Architectural secrets of the world's ancient wonders | Brandon Clifford

How did ancient civilizations move massive stones to build Stonehenge, the Pyramids and the Easter Island statues? In this quick, delightful talk, TED Fellow Brandon Clifford reveals some architectural secrets of the past and shows how we can use these ingenious techniques to build today. "In an era where we design buildings to last 30, maybe 60 years, I would love to learn how to create something that could entertain for an eternity," he says.
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[@jeniwatkins3297]

You told us nothing about how it was done! Clickbait again. Loosing faith in this channel

[@trickytreyperfected1482]

You can't blame the channel for the specific person's content.

[@jeniwatkins3297]

@@trickytreyperfected1482 they have posted quite a few vids lately that are the same way. Some barely have anything to do with the title at all. It's a trend and that is on the channel

[@IamNeighborlee]

@@trickytreyperfected1482 Actually you can, and SHOULD.

[@-flutterby7026]

you missed that part then or just didnt understand ... the way they are shapped ... allows for them to be moved easy ... a rocking or walking motion = moving a few yards per hour.... with minimal effort / exertion , from small to megalithic ... so when large stones were moved hundreds of people helped and if we look at graves im sure hundreds lost appendages ... anyhow i believe these sites were fueled by coca - cane but thats a story for another time ...XD

[@TheCJUN]

Watch it again. Not only listen.

[@andyriordan5413]

I would like you to explain the 1400 ton balbekk stones from cutting, to lifting to moving 5 miles and lift 35' in the air, then I will believe your thought process

[@GodsAutobiography]

Maybe they weren't cut and moved, but rather crafted on location.

[@jeniwatkins3297]

@@GodsAutobiographyThey still have to be moved some and lifted which can't be done today, without heavy machinery. And the stones have been proven to have come from other locations on most of these sites. Not carved in place

[@GodsAutobiography]

@@jeniwatkins3297 "can't be done today" is unlikely. There's a man who lifts and rotates houses by himself with no machinery.

[@jeniwatkins3297]

@@GodsAutobiography there are several programs on discovery and history channels on this very subject. Many of these ancient structures were built and can not be replicated today.

[@GodsAutobiography]

@@jeniwatkins3297 many of those studies could be wrong... For every wonderful monument we have at least one hypothesis as to how they could have been created

[@emelie985]

We build something that lasts for an eternity. Plastic.

[@aurelienyonrac]

Lol. So true

[@emmanuel9546]

👏👏👏👏

[@-flutterby7026]

plastics will be turned into carbon nano tubes ... they will last forever lol

[@That_dude_who_knows_some_stuff]

Plastics actually do break down. Fungus and algae will eat it.

[@twotreasurehunters]

LMAO. Plastics don't last an eternity. So far we haven't even seen them last even 200 years. We see them breaking down quickly by the sun, and by water. You say well now they are micro particules, but we are finding bacteria and even worms eat the stuff and uses the stuff for energy. As far as we kniw, man kind could have been very advanced say 25k years ago and they could have made plastics that we have no signs of today due to it all being long gone.

[@MrUfojunkiedavid]

Megalithic sites have not been sufficiently explained and this guy is an ignoramus

[@rick6309]

Could you please explain me how? Or link to some video? All I can find in this site is lunatic “explanations”

[@JJ-kl7eq]

I was never really sure cyclops existed, but now I’ll keep an eye out for them.

[@thenonsequitur6750]

I hope you're not going to be one eyed about it.

[@mmmk1616]

Oof!

[@NoName-fc3xe]

That's not myopic at all. 😂

[@PooNinja]

smarter not harder. keep it simple smarty

[@siok4375]

His simple explanation of how the ancient monuments were built is worryingly naive considering he is an architect. Truth is we don't know how, the same as we don't really know our own ancient history, we only have theorys. People like him trying to ridicule the possibility of unknown advanced civilisations are part of the problem in discovering the truth

[@-flutterby7026]

@mars laredo egypt was the center for scientific advancement imo so lets say one of the first experiments was to figure out where the sun went at night ... well you start mapping you send out parties to every corner ... eventually you build ships and circumnavigate the globe ... second experiment how long does it take to rotate around ... well it might have been first idk anyhow you measure and record ... every answer brings new questions ... anyhow ask questions think about possibilities... early man may have been very ingenious but im certain some were very very cruel history is dark even today wars rage and progress is halted by greed and ignorance.

[@-flutterby7026]

@mars laredo if they did have advanced tech i feel they would have left clues i suppose in the pyramid or other structures maybe we just havent been able to understand because we are not approaching the problem correctly or ... they didnt have any ... i dont believe the hype about say the speed of light in the pyramid or the scale size of the earth or whatever ... i havent looked into it but i suppose it wouldnt hurt to waste some time looking into it but i just took it as bs

[@-flutterby7026]

@mars laredo what i mean is... cpu or ic tech tech ... through the eons im sure people like tesla or davinci were born but there was no structure for them to hone and develop skills in 1800 bce. no schools or even guilds i would think ... so like a lone wolf genius what could he produce in a life time ... chemistry mathmatics and then how would you preserve that knowledge teaching , writing ect ect ... i feel if there was tech we would have it or ... it is hidden encoded in some book or scroll .

[@flickwtchr]

He has a schtick, so he has to limit his own inquiry.

[@HarkyOfficial]

Just wasted 4:22 mins of my life. Sounds like a poem. WHERE ARE THE FACTS?!?

[@disruptivetimes8738]

There are none. He does not talk about "secrets", he just babbles. The title is clickbait.

[@matthewhedrick8944]

He shows the secrets by actually moving stone. He proved counter weight etc.

[@disruptivetimes8738]

@@matthewhedrick8944 Yeah, playing with weight points is such a secret. He is a genius.

[@HarkyOfficial]

@@matthewhedrick8944 oh right thats how they built the Pyramids of Giza

[@theav2000]

@@HarkyOfficial Sure! One weight point here, one there and the slabs practically jump into place on the top of the pyramid :)

[@Instawise]

I think Assassin's Creed game also did a good job on recreating ancient structures like the pyramids of Giza and the library of Alexandria (AC: Origins), Ancient Greece (AC: Odyssey), and although a more recent landmark - Notre Dame, Paris (AC: Unity).

[@goof6526]

Ok, now explain how the piramids were built...

[@nichitajalba5019]

Look at Discovery Channel they have explain for your question )

[@ConorFenlon]

Thumbs down for the misleading clickbait title. I liked the content, just not the fact I was being mislead.

[@jimquinn6433]

The town hall in my hometown in England was built in 420 A.D. and is still in use as a real estate office. My mother's home was built in 1778 with mortar and horse hair, yet it still stands. We hear talk of buildings designed to last a hundred years or more and I chuckle.

[@IamNeighborlee]

Horse hair ? gross.

[@サム-j5k]

he talked about nothing for 4minutes wth

[@stephenxadonai]

_サム the comment I was looking for

[@Lishkabro]

This dude just cmon man there are much better presentations by youtube channels that talk about the wonders of the megalithic, pre dynastic eras. You finding a way to rock a piece of stone doesn't answer anything. Just add your "I did a TeD tALk" to your resume.

[@jme_klein9566]

Nope. All nopes. Look at brien foresters research. Look at jimmy brights video on Machu Picchu. Upon my return from turkey and Egypt, you see how this literally answers nothing and I don’t appreciate the cyclops jokes. That is all.

[@MrAchile13]

unfortunately these guys are just trying to make money (just take a look at bright insight's patreon). If you do research on the topic you will see that plenty of their claims are false.

[@harrygazarian4567]

@@MrAchile13 The guy in the video is not associated with this site. He is actually a fellow professor of Archeology at MIT. He is not trying to explain everything, he is showing you a different way of thinking that can actually solve *some* of those 'otherworldly mysteries, those things that many, many, many, many, many other people *do* make a lot of money talking endlessly about, you know, those sites that offer all the questions but no critical thinking of explanations what-so-ever... actually learning things is much more boring, so I can understand how these sites get so many views.

[@MrAchile13]

@@harrygazarian4567 Agreed, I'm not referring to the video, I'm referring to the frauds, cited in the first comment of the thread. You can't find any video about ancient architecture without an army of cult followers of these con artists.

[@harrygazarian4567]

@@MrAchile13 Copy that, my apologies

[@czhappy3195]

All these ancient monolithic architectural structures are from the first earth age!

[@nsjx]

ONE theory about A ancient wonder. 0 explanations about what we are seeing in the odd b/w clips interspersed. This was a strange talk; more like here’s my art,...which was kinda cool. EDIT: n the thumbnail view we are looking at a shot of walls in Cusco, but where are they in the presentation? 🤔

[@-flutterby7026]

the thumbnail is sexywoman... seqsaywaman a bit of a joke from the ancients i suppose ... built the same time as the red pyramid fyi ... what explanations are you looking for???

[@luxushauseragency]

Not sure what the point was, we're not any wiser on who built the ancient monuments.

[@etchersinformationandenter8661]

TED talks...and wastes our time.

[@-bnqe-3119]

Again one of those self-imposed smarter-than-though individual full of Cyclops Bull ...

[@playgamer7133]

Nice video

[@mmisbach]

Architecture is more than an end product, it's a performance. An architect is putting on a series of performances that recreate the "impossible" and mystical architectural feats of the past such as Easter Island, Stonehenge, etc. #TEDTalk twitter.com/tedstalkin

[@flickwtchr]

Puma Punku? Care to posit how those stones were cut with the tools available to those credited?

[@easygarden777]

That was pretty boring with no real explanation of how these huge rectangular blocks were moved let alone made.... I had already said I won't watch another propaganda TED vid but I was directed here by a link on another actual investigative vid.

[@elviejodann6544]

For those who really want to know about Machu Picchu, and Cuzco's lito-structures in general: reydekish.com/2013/12/30/dominio-piedras-cuzco/ TL;DR : The Inkas learned to make stones liquid, then make it stone again.

[@VKSgtSLaughter]

I'm not saying it was Aliens... but it was CYCLOPS!

[@zorzeus]

Inspirative! Hope future generations will admire us.

[@caitgems1]

I'm not saying it's aliens but....

[@katief7047]

I visited Stonehenge last month and lemme tell u...it ain’t humans who did that lmao

[@caitgems1]

@@katief7047 incredible place, been there loads of times as well as the Tor

[@revspikejonez]

@@katief7047 I mean, yes it absolutely was made by humans, but hey, keep smoking weed until you see aliens I guess.

[@ammarif618]

@@katief7047 stupid response.

[@katief7047]

revspikejonez it’s so funny how you people shoot down such “crazy” opinions as mine yet there’s literally no proof against it soooo... keep living your life I’ll keep living mine. We can believe in whatever we want 😂😇

[@tomwarlitner5712]

Why did they stop building these "wonders"? How did they rock a square to the top of a pyramid?

[@farrier2708]

In answer to your first question - Because the Clients lost their vision and became more concerned with money and self, rather than their descendants and a higher power.

[@-flutterby7026]

in the red pyramid each casing stone was ground ...in place... to fit perfectly that is water and sand and honed together it matches cusco to the T.... ropes , scaffold and skill .

[@russellnolan9212]

That's Sydney. Sydney Cyclops. He's the expert on prehistoric building techniques at Ottawa University. Hee hee

[@czhappy3195]

ALL archeological monolithic structures were built in the first earth age!! Well over 12,000 years ago.!

[@masamotox952]

Aliens did it!

[@peterberg669]

Honestly, it's hard to believe this lecture made it on Ted Talks. The fact that large, carefully cut stones can be balanced to enable them to be moved with light force is no revelation. How were the stones shaped and cut? What tools were used? What about all the stone blocks that weigh thousands of tons that are rectangular in shape? There are no secrets revealed here. This talk was a waste of time.

[@shermanatorosborn9688]

This does nothing to figure out the ancients methodologies

[@-flutterby7026]

it does tho ... he did a very nice job at visualizing the way to balance these stones and turn them on piviot points

[@That_dude_who_knows_some_stuff]

He didn't explain how they where heated and compressed into place? The Easter Island walk only works on objects half the actual size. Nope this is wrong

[@TheSeeker008]

This guy just can’t accept things that exist in this world and are beyond explanation so he comes up with some theory of how they were built that makes no sense

[@diandimitrov6568]

instead of showing us your designed stones why simply did not represent a small copy of a real figure showing how really it can be moved up or down hill

[@dans5916]

4 minutes of nonsense and 20 seconds promoting his bizarre performance art sculptures... wtf is this?

[@hornball8711]

Dont waste your time by scrolling down!!

[@synctvno.1network]

Still how do you explain the precision work that only our technology can measure today, how did bronze age people cut granite with copper tools? We cant reproduce the great Pyramids still. How do the carve out precise curved or convex statues made from granite with copper tools?

[@MrAchile13]

1) you can cut granite with copper saws and corundum 2) what part of the Great pyramid you think we can't reproduce and why? 3) they carved the granite using stone tools, not copper. The Egyptian statues are actually less complex then the greco-roman ones.

[@Wraithleit]

Disappointing, don't bother watching and wasting 4 minutes of your life!

[@aurelienyonrac]

I already knew about the Easter island. So what did I learned?

[@-flutterby7026]

nooo... what did u understand???

[@adamjag7799]

What about the square rocks they won’t roll around like that u need a special foundation too

[@adrianamar8617]

Cyclops=luminati

[@synctvno.1network]

This is useless just goes to show that they don't know still, just go off topic eh?

[@farrier2708]

The Client always gets the Architecture they deserve. It's tremendously inspiring to find an Architect that is striving for something more. Now all we have to do is educate the Clients.

[@captainnemo2150]

ZI THINK OF ARCHITECTURE AS PLAIN WHITE PAINT OR SHINNY WHITE PLAIN.

[@dustinbrandel59]

Modern 10000 yr construction should totally be a thing.

[@divyamurugesan5557]

Cyclops, Interesting. 😜😎

[@brendarua01]

What a delightful presentation! I hope you succeed! I want to read my drandkids the story "This is the house that Brando built."

[@peruface]

doesn't explain the pyramids still. most rocks in peru you cant dance up a hill.

[@revspikejonez]

They are thoroughly explained. Egyptians even left paintings of the construction of the pyramids. You can see the progression from early tombs and pyramids all the way through the dynasties of Egypt. Peru is also, surprisingly enough for a mountainous country, actually MADE of rocks. Weird how every conspiracy theory falls apart if you have facts. You just have to, I dunno, study it.

[@MrAchile13]

@@revspikejonez Can you cite the paintings regarding the construction of the pyramids? I know about Merer papyrus, but I wasn't aware of any drawings.

[@BrutusAlbion]

@@revspikejonez Yeah buddy show us the paintings, I'm curious too.

[@ДмитрийТитов-з3ф]

if a guy with such a lecture was there, then it means I can speak on TED too. I also have a lot of dumb and useless things in my head

[@MegaDzan]

Let's just say that they have maybe used to same method for moving these stones, but what about how they cut and design them?

[@revspikejonez]

Rope and sand. Look it up.

[@MrAchile13]

Depending on the stone, by hammering, chiseling and sawing.

[@-flutterby7026]

fire and water

[@justeverythinggood468]

am the first to watch....🤗🤗🤗 😪 not anymore

[@TheGirirajK]

I get excited about first too many times But By the time I end up commenting somebody already has !

[@norcaltattoos]

So many mindless comments!

[@TheGirirajK]

@@norcaltattoos oh ! For this....you took time write your pointless comment...?

[@goresk8869]

I bet they used power tools to craft these objects

[@thisoldmtb3815]

you guys got lied to about those statues walking.

[@matthewbulic]

ALRIGHT! Let’s go Brandon 😀

[@772Jack]

Stop watching and go to Brien Foerster!

[@bboocc07]

Все что было показано как пример передвижения больших и тяжёлых объектов было на ровной и твердой поверхности... Попробуй двигать камень на земле, пусть и шатая с боку в бок... сомнительная затея.

[@-flutterby7026]

чтобы доказать свою идею аудитории ... он также говорит о том, как этот способ строительства будет длиться вечно, и что его искусство и умные формы и устойчивы

[@HashlandXXX]

Doesn't even touch on how they Carved them. And when someone leads with a Joke, going against an unpopular idea, it's called Controlled Opposition.

[@flickwtchr]

Just shy of tossing the conspiracy card on the table.

[@jamstirling]

Now do this with 100Ton stone. Good luck

[@jeremyg9323]

That's the point of the shapes of these stones. It doesn't matter how big they are, it'll always be just as easy to move them by rocking or wobbling them

[@jamstirling]

@@jeremyg9323 Yes Jeremy especially wobbling it thousand of kilometers in sand by river up mountains easy peasy haha sry but I don't believe in that.

[@Lyachos]

Cyclops were Mammoths

[@Drakeblood97]

Let me guess... It's aliens, isn't it.

[@joaoveiga7081]

this dude said a whole lot of nothing

[@Rohithkandula937]

Awesome video nice 👍

[@mmmk1616]

A misleading title. It wasn't all bad though. I wish it were longer, so he could tell/show us how he created his pieces.

[@daddydojang]

These speakers are bone dry and struggle with irony or humor. I also agree with other commenters that this was clickbait.

[@milzamulhaq6976]

Cyclops., very interesting.. ^^

[@0773W]

This was the worst Ted talk

[@vanshookme6531]

don't bother watching

[@DCastle66]

Now this was a waste of time.

[@saltyandthebeefcracker4863]

Looks very dangerous.

[@Kongolox]

a waste of a TED talk....

[@زهرةاللوتس-ك4غ9ج]

Can you translate Arabic?please

[@iclogtoilets3483]

Allah Snackbar

[@زهرةاللوتس-ك4غ9ج]

@@iclogtoilets3483 what are you say damn you?

[@-flutterby7026]

آمل أن يكون هذا على ما يرام بالنسبة لك ...

[@زهرةاللوتس-ك4غ9ج]

@@-flutterby7026 ؟؟

[@زهرةاللوتس-ك4غ9ج]

@@-flutterby7026 تقصد الترجمة ؟ انها لا تظهر هنا ولكنها موجودة فى الاشعارات اقدم لك خالص شكرى 😊🌻

[@stephenxadonai]

What a generous crowd

[@jackpullen3820]

Back to music....

[@WaffleDaily]

Pretty early, worth mentioning I upload waffles every day

[@doctorbigsmiles]

Brandon Clifford for president! Of NOWHERE!! Gtfoh

[@MMikeP]

That was dumb.

[@loungewear13]

What a snoozer

[@ajoneill6290]

Should be called " I made some stones wobble "

[@theav2000]

Who would watch it then? ;)

[@Robinhood1966]

Sorry, no. We can't explain exactly what were used to build ancient megaliths, but most certainly we can rule out what wasn't used. As an industrial engineer, it's easy for me to recognize, as it is for anyone else in the field of architecture, engineering, to see countless examples of machine tool marks, circular saw marks, tube drill holes, cores, the 24 precision boxes of the Serapeum at Saqqara optically flat to 1/1000 of an inch, as Christopher Dunn and many others have researched for themselves. Takes advanced mathmatics, drafting, a written language, a medium to write the specs and draw the blueprints, the precision tools to survey the site, measure the products, produce the machinery, a power source, and a way to transport.

[@MrAchile13]

Do you know that the many of these things have been explained, for instance, the tube drills in granite, being replicated with bronze age technology?

[@Robinhood1966]

@@MrAchile13 I've watched the videos of the attempt to replicate the tube drill. It was a fraud. Watch the video, they have a jar of silver polish on the block they were drilling. Egypt didn't have a source for Corundum, the least hard mineral needed to use with a tube drill that would leave striation remnants evidenced on the core and holes both. Thy first tried sand to both saw and drill. Doesn't work. Watch the videos carefully. They don't actually claim to make the saw cut they show as an example to replicate the 2mm saw blade edge. Would be glad to review any evidence you can provide that would show evidence of Dynastic Egyptian tools being used to replicate the apparent machine tool marks left on the stone blocks.

[@MrAchile13]

@@Robinhood1966 The video is not fake. "SGD Sacred Geometry Decoded" also drilled and cut granite in his garage, using the same method. Egyptians had access to corundum, as proven by corundum traces being found in some ancient drill holes (copper residue was also found). The egyptologist Denys Stocks, even managed to cut and drill granite using quartz sand, which is softer then corundum. He published his results, including the cutting rate, in "experiments in Egyptian archaeology". Additionally, Pliny the Elder tells us that marble was cut using the same method (using abrasive), during his time.

[@Robinhood1966]

@@MrAchile13 I have a link to the singular source of an artifact attributed to Egypt, this is the *only* example of corundum slurry. It's a processed piece of loose rock the size of a silver dollar, found within the boundaries to attribute it to Egypt. No source of corundum has been found, and would have required tremendous amounts to create the numerous examples with the striations. No one doubts copper tubes and saws were used. Sand was able to be used as a medium to cut holes and saw cut blocks, esp limestone, but is proven in many academic papers that to leave striations on granite and basalt, at least corundum is required. This fact is accepted in mainstream academia. They were not able to cut tube holes with sand, or saw more than a couple inches over a couple days with sand and water. The modern replications to demonstrate these processes of Dynastic Egyptian tools with granite were not able to cut, with or without striations, with sand. The modern replications utilized industrial cutting compounds. I will check out the sources you mentioned to see if followed a proven example and demonstration of process and tools available to Egyptians.

[@Robinhood1966]

@@MrAchile13 Marble is far down on the Mose Scale, so would be relatively easy for them to cut with the tools at their disposal. The limestone is harder, and there are different densities of limestone on the hardness scale, moving towards the hardness of basalt. Granite was the most problematic.

[@TheTwick]

I think I came to the wrong architect; I just wanted a block of office flats. ;-)

[@alekspapez]

Please TED, choose better titles for the videos! Great talk but not what was promised.

[@mohamedomer9286]

nope

[@jjo5375]

What a tease that brief talk was. I wanted to hear HOURS more! : /

[@keropiboy]

Ridiculous explanation for the Moai stuff...

[@ticklemeandillhurtyou5800]

I read Mount Rushmore will only wear one inch in 10,000 years

[@truthseekermedia]

🌜🌒🌍

[@oak1550]

Woah amazing how long does this take to figure out after the sumarian agricultural age?

[@mattnewhouse1781]

Im glad most of our buildings will be gone, eye soars

[@intp2927]

いつも思うんだけど日本語の字幕誰か付けてー

[@Sciguy95]

I saw a video where they did an experiment and created a life size Easter island head and "walked" it using the techniques he showed in this video. They used ropes to pull it to one side, pull the other side forward, set it back down, and then to the same for the other side.

[@flickwtchr]

Did they do it over hills, valleys, rivers, etc? No.

[@Sciguy95]

@@flickwtchr they didn't need to. It was just a proof of concept to show how it could have been done. Even if they did, it wouldn't have proved that's the way they did it, just that it's a way it could have been done, nobody will ever know for absolute certainty the actual way it was done.

[@mikedonnarumma5337]

not stonehenge or the pyramids, not with this technique

[@xTheeJokerx]

Should be ashamed of your self, no type of respect for the old civilizations.

[@-flutterby7026]

the past is the past ... we need to build for the future

[@IamNeighborlee]

1/8th truth, rest CLICK BAIT, beware!

[@divyamurugesan5557]

Uploaded Early. 😁

[@khanhdan3007]

Thanks subtitle Vietnamese.

[@bayscit]

this is truly remarkable! 🙌🏼💯

[@easybahrain2630]

Arabic subtitles plz

[@maxmulder]

And the 80 dislikes are waiting for the following episode of ancient aliens!!!