Angkor Wat

The sprawling complex of Angkor was first founded by King Jayavarman II, who proclaimed himself the “universal monarch” during his reign from 802 to 850 CE. It was this powerful ruler who consolidated his kingdom and initiated large building projects for his new capital. Although few of his original build­ings survive, it was Jayavarman II who put the unique stamp on Khmer religion and renamed the country “Kambuja,” an early version of “Kampuchea,” or “Cambodia.”

The Magnificent Angkor Wat in Northwestern Cambodia

Built over a 30-year period with sandstone and laterite (a dense, porous, ironbearing soil that can be quarried like stone), the rectangular structure (2,800 by 3,800 feet) faces west, in Hindu belief the direction taken by the dead when going to their next life. In what is regarded as the world’s largest temple complex, successive kings added their own monuments in and around Angkor.

Covering more than 135 square miles (220 sq. km), Angkor is a patchwork of sandstone temples, chapels, causeways, terraces and reservoirs. Adorning the temple walls are thousands of carvings depicting battles between gods, sensual dancing women, royal proces­sions with kings riding elephants, and many scenes from classical Hindu mythol­ogy. Basically, each complex was built for and commemorates the god-king who commissioned its construction. Each temple complex of Angkor acted as the king’s capital during his lifetime — then his tomb upon death.

At the center of the complex stands a temple with five lotus-shaped towers, a larger central tower, and four smaller surrounding towers. They represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, the mountain where a pantheon of Hindu gods reside and from which, according to Hindu belief, all creation comes. Three square terraces surrounds the central tower. The entire complex is surrounded by a moat more than three miles long and rimmed by a causeway that leads to four gateways into the temple complex. Decorating the causeway are carvings that depict divine serpents, known as nagas.

Angkor Wat was taken by the Cham army from northern Cambodia in 1177, after which the complex began to fall into ruin. It was reclaimed, but not inhabited, in 1181. Pillaged by Thai invaders in the fifteenth century, the ruins were somewhat refurbished and expanded by later rulers of Cambodia. Angkor Wat was intermittently inhabited by Buddhist monks, and the former Hindu temple subsequently became a destination for Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.

Sources :
The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol.2; Sacred Places Around The World : 108 Destinations by Brad Olsen

Pic Source : Sacred Places Around The World : 108 Destinations by Brad Olsen page 107

Ba'albek

In times of antiquity, large numbers of pilgrims came from Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley to visit the legendary Ba’al–Astarte complex and its oracle. The Bible mentions Ba’albek in the Book of Kings. Underneath the temple complex is a vast network of underground tunnels, which were likely intended to provide shelter for the multitudes of pilgrims. Ancient Arab writings tell that the Temples of Ba’al–Astarte were constructed a short time after the Great Flood. According to legend, the structures were built at the order of the renowned King Nimrod and a “tribe of giants.”

Panoramic View of Baalbek Temple Complex

The acropolis of Ba’albek, with its massive temples and imposing ruins, is one of the most enigmatic sites in the world. UNESCO reported in making Baalbek a World Heritage Site in 1984. When the Committee inscribed the site, it expressed the wish that the protected area include the entire town within the Arab walls, as well as the south-western extramural quarter between Bastan-al-Khan, the Roman site and the Mameluk mosque of Ras-al-Ain. Lebanon's representative gave assurances that the Committee's wish would be honored.

The Roman Ruins dominated Baalbek

The Roman sanctuaries were located upon earlier Greek temples, and those were built upon much older Semitic ruins. While the Roman and Greek architectural wonders do not pose archaeo­logical problems, the earlier Semitic ruins certainly do. Most confounding is the enclosure wall called the Trilithon, composed of three hewn blocks of stone each weighing more than 750 tons (680,000 kg)!

Roger Hopkins and Vince Lee have both theorized about how the megalithic stones were moved. They were both consulted about various megalithic moves around the world. Roger Hopkins is a stone mason and sculptor who was consulted to do experiments in the movement of megaliths in Egypt (with Mark Lehrner) and other locations. He has suggested that the trilithon stones and 300 ton blocks were all moved with wooden rollers, demonstrating how this could be done by using steel rollers and levers to move a five to six thousand pound stone on a concrete platform by himself. He also participated in other experiments with larger stones, including some that may have been over 10 tons. These experiments required many more people. For 2 ton stones he was able to tow them with as few as 10 people at times and for faster results up to 20 people. Most experiments which have been done by Roger Hopkins and others to move stones 10 tons or more required well over 100 people.

Vince Lee is an architect, explorer and author. He has suggested that these stones were moved by flipping them with levers. According to this hypothesis a row of people would use 20 levers to pry up the trilithon blocks a little at a time. Each time they pried it up someone would put additional shims under the megalithic stones. After this was repeated enough times the stone would flip over on the next side. There would be a log on the other side that the stone would fall onto so that one side would already be lifted off the ground each time making it easier for the next flip. This would require over 300 flips for each of the trilithon stones and even more for the smaller 300 ton stones to cover the 1 mile distance from the quarry.

Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also experimented with this technique on a smaller scale in Egypt during a NOVA pyramid building experiment. They found that they could flip stones up to about 3/4 of a ton with only 4 or 5 men, and they successfully flipped stones at least 2 and a 1/2 tons with more men; however, they found this was too slow to explain how the pyramids were built in so short a time.

Sources : Sacred Places Around The World by Brad Olsen; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek

Pic Source : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Pano_Baalbek_1.jpg/800px-Pano_Baalbek_1.jp; Sacred Places Around The World by Brad Olsen page 52