In China lie 24 massive caves carved into sandstone hills. Average size: over 1,000 sq meters. Heights reach 30 meters. Tool marks show 60cm-wide bands of parallel slanted striations. Mystery: no oil lamps or torches were found inside. How did workers excavate without lighting?
Longyou Caves: 2,000-year-old Chinese site with uniform machine-like tool marks
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Over 40 massive caves excavated inside sandstone hills in China
- Average cave floor area over 1,000 square meters (American football pitch size)
- Cave heights up to 30 meters (10-story building)
- Tool marks consist of 60cm (2ft) wide bands with parallel slanted striations
- No oil lamps or torches found inside caves - no explanation for how work was done without lighting
- Tool marks stay at consistent angles even at inner corners
- Long continuous horizontal lines between layers appear gratuitous for excavation purposes
- Artifact found inside dated to Stone Dynasty (10th-13th century)
- Similar to 20th century salt mine marks in Ukraine but without horizontal separation lines
- Pre-dates modern era metal tools
Sources
Longyou Cavesen.wikipedia.org
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The Longyou Caves are a series of twenty-four huge, hand-built sandstone caverns. Remarkably, despite their grandeur and precision, there are no historical ...
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Carved from sandstone, each grotto measures up to 30 meters (98 ft) deep and boasts a network of pillars, bridges, and gutters. Estimates suggest that over 1 ...
The Longyou Caves: An Unsolved Enigmatheancientconnection.com
The Longyou Caves, also known as the Xiaonanhai Stone Chambers, are a group of 24 artificial sandstone caverns located at Fenghuang Hill, near the village ...
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