Clues at Ollantaytambo. The Lost Art of Stone Softening

Ollantaytambo is where the Clues are! -and the linear stone softening process can still be seen, right there in the rocks! Yes, it is possible to soften granite and then to use sonics to get the rock to settle into the shape below it. And the proof is right here, at Ollantaytambo.
This video is purely a THEORY that I am illustrating and displaying on YouTube. I'm receiving a lot of support and 'Likes' on this idea so I guess it makes sense to a LOT of people!
- Thank You for keeping an open mind!
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p.s. An Internet 'Troll' is someone who bashes other people's ideas without offering one of their own. Also, a Troll channel usually doesn't have any original content. Please don't be a troll.

00:00 - Intro
01:17 - The 7 Clues.
01:57 - The Illustrated Process.
04:20 - Obviously.
04:47 - To Summarize.
05:13 - Wrap it Up.

[williamjamesLMT]

I give you a lot of credit. Your ideas are based in ideas that can be looked up throughout history. Many of the comments are from personal ignorance and anger that you are not spoon feeding them an answer. Keep up the good work. Some of us appreciate what you are doing. Stoneworking processes have been used right up to this century. Understanding the process of Cement can and has been used to reverse engeneer a solution. History talks about this many times, from sculptors to construction work in England. It takes time but you are on the right track. I applaud your work.

[Lawraven]

Softened rock. The bane of anyone who has been in an elevator.

[politicalfoolishness]

This was the most interesting video I've seen in some time. Appreciate the fact that you covered everything in about 6 minutes instead of making it a 2 hour thing. You've earned my subscription and I'm going to watch your other videos for sure. To the points you make, I think you are mostly correct, with perhaps minor adjustments. Here are some thoughts supportive of your points but a variation on the softening solution. I did some digging after on the porosity of granite and there is a research paper that quantifies it. For the sound part, I think the vibration of sound in the rock could cause accelerated wetting at the micro level and speed the seeping of a liquid through the slightly porous granite. So I think the porosity of the granite could be enhanced with just an iron rod being pounded against the inner hard part of the stone to send vibrations through it. One could envision a simple hand turned device with an irregular wheel and pressure pounding on the rod many times per turn creating a jackhammer effect. So the sonic thing makes sense and could be crudely implemented. For the softening solution, it would be neat to have a mineralogist do a chemical analysis between a piece of one of the entry rocks not processed and one that had clearly been through the softening process to see if there is a different distribution of elements. I'm predicting there will be more sodium in the processed rock. The reason for this is I suspect the liquid may not be plant based but instead a sodium hydroxide NaOH (lye) solution which is very caustic and may interact with the slightly acidic SiO2 - a large component of granite and some other hard rock types. Perhaps other minerals too are slightly acid and will interact with the NaOH solution. Lye is made by leaching ash from burnt wood so it would be readily possible in any part of the world to produce it even in ancient times. I'm tempted to go and do that experiment myself to see if I can soften granite. I'm suspecting the stones are stuck together as it appears the troweling would have to be done after the two stones were in contact. Those are my thoughts - again congrats on the video. Harvey, you deserve way more subs than you currently have. All the best to you sir!

[dantroutman]

Wishful theory and speculation here. Let's reality test it. Let's 1) find a rock such as the ancients used, 2) get a strong crew together, 3) re-enact the movement of the rock by the same sort of primitive tools the ancients used, 4) rope it up and crane it into a vat such as the ancients would have had to build, 5) fill it with the "plant-based" acidic (?) solution, 6) soften the rock, 7) hoist it out of the vat and transfer to the "cutting table, " 8) cut the rock with the theorized "wire saws" = create the actual softened stone! That would prove the veracity of the initial theory and speculation. Thank you, and keep up the good work on unlocking the secret techniques of the ancients . . .

[mdhalas]

“somewhere between clay and whale blubber”. One thing that most people are familiar with from having handled it if only in their childhood. Another thing that most people have absolutely no frame of reference for. In case anyone is unfamiliar with it whale blubber is usually a consistency that is exactly between a peeled banana and the pancreas of a yeti. And the banana isn’t as ripe as I’d like it. It is just about how my wife likes them. So I hope that helps.

Edit: I misspelled “that”.

[nexpro]

@Harvey Turner fantastic! I eagerly await your demonstration of this groundbreaking technology. I am particularly keen to watch you employing the sonic clamp. This is going to revolutionise the construction industry.

[Kotikjeff]

Interesting. Could you explain the sonic requirements and how this was performed. And how they lifted 100 ton blocks into the tanks?

[blackmud]

I've been to Cusco, Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo and had a close look at this stonework. All 'plant-based' chemical stone softening theories are apocryphal dead ends. There is zero evidence to support them and numerous obvious questions - such as which plant was used, how this chemical was produced in the vast amounts needed for these huge civil engineering projects and why it didn't eat through the ropes used to immerse these blocks into the tanks (which were themselves presumably made from a material that was also impervious to this chemical). To explain what's seen at these sites today, this chemical would also need to be something that temporarily softened the stone, then reconstituted it WITHOUT changing its crystalline structure, calcite veins etc. As a geologist friend explained to me, this is an extremely tall order. All theories regarding ancient technology/machines/power tools come with exactly the same question: What was the ancient power source? The 'sonic tools' shown in this video have cables attached but there is no explanation of what they were actually plugged into.

[ronlawrence]

It would seem to me that stones that heavy when softened would bulge in the middle before hardening. With out some kind of mold to keep it in place . Al those thousands of different micro angles ; I just don’t know how they kept them do flawless . Even to construct wooden molds to hold polymer stones in places would be an astonishing effort. I think you’ve got some good ideas but somethings still don’t seem to match up. It’s such a frustrating enigma . It’s as if the stone makers are mocking us

[autodidact]

I don’t know but, this is the best explanation I’ve heard to date about how all this polygonal architecture was accomplished around the world.

[stephenphillips]

Excellent clue evidence of stone softening. However, three problems: 1. why spoil the plausibility of this theory by invoking unnecessary sonic tools that require power sources equivalent to those of the modern era - an idea that scientists would not accept? 2. How could immersion of something like a block of andesite in a tank of liquid result in the latter soaking through its bulk so as to soften it? It is apparent that ALL the volume of a block was softened, not just its surface, as the fine wire cutting indicates. But this would require the softening agent to soak deep into the hard stone? It is hard to believe this is possible, but I suppose all bets are off until we find what softening chemicals were used (perhaps the juices of a certain plant, according to legends). 3. What were the knobs on the faces of some blocks for and how were they formed, given that the raw, cut blocks would have had smooth surfaces? The softening theory needs to be able to account for them as well.

[stringsoffury]

Great video! The Quarry for Ollantaytambo is equally as fascinating.. Stones cut from the mountain with questions about how they got behind them to cut, and then the curious crosshatch marks. Also keep in mind they were cut, lowered to the valley, traveled 6 miles..crossing a river, then lifted up to this mountain.

[alwayscensored]

However it was done, it lasts much longer than anything we build today. Even the Romans had concrete that set underwater, concrete that floated etc.

[OverlandOne]

I agree with you 100% yet archeologists will tell us these people were very skilled and were able to make these rocks fit together using pieces of sharpened copper and bone using a lot of elbow grease. To that I say poppycock. Common sense should tell anyone that looked at these joints and the similar stone work at the other sites you mentioned, that something else was happening there and your theory works for me. It's either that or lasers but certainly not crude hand tools.

[Silvertip]

I don’t really see how you can pick up 100 tons and plop it somewhere. Any place unsupported would just blob out on the ground. Explaining how they transported and lifted them is almost as important as explaining how they shaped them.

[mikekushner]

How did you come up with a sonic saw sonic clamps and sonic softening stick like what kind of lost technology are you imagining ? I see the sonic saw had a cord going to it’s power source can you explain and Also how did they build cranes strong enough to lift stones weighing 100 tons makes zeros sense

[oldmanfromscenetwentyfour]

Sonic Clamp? Sonic Soft Stick? Yeah OK sure.
Until someone, anyone, comes up with actual proof (video in front of live audience ) that stone can be "softened" and shaped to this extent, I'm calling all this out as complete horseshit!

[phlebgrl]

This was full of new information for me on a fascinating topic that I enjoyed learning about. I have heard that it’s possible that there may still be a few people alive who know the lost ancient art of stone softening. Thanks for this!

[ExoAtmos]

Help me here. They were saw-cut from the quarry, which is part of the natural bedrock and transported to the site. But for some reason they could not bring those saws to the site to remove and level out some bedrock sticking out of the footpaths?

I do appreciate the out of the box thinking along with animations. These builders were extremely clever... and by the size of the largest wall blocks we can get a scope of what was the maximum weight they could manage. Which is honestly amazing considering the terrain.
Best Regards.

[davidb]

We have very advanced chemists in modern day. You would think they could re-create the chemical compound used to "soften" the stone. Especially since they know the general area to search for that herb/plant you spoke of.