a row of three stones, each over 19 m long, 4.3 m high, and 3.6 m broad, cut from limestone.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0869"},{"f":"They weigh approximately","a":"mass","v":"800","u":"tonne","o":"They weigh approximately 800 tonne each.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0870"},{"f":"Woman it lies unused in a nearby quarry","a":"distance (not a site dimension)","v":"800","u":"m","o":"A fourth, still larger stone is called the Stone of the Pregnant Woman: it lies unused in a nearby quarry 800 m from the town.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0871"},{"f":"Its weight is estimated at","a":"mass","v":"1000","u":"tonne","o":"Its weight is estimated at 1000 tonne.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0872"},{"f":"A fifth still larger stone weighing approximately","a":"mass","v":"1200","u":"tonne","o":"A fifth, still larger stone weighing approximately 1200 tonne lies in the same quarry.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0873"},{"f":"or Portico consisting of a broad staircase rising","a":"height","v":"20","u":"ft","o":"The temple complex was entered from the east through the Propylaea (, propýlaion) or Portico, consisting of a broad staircase rising 20 ft to an arcade of 12 columns flanked by 2 towers.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0874"},{"f":"south a subterranean chamber and three underground passageways","a":"width","v":"17","u":"ft","o":"The rectangular Great Court to its west covers around 3 or and included the main altar for burnt offering, with mosaic-floored lustration basins to its north and south, a subterranean chamber, and three underground passageways 17 ft wide by 30 ft high, two of which run east and west and the third connecting them north and south, all bearing inscriptions suggesting their occupation by Roman soldiers.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0875"},{"f":"and three underground passageways 17 ft wide by","a":"height","v":"30","u":"ft","o":"The rectangular Great Court to its west covers around 3 or and included the main altar for burnt offering, with mosaic-floored lustration basins to its north and south, a subterranean chamber, and three underground passageways 17 ft wide by 30 ft high, two of which run east and west and the third connecting them north and south, all bearing inscriptions suggesting their occupation by Roman soldiers.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0876"},{"f":"were monoliths of highly polished red Egyptian granite","a":"height","v":"7.08","u":"m","o":"The columns' bases and capitals were of limestone; the shafts were monoliths of highly polished red Egyptian granite 7.08 m high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0877"},{"f":"western end of the Great Court raised another","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"7","u":"m","o":"The Temple of Jupiter—once wrongly credited to Helios—lay at the western end of the Great Court, raised another 7 m on a 47.7 x platform reached by a wide staircase.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0878"},{"f":"The architrave and frieze blocks weigh up to","a":"mass","v":"60","u":"tonne","o":"The architrave and frieze blocks weigh up to 60 tonne each, and one corner block over 100 tonne, all of them raised to a height of 19 m above the ground.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0879"},{"f":"60 tonne each and one corner block over","a":"mass","v":"100","u":"tonne","o":"The architrave and frieze blocks weigh up to 60 tonne each, and one corner block over 100 tonne, all of them raised to a height of 19 m above the ground.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0880"},{"f":"each end and 15 along each side nearly","a":"height","v":"20","u":"m","o":"The temple is surrounded by forty-two columns—8 along each end and 15 along each side—nearly 20 m in height.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0881"},{"f":"but the keystone of the lintel had slid","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"2","u":"ft","o":"The entrance was preserved as late as Pococke and Wood, but the keystone of the lintel had slid 2 ft following the 1759 earthquakes; a column of rough masonry was erected in the 1860s or '70s to support it.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0882"},{"f":"interior of the temple is divided into a","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"98","u":"ft","o":"The interior of the temple is divided into a 98 ft nave and a 36 ft adytum or sanctuary on a platform raised 5 ft above it and fronted by 13 steps.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0883"},{"f":"divided into a 98 ft nave and a","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"36","u":"ft","o":"The interior of the temple is divided into a 98 ft nave and a 36 ft adytum or sanctuary on a platform raised 5 ft above it and fronted by 13 steps.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0884"},{"f":"ft adytum or sanctuary on a platform raised","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"5","u":"ft","o":"The interior of the temple is divided into a 98 ft nave and a 36 ft adytum or sanctuary on a platform raised 5 ft above it and fronted by 13 steps.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1379564091 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M0885"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks (west podium, middle course)","a":"dimensions (each, approx.)","v":"19 x 4.2 x 3.6","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia summary","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"kept separate from 19 x 4.3 x 3.6 (Temple of Jupiter article) and 4 x 4 x 20 (Lohmann)","id":"M2619"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"dimensions (each, rounded)","v":"4 x 4 x 20","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Lohmann (DAI Baalbek project)","yr":"2010","m":"as stated","c":"Lohmann (DAI Baalbek project)","pg":"","url":"https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf","b":"S","bb":"DAI architect, Bollettino di Archeologia online 2010","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"rounded; independent of Wikipedia; length agrees ~19-20 m","id":"M2620"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"mass (each, stated)","v":"750-800","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"estimate, not weighed","id":"M2621"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"length per block","v":"19.6; 19.3; 19.1","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"ancientcivilizations.org (secondary)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"ancientcivilizations.org (secondary)","pg":"","url":"https://www.ancientcivilizations.org","b":"S","bb":"secondary web page, original measurer not named","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"needs_review: primary (Wiegand/Adam) not opened","id":"M2622"},{"f":"podium course below Trilithon","a":"block size (approx.)","v":"~11 m long, ~350 t","u":"m; t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"six blocks in course below trilithon per secondary accounts; count not confirmed","id":"M2623"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter podium","a":"height","v":"12.4","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Ito (from Wiegand reports)","yr":"2004","m":"as stated","c":"Ito (from Wiegand reports)","pg":"","url":"https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf","b":"S","bb":"CIPA paper drawing on Wiegand 1921-25","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"\"three courses of huge blocks\"; Lohmann says \"three layers at the height of twelve meters\" (same order)","id":"M2624"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter podium","a":"height","v":"~12","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Lohmann","yr":"2010","m":"as stated","c":"Lohmann","pg":"","url":"https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf","b":"S","bb":"DAI","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"\"three layers of masonry at the height of twelve meters\"","id":"M2625"},{"f":"lowest podium/foundation course","a":"mass per monolith (approx.)","v":"~300","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"\"about 24 monoliths\"","id":"M2626"},{"f":"lowest podium/foundation course","a":"monolith count","v":"~24","u":"count","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2627"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter peristyle","a":"column count (original)","v":"54 (10 x 19)","u":"count","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter; Notre Dame image record","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter; Notre Dame image record","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek) ; https://doi.org/10.7274/24823956","b":"S","bb":"both likely trace to Wiegand; not treated as independent","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"6 standing today (9 until an early-20th-c. earthquake per ND record)","id":"M2628"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter columns","a":"height","v":"19.9","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia; Structurae; Notre Dame record","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia; Structurae; Notre Dame record","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek) ; https://doi.org/10.7274/24823956","b":"S","bb":"Structurae copies Wikipedia text; ND record same lineage","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"tallest columns of any classical temple (claim of Wikipedia)","id":"M2629"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter columns","a":"diameter","v":"~2.5 (nearly)","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"search syntheses also give 2.2 m: not retrieved from a page, not stored","id":"M2630"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter","a":"footprint","v":"88 x 44","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"Structurae lists 90 x 54 m (likely incl. stairs/podium) - disagree, separate row","id":"M2631"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter","a":"footprint","v":"90 x 54","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Structurae","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Structurae","pg":"","url":"https://structurae.net/en/structures/temple-of-jupiter-helipolitanus","b":"S","bb":"database entry, basis not given","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2632"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter","a":"height to pediment apex","v":"44 (est.) above court floor","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"estimate","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"Ito gives temple 33 m high to pediment top (from podium?) - separate","id":"M2633"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter","a":"height to pediment top","v":"33","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Ito","yr":"2004","m":"as stated","c":"Ito","pg":"","url":"https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf","b":"S","bb":"CIPA 3D reconstruction","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"reference level not stated","id":"M2634"},{"f":"Jupiter sanctuary","a":"E-W axis length / width","v":"400 / ~120","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Ito","yr":"2004","m":"as stated","c":"Ito","pg":"","url":"https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf","b":"S","bb":"CIPA","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2635"},{"f":"Stone of the Pregnant Woman (Hajar al-Hibla)","a":"length","v":"20.31-20.76","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia (DAI 2014 survey values per article)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2636"},{"f":"Stone of the Pregnant Woman","a":"width base / top","v":"4 / 4.14-5.29","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2637"},{"f":"Stone of the Pregnant Woman","a":"height","v":"4.21-4.32","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2638"},{"f":"Stone of the Pregnant Woman","a":"distance from temple","v":"900","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"older row says quarry ~800 m from town (different reference point)","id":"M2639"},{"f":"Stone of the South (third quarry block)","a":"dimensions","v":"19.5-20.5 x 4.34-4.56 x 4.5","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2640"},{"f":"Stone of the South","a":"mass (stated)","v":"1242","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"older row \"~1200 t\"","id":"M2641"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry limestone","a":"density (used for mass estimates)","v":"2.6-2.8","u":"g/cm3","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"assumed range, not a lab test of the blocks","id":"M2642"},{"f":"Forgotten Stone (2014 DAI block)","a":"dimensions","v":"19.6 x 6 x >=5.5","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"DAI / Abdul Massih via Guinness","yr":"2014","m":"as stated","c":"DAI / Abdul Massih via Guinness","pg":"","url":"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/605305-largest-megalith-from-antiquity","b":"S","bb":"all accounts trace to the DAI 2014 announcement (one lineage)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"base still buried at time of measurement","id":"M2643"},{"f":"Forgotten Stone","a":"mass (stated)","v":"~1650","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"van Ess (DAI) via Archaeology mag.; Guinness","yr":"2014","m":"as stated","c":"van Ess (DAI) via Archaeology mag.; Guinness","pg":"","url":"https://archaeology.org/issues/march-april-2015/digs-discoveries/lebanon-baalbek-quarry-megalith/ ; https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/605305-largest-megalith-from-antiquity","b":"S","bb":"one lineage (DAI press release)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2644"},{"f":"Forgotten Stone","a":"mass (stated)","v":"~1500","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"S","bb":"encyclopedia","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"disagrees with 1650 t: kept separate","id":"M2645"},{"f":"Forgotten Stone","a":"mass (derived, minimum)","v":"1682-1811","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"derived (this database)","yr":"2026","m":"derived","c":"derived (this database)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"I","bb":"derived value: 19.6*6*5.5 = 646.8 m3 x 2.6-2.8 g/cm3 (density from Wikipedia Baalbek Stones); lower bound since height >=5.5 m and block not perfectly prismatic","t":"INFERRED_SPECULATIVE","n":"brackets the 1650 t DAI figure","id":"M2646"},{"f":"Trilithon block","a":"mass (derived)","v":"769-828","u":"t","o":"","unc":"","by":"derived (this database)","yr":"2026","m":"derived","c":"derived (this database)","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones","b":"I","bb":"derived value: 19.1*4.3*3.6 = 295.7 m3 x 2.6-2.8 g/cm3 (Wikipedia density)","t":"INFERRED_SPECULATIVE","n":"consistent with stated ~800 t","id":"M2647"},{"f":"Temple of Jupiter entablature","a":"height above ground","v":"~19.9 (ND) / 19 (Wikipedia)","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Notre Dame record; Wikipedia","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Notre Dame record; Wikipedia","pg":"","url":"https://doi.org/10.7274/24823956 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)","b":"S","bb":"two statements differ slightly","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"architraves to 60 t, corner >100 t already stored","id":"M2648"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"lengths N to S","v":"19.00 / 19.75 / 18.35","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"disagrees with rounded 19-19.6 m elsewhere","id":"M2764"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"height / depth (each)","v":"4.16 / 3.60","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"Wikipedia 4.2 x 3.6 likely copies Wiegand","id":"M2765"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"lifting holes visible","v":"1 square hole (near edge of N stone)","u":"count","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2766"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla (Stone of Pregnant Woman)","a":"length","v":"21.72","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"disagrees: Abdul Massih 21.50 m; Wikipedia 20.31-20.76 m","id":"M2767"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla","a":"end faces S / N","v":"4.25 x 4.35 / 5.35 x 5.35","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"N end still attached to rock","id":"M2768"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla","a":"volume / weight (calc.)","v":"504.6 / 1211","u":"m3 / t","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"Wiegand computed","id":"M2769"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla","a":"detachment cut","v":"1 m high strip, 75 cm deep","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2770"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla","a":"square holes","v":"10 x 10 cm, row 1.70 m from E edge; no wolf holes","u":"cm","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2771"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry","a":"round post holes","v":"~17 diam x 18 deep","u":"cm","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2772"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry","a":"square beam holes","v":"up to 20 x 20 x 45 deep","u":"cm","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2773"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry","a":"wolf holes on one vertical face","v":"8 (in rows)","u":"count","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2774"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry block","a":"lever notches (\"Wuchtekehlen\")","v":"3 at foot, N side","u":"count","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand","yr":"1921","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt","b":"S","bb":"primary survey (Baalbek vol. 1, 1921)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2775"},{"f":"Trilithon blocks","a":"length (each)","v":"~19-20","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wiegand 1921 ; Lohmann (DAI) 2010","yr":"1921/2010","m":"as stated","c":"Wiegand 1921 ; Lohmann (DAI) 2010","pg":"","url":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt ; https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf","b":"V","bb":"two independent surveys (Wiegand 18.35-19.75 m; Lohmann ~20 m rounded)","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"exact values stay SINGLE_SOURCE","id":"M2776"},{"f":"Hajjar al-Hibla","a":"dimensions","v":"21.50 x 4 x 4.20","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Abdul Massih via L'Orient-Le Jour","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Abdul Massih via L'Orient-Le Jour","pg":"","url":"https://www.lorientlejour.com (Abdul Massih, Baalbek quarries article; exact URL not saved)","b":"S","bb":"newspaper report of DGA archaeologist","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"disagrees with Wiegand 21.72 m","id":"M2777"},{"f":"Baalbek quarry trenches","a":"separation trench width","v":"10-20 (40-60 for large blocks)","u":"cm","o":"","unc":"","by":"Abdul Massih via L'Orient-Le Jour","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Abdul Massih via L'Orient-Le Jour","pg":"","url":"https://www.lorientlejour.com (Abdul Massih, Baalbek quarries article; exact URL not saved)","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M2778"},{"f":"Hadschar el hibla","a":"implied density","v":"2.40","u":"g/cm3","o":"","unc":"","by":"derived (this database)","yr":"2026","m":"derived","c":"derived (this database)","pg":"","url":"Wiegand 1921 (own figures)","b":"I","bb":"derived value: 1211 t / 504.6 m3","t":"INFERRED_SPECULATIVE","n":"INFERRED_SPECULATIVE; consistent with limestone","id":"M2779"}],"lab":[{"k":"Materials","mat":"site material (as stated in article)","m":"documentary mention (Wikipedia, auto-extracted)","v":"In these statues, the bust of Mercury is made particularly prominent; a marble stela at Massilia in Transalpine Gaul shows a similar arrangement but enlarges Mercury into a full figure.","by":"no inline ref in article","b":"S","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091"},{"k":"Materials","mat":"site material (as stated in article)","m":"documentary mention (Wikipedia, auto-extracted)","v":"The Tell Baalbek temple complex, fortified as the town's citadel during the Middle Ages, was constructed from local stone, mostly white granite and a rough white marble.","by":"no inline ref in article","b":"S","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091"},{"k":"Materials","mat":"site material (as stated in article)","m":"documentary mention (Wikipedia, auto-extracted)","v":"The tallest retaining wall, on the west, has a second course of monoliths containing the famous \"Three Stones\" (, Trílithon): a row of three stones, each over 19 m long, 4.3 m high, and 3.6 m broad, cut from limestone.","by":"no inline ref in article","b":"S","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091"}],"eng":[{"cl":"quarry_distance","a":"Hajar al-Hibla quarry to podium","v":"0.9","u":"km","m":"survey","c":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones ; https://web.archive.org/web/20050212031944/http:/www.saar.at/baalbek.html","b":"V","cr":"W2: CORRECTED from ~0.8: \"900 m\" in both"}],"ori":[],"gaps":[{"a":"slope_face_angle","r":"no published face/slope angle in sources reached (often n/a for non-pyramidal sites)"},{"a":"wall_batter","r":"no published batter survey in free sources"},{"a":"orientation","r":"no published azimuth reached"},{"a":"mortar","r":"dry-stone construction or no binder analysis in free sources"},{"a":"tool_marks","r":"no tool-mark study in free sources reached"},{"a":"dating","r":"no absolute date extracted"},{"a":"construction_phases","r":"no phase sequence in sources opened"},{"a":"lab_date_material","r":"no lab date with dated material in sources opened"},{"a":"magnetic_radiation","r":"no published magnetic/radiation survey found (searched site name + magnetometry/radiation; Wikipedia, Google Scholar snippets)"},{"a":"metals_clamps","r":"no metal/clamp evidence reported in sources opened"},{"a":"excavation_history","r":"no excavation history row yet"},{"a":"artifacts_found","r":"no finds row yet"}],"dat":[],"aa":[{"id":"AA009","a":"800-1650 t blocks beyond Roman lifting","who":"Sitchin; Hancock; popular web/books","main":"Roman early-imperial; capstans/levers; quarry tool marks (Wiegand)","ms":"https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1977.6623 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek ; https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf","st":"unresolved","n":"Roman date supported; lifting method not demonstrated for 800 t","nl":37}],"ac":[{"v":"Podium blocks are pre-Roman, possibly antediluvian/giants","who":"Sitchin; Hancock","url":"[claimant]","b":"I","ce":"Same quarry with unfinished blocks; Roman construction sequence; Lohmann: early-imperial design; Adam 1977 capstan model"},{"v":"800-1650 t blocks are beyond Roman lifting capability, so pre-Roman/lost tech","who":"popular web/books","url":"[claimant books]","b":"I","ce":"DAI found Roman-era quarry context; blocks within reach of Roman capstan/lever methods; Forgotten Stones never moved"}],"me":[{"v":"Roman early-imperial Jupiter sanctuary (1st c. AD). Megaliths quarried 800 m away on slightly higher ground; moved by capstans, levers, rollers (Adam 1977: ~512 workers per 557 t block).","ev":"Unfinished blocks still in quarry (Hajar al-Hibla, 2014 block); quarrying traces studied by DAI/Abdul Massih 2023; Lohmann 2010 architectural sequence; graffito AD 60","s":"https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1977.6623 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek"},{"v":"Early-imperial Roman monumental programme; Trilithon podium c. 1st c. AD (inscription: temple nearly finished AD 60)","ev":"Lohmann (DAI) 2010; graffito on column drum","s":"https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf"}],"ci":[{"who":"Graham Hancock","med":"book","ep":"Magicians of the Gods (2015)","v":"Lost-civilisation megaliths","b":"S","s":["W16S18"]}],"cq":[],"sd":[],"sub":[],"site":{"age":"Podium/temple mid-1st c. AD (graffito: temple nearing completion AD 60); tell occupied since PPNB","dm":"Inscriptions, graffito, architecture (Puchstein/Wiegand 1898-1905; DAI)","lab":"NO: inference only (style/context/king list/textual)","weak":"no direct lab result on the structure in our records; date from stylistic, contextual or textual inference","unesco":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294","dens":"MEDIUM"},"co":{"lat":"34.0063","lon":"36.2073","src":"Wikidata P625 + UNESCO WHC list XML (agree ≤0.05°)","agree":"agree","b":"V","note":"two independent sources agree; max delta 0.0044 deg (~0.49 km)","osm":"https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/3095790"},"src":[{"id":null,"t":"Lohmann (DAI Baalbek project)","u":"https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf"},{"id":null,"t":"ancientcivilizations.org (secondary)","u":"https://www.ancientcivilizations.org"},{"id":null,"t":"Ito (from Wiegand reports)","u":"https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf"},{"id":null,"t":"Structurae","u":"https://structurae.net/en/structures/temple-of-jupiter-helipolitanus"},{"id":null,"t":"DAI / Abdul Massih via Guinness","u":"https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/605305-largest-megalith-from-antiquity"},{"id":null,"t":"van Ess (DAI) via Archaeology mag.; Guinness","u":"https://archaeology.org/issues/march-april-2015/digs-discoveries/lebanon-baalbek-quarry-megalith/ ; https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/605305-largest-megalith-from-antiquity"},{"id":null,"t":"Wiegand","u":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt"},{"id":null,"t":"Wiegand 1921 ; Lohmann (DAI) 2010","u":"https://archive.org/download/gri_33125008088375/gri_33125008088375_djvu.txt ; https://bollettinodiarcheologiaonline.beniculturali.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/3_LOHMANN.pdf"},{"id":null,"t":"Abdul Massih via L'Orient-Le Jour","u":"https://www.lorientlejour.com (Abdul Massih, Baalbek quarries article; exact URL not saved)"},{"id":null,"t":"derived (this database)","u":"Wiegand 1921 (own figures)"},{"id":null,"t":"[claimant]","u":"[claimant]"},{"id":null,"t":"[claimant books]","u":"[claimant books]"},{"id":"VBAA-TRI-20","t":"Third Giant Megalith At Baalbek - Graham Hancock Official Website","u":"https://grahamhancock.com/third-megalith-baalbek-hancock/"},{"id":"VBAA-TRI-21","t":"The Myth of the Megalith | The New Yorker","u":"https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/baalbek-myth-megalith"},{"id":"VBAA-TRI-22","t":"idw (2014): Libanesisch-deutsches Forscherteam entdeckt weltweit größten antiken Steinblock in Baalbek","u":"https://idw-online.de/de/news614672"},{"id":"S0431","t":"Adam 1977 (via Wikipedia)","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek"},{"id":"S0264","t":"no inline ref in article","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baalbek&oldid=1379564091"},{"id":"S0432","t":"Wikipedia Baalbek Stones","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek_Stones"},{"id":null,"t":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)"},{"id":null,"t":"Wikipedia Temple of Jupiter; Notre Dame image record","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek) ; https://doi.org/10.7274/24823956"},{"id":null,"t":"Notre Dame record; Wikipedia","u":"https://doi.org/10.7274/24823956 ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)"},{"id":"W16S18","t":"Wikipedia Magicians of the Gods","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magicians_of_the_Gods&oldid=1314243340"},{"id":null,"t":"Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (press office, N. Kehrer). 21 Nov 2014. “Libanesisch-deutsches Forscherteam entdeckt weltweit größten antiken Steinblock in Baalbek.” Press release via idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft.","u":"https://idw-online.de/en/news614672"},{"id":null,"t":"UNESCO World Heritage Centre, “Baalbek” (list entry 294, inscribed 1984; description and Outstanding Universal Value statement, consulted 31 Oct 2026).","u":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294/"},{"id":null,"t":"Jalbout, S. 2025. “Who Quarried Baalbek’s Megaliths?” grahamhancock.com, 24 Jul 2025.","u":"https://grahamhancock.com/jalbouts1/"}],"sum":"In the summer of 2014, archaeologists working in an old limestone quarry at Baalbek, in Lebanon, cleared the earth from beside one of the most photographed rocks in the Middle East and found that it had been resting beside something bigger. The block they exposed was 19.6 metres long, 6 metres wide and at least 5.5 metres high, a single piece of stone as tall as a two-storey house. The German Archaeological Institute put its weight at about 1,650 tonnes. No larger stone block is known from the ancient world. Someone cut it out of the hillside. Then they walked away from it, and the soil slowly closed over it.\n\nThe quarry would be a curiosity if it stood alone. It does not. Some 800 to 900 metres away, depending on who did the measuring, rises the platform of the Temple of Jupiter, one of the largest temples the Roman world ever built. Set into its foundations are three stones almost as staggering as the one in the ground. Since the early Byzantine period at the latest, the people of the valley have called them by a single Greek name: the Trilithon, the three stones.\n\nBaalbek sits about 1,150 metres above sea level in the Beqaa Valley, on what was once the far eastern edge of Roman power. It was holy ground long before Rome arrived. UNESCO describes a Phoenician cult centre here, known in the Hellenistic age as Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, and the mound beneath the temple had been lived on since the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, thousands of years before the first pyramid rose in Egypt. Around 16 BC Rome made the town a colony with a suitably imperial name, Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana, and work on the great temple seems to have begun soon after. A scrawl of graffiti on one of the highest column drums shows it was largely finished by AD 60.\n\nIt was built to overwhelm. Fifty-four columns ringed the sanctuary, each 19.9 metres tall, about the height of a six-storey building, and nearly 2.5 metres thick, the tallest of any classical temple. On a frontier where Rome needed the gods of the East on its side, a temple like this was a message as much as a building: we are here, and we are greater than anything you have seen.\n\nSix of those columns still stand. The stone beams they carry weigh as much as 60 tonnes each, and one corner block more than 100 tonnes, all lifted 19 metres into the air. Keep that figure in mind, because it sits close to the ceiling of what Roman engineering is known to have managed. No single Roman crane is thought to have lifted much more than 60 to 100 tonnes.\n\nNow go down to the foundations. The temple stands on a plaza raised 7 metres above an older T-shaped base of podium, staircase and walls, pierced by three passages the size of railway tunnels. The lowest course of those walls is a row of monoliths of roughly 300 tonnes each. The course above holds stones of around 350 tonnes. And above those, in the western wall, lie the three. Each is about 19 metres long, 4.2 metres high and 3.6 metres thick, and each weighs somewhere between 750 and 800 tonnes. They were set side by side in a course of the wall, several metres above the earth.\n\nNumbers this large stop meaning anything, so measure them against people. In 1977 the archaeologist Jean-Pierre Adam worked out that a block of 557 tonnes could be hauled by 512 workers straining on capstans, the big human-powered winches of the ancient world. A single Trilithon stone is nearly half as heavy again as Adam's example. At the Pont du Gard, the famous Roman aqueduct in France, only a few blocks reach 6 tonnes. Each of Baalbek's three is more than a hundred times heavier.\n\nThen there are the stones that never made the journey. In the quarry lies the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, Hajar al-Hibla in Arabic, between 20.31 and 20.76 metres long. A survey team from Linz, in Austria, measured it in 1996 and put it at about 1,000 tonnes. It was never fully cut free; its underside is still joined to the bedrock. Nearby lies the Stone of the South, about 1,242 tonnes, whose location had been forgotten until it was found again in the 1990s. Then came the 2014 block, heavier than either. The three largest stones at Baalbek are the three that stayed behind.\n\nThe mainstream account is careful and, as far as it goes, convincing. The quarry sits slightly higher than the temple, so the blocks never had to be raised to reach it; they could be eased along and down, perhaps rolled into place along temporary earth banks. Margarete van Ess of the German Institute has explained that the blocks were probably split from the limestone along natural cracks between the rock layers, then dragged out, probably with capstans, though a sledge was also discussed. The building historian Daniel Lohmann places the Trilithon in a Roman programme of the first half of the first century AD. He also found that Rome built over something older: an unfinished pre-Roman sanctuary whose floor lies about 5 metres below the Roman courtyard. In his words, \"the unfinished pre-Roman sanctuary construction was incorporated into a master plan of monumentalisation.\" On his reading the great podium was partly designed to hide the old terrace from view. It is an old move by a new power: build on the sacred place of those who came before, and build bigger.\n\nThe excavators even have an answer for the Pregnant Woman. Their 2014 dig found that the stone in one corner was poor and that a natural crack would probably have broken the block on the move. A defect like that is a perfectly ordinary reason to abandon a stone.\n\nAnd yet the ordinary explanations leave a hard core untouched. No ancient text describes how the Trilithon was moved. No inscription names who ordered it. Rome built across three continents, and nowhere else is it known to have reached for stones like these. Even the standard summaries of the scholarship concede that the original method of construction remains unsolved. The crack explains why one block was left. It does not explain why anyone set out to cut a stone of 1,650 tonnes, more than twice the weight of anything the temple actually used.\n\nThat gap is where another reading begins. The writer Graham Hancock, who stood on the newly exposed block in 2014, does not accept that the Romans cut the giant stones at all. \"I believe these huge megaliths long predate the construction of the Temple of Jupiter,\" he wrote, suggesting they could be 12,000 years old or more, \"the handiwork of the survivors of a lost civilisation.\" In his view the Romans built on a foundation they inherited and never knew of the giants in the quarry, which already lay beneath the soil in their day. Suhail Jalbout, writing in 2025, adds two practical observations: the podium follows a different pattern of construction from the temple above it, and its stones are more weathered. To him, that can only mean they are older.\n\nThe evidence on the ground so far supports an older sanctuary from the centuries just before Rome, and no artefact from Baalbek has been dated to the Ice Age. But the people of the valley never settled the question in Rome's favour either. Their stories about the Stone of the Pregnant Woman do not mention emperors or engineers. In one, a pregnant woman promised to tell the townsfolk how to move the stone if they fed her until she gave birth. In another, pregnant jinn did the work. When the reporter Elif Batuman spoke to the excavators in 2014, she came away with the honest version: \"Nobody seems to know on whose orders it was cut, or why, or how it came to be abandoned.\"\n\nEarthquakes later cracked the temple, and emperors stripped it for building stone. The stones nobody moved have outlived the ones that were moved. Somebody once looked at this hillside and believed a block of 1,650 tonnes could be made to travel. Who were they, and what had they already seen done, to think it possible?","qs":["The quarry is uphill from the temple. How much of the mystery does that remove, and how much remains?","Why cut a stone bigger than any the temple used?","What would it take to move 1,650 tonnes without engines?"],"gal":[{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Temple_of_Bacchus%2C_Baalbek%2C_Lebanon_%2849890013476%29.jpg/1280px-Temple_of_Bacchus%2C_Baalbek%2C_Lebanon_%2849890013476%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Bacchus,_Baalbek,_Lebanon_(49890013476).jpg","title":"Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon (49890013476).jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 2.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0","by":"Lodo from Moscow, Russia","cap":"On the photo I am standing at the front of the Bacchus temple for size comparison."},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Baalbek-stoneofpregnantwoman.jpg/1280px-Baalbek-stoneofpregnantwoman.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baalbek-stoneofpregnantwoman.jpg","title":"Baalbek-stoneofpregnantwoman.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","by":"Ralph Ellis","cap":"Ralph Ellis on the large stone at Baalbek, known as the Stone of the Pregnant Woman"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/BaalbekMosquePillars.jpg/1280px-BaalbekMosquePillars.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BaalbekMosquePillars.jpg","title":"BaalbekMosquePillars.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 2.5","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5","by":"Heretiq","cap":"Baalbek, Lebanon - pillars that probably formed parts of the former mosque; remains of the Arab fortification in background"},{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Baalbek_1.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baalbek_1.png","title":"Baalbek 1.png","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Emery Walker, based on the engravings in the then-recent reports on the German e","cap":"\"Baalbek\": An engraving of the ruins of the acropolis (Tell Baalbek) of Heliopolis in modern Baalbek, Lebanon. Facing west-southwest, with the Temple of Jupiter"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Baalbek_Old_Souk_at_Night_in_June_of_2024.jpg/1280px-Baalbek_Old_Souk_at_Night_in_June_of_2024.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baalbek_Old_Souk_at_Night_in_June_of_2024.jpg","title":"Baalbek Old Souk at Night in June of 2024.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","by":"Aza161","cap":"A picture depicting Baalbek Old Souk at Night in June of 2024"}]},"img":null,"md":null,"hh":[{"v":"1,650","u":"t","h":"Estimated weight of the largest stone in the quarry, suggested as the world’s largest ancient block","s":[16]},{"v":"19.6 × 6 × 5.5","u":"m","h":"Dimensions of that block, still lying in the quarry","s":[16]},{"v":"400 / ~120","u":"m","h":"E-W axis length / width","s":[17]},{"v":"Local limestone","h":"Made of","s":[16]}],"hs":{"16":["Wikipedia: Baalbek (and sources cited there)","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek"],"17":["Ito","https://www.cipaheritagedocumentation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ito-Sueyasu-Reconstruction-and-Landscape-Analysis-of-the-Jupiter-Sanctuary-at-Baalbek-Using-3D-CG.pdf"]},"lh":{"s":"img/h/BAA-TRI.webp","w":1280,"h":957,"o":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Temple_of_Bacchus%2C_Baalbek%2C_Lebanon_%2849890013476%29.jpg/1280px-Temple_of_Bacchus%2C_Baalbek%2C_Lebanon_%2849890013476%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail"}}