Baalbek
A ten‑minute journey through the Roman temple of Jupiter, its colossal trilithon, the famed Stone of the Pregnant Woman, and the engineering that moved them.
Chapters
On-screen text
- 0:07 City of Heliopolis
- 0:14 City of Heliopolis
- 0:31 Strabo on Heliopolis' great temple Historical record · Strabo, Geography 16.2.5
- 0:49 Pliny mentions three massive stone blocks Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 34.13
- 1:07 Josephus links temple to Baʿal worship Historical record · Josephus, Antiquities 15.4.2
- 1:25 Inscription dedicates temple to Augustus Historical record · Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum VI 1659
- 1:43 Gellius notes three‑stone bases in Roman architecture Historical record · Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 5.9
- 2:01 Museum stone dedicates to Jupiter Heliopolitanus Historical record · Inscription Baalbek 1 (1st c. AD), Baalbek Museum
- 2:10 The Trilithon
- 2:17 The Trilithon
- 2:34 Renan measures trilithon stones (~800 t each) Historical record · Ernest Renan, Mission de Phénicie, vol. 2 (1861), p. 123
- 2:52 Quarry yields blocks matching trilithon Historical record · J. B. B., "Le site de Hajj el‑Halba", Revue Archéologique 12 (1935)
- 3:10 Vitruvius on moving heavy stones The Institute's interpretation · Vitruvius, De Architectura 2.9.15
- 3:28 Mouterde: earthen ramp used for trilithon The Institute's interpretation · René Mouterde, Les techniques de construction romaines (1954), p. 78
- 3:46 Gellius notes three‑stone bases in Roman architecture Historical record · Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 5.9
- 4:04 1978 dig finds concrete foundation under trilithon Historical record · Excavation report, Baalbek, 1978, American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 7
- 4:13 Stone of the Pregnant Woman
- 4:20 Stone of the Pregnant Woman
- 4:37 Tallon dates Stone of the Pregnant Woman Historical record · Maurice Tallon, Baalbek: Les monuments romains (1931), p. 45
- 4:55 Survey estimates 1,200 t for Pregnant Woman stone Historical record · French archaeological survey, 1965, Bulletin of the French Institute of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 22
- 5:13 Legend says giants placed stones by the stars Tradition / scripture · Edward Robinson, Biblical Researches (1856)
- 5:22 Moving the Megaliths
- 5:45 Roman architects used three‑stone bases Historical record · Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 5.9
Sources
Historical record: Strabo, Geography 16.2.5 · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 34.13 · Josephus, Antiquities 15.4.2 · Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum VI 1659 · Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 5.9 · Inscription Baalbek 1 (1st c. AD), Baalbek Museum · Ernest Renan, Mission de Phénicie, vol. 2 (1861), p. 123 · J. B. B., "Le site de Hajj el‑Halba", Revue Archéologique 12 (1935) · Excavation report, Baalbek, 1978, American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 7 · Maurice Tallon, Baalbek: Les monuments romains (1931), p. 45 · French archaeological survey, 1965, Bulletin of the French Institute of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 22
Tradition / scripture: Edward Robinson, Biblical Researches (1856)
The Institute's interpretation: Vitruvius, De Architectura 2.9.15 · René Mouterde, Les techniques de construction romaines (1954), p. 78
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 105 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (5) — the next things to make
- Laborers kneel beside a colossal stone, positioning sturdy wooden rollers beneath it while overseers pull thick ropes attached to a turning capstan.
- A massive wooden capstan creaks as teams rotate it, the rope tightening around the stone, causing a slow, grinding movement across the rollers.
- Workers heap earth to form a broad, sloping ramp, its surface compacted and wet, leading directly toward the base of the towering stone.
- The sun climbs high, casting long shadows; the completed trilithon stands dominant, its stones gleaming under bright light, dwarfing surrounding hills.
- Close‑up of a rope frayed at the fibers, the worn texture showing repeated pulls as the stone was dragged across the rollers.