1,000-ton Ramesseum statue monolith transported 115 miles from Aswan quarry. The Ramesseum contains one of the largest stone monoliths ever cut in human history Carved from a single piece of granite, estimated at 1,000 tons (2 million pounds) Equivalent to approximately 15 Abrams tanks
Ramesseum housed a 1,000-ton (2 million lb) seated statue carved from a single granite piece — equal to 15 Abrams tanks! Transported 140 miles from Aswan, yet modern heavy-haul trucks max at 496 tons. How did ancient Egyptians manage this feat?
Key Facts
- The Ramesseum contains one of the largest stone monoliths ever cut in human history
- Carved from a single piece of granite, estimated at 1,000 tons (2 million pounds)
- Equivalent to approximately 15 Abrams tanks
- Transported at least 115 miles from the Aswan quarry in southern Egypt
- Was a seated statue that was somehow knocked over and shattered into many pieces
- This exceeds the payload capacity of modern heavy-haul trucks (496 tons max)
- Statue inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias'
Related site: The Ramesseum — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: THIS LOST ANCIENT MYSTERY WILL BLOW YOUR MIND by Bright Insight