Is the function of the Trilithon of Baalbek linked to the lost cedars of Lebanon?

Image: Cedrus libani/Lebanon Cedar, a specimen from Clumber Park, United Kingdom. Few old cedars remain in Lebanon, although attempts to conserve the and replant have been continuing.

Chris White has developed a website for the purpose of “debunking” a History Channel 3-hour series on the subject of Ancient Aliens. He discusses, in his website, at Ancient Aliens Debunked, his understanding of the function of the Trilithon stones, as follows:

Our focus at the moment is the Trilithons stones. Ancient Aliens says these three stones are the real mystery of Baalbek.

AA: “This is the real mystery of Baalbek. How these stones came to be there; why they were placed there; and specifically how they were transported into place, because some of the stones are of such magnitude that modern machinery isn’t capable of putting them there, but somehow our ancestors were able to do this.”

To solve this mystery we need to first understand that these three stones do not form the foundation of Baalbek as is so often suggested.

The Trilithon stones lay end to end or long ways, and are part of the narrow wall on the western end of the complex. They are most certainly not the foundation, nor do they constitute a platform, and it would be very awkward for a spaceship to land on top of them considering the space on top is so narrow.

Ancient Aliens tries to make it seem like no one knows the purpose for these stones, or why that had to be so heavy.

AA: “But if the moving, hoisting and setting of such massive stones was so incredibly difficult, then who or what placed them there and, perhaps more importantly, why?”

The truth is that the purpose for this wall is very well known by archaeologists. It was a retaining wall.[4]

Retaining wall technology really improved with the Greeks because of the importance of the amphitheatre in their culture. Because most amphitheatres were sunken into the ground and surrounded by earth, they needed to construct retaining walls to hold back the soil.

Then the Romans came along and basically perfected the practice.

The rule of thumb in retaining walls, even today is the bigger and heavier the stones the better the retaining wall. Also the stones needed to be in as big of sections as possible. in other words, huge sections of uncut stone.

It is no coincidence that some of the biggest single stones in the ancient world besides Baalbek, are also used in retaining walls, and by the Romans as well, as we will see.

Retaining walls were especially important if there was a lot of soil erosion at the site, or if the platform you were trying to build was on a steep incline.

At Baalbek the platform was built right on the side of a huge hill, so for that reason alone it would require a retaining wall if they intended to make a large level platform. But if you added to that a soil erosion problem, you would have two very good reasons for a huge retaining wall at Baalbek.

So does the area around Baalbek have a problem with soil erosion? The answer is yes, probably one of the biggest in the world. You can see evidence of soil erosion all around the Baalbek site. The soil from the top of the hill has been sliding[5] down the hill into the valley below for hundreds of years.

One of the leading causes of soil erosion is deforestation. If an area that once had trees has been completely cleared of those trees, the rain no longer will have anything to slow down its velocity. Normally the rain hits tree branches and the thick foliage that accumulates on the forest floor over time. Also the soil is kept in check by root systems of trees which hold the soil in place.

Lebanon has a picture of a cedar tree on its flag. Their trees have been a symbol of pride for millennia – the so called Cedars of Lebanon. But the forests have disappeared long ago as they were one of the only sites for timber in the ancient near east, and it was massively deforested in ancient times.

[Editor’s note: Many pictures of Lebanon seem to indicate a regrowth of cedars in the region. For example, see the fifth picture at this link.]

In fact the soil shifting is just as bad today in the Bekka valley. The UN in 2006[6] proposed a series of solutions to deal with this now full scale environmental disaster in the Baalbek region. Homes in the region are being abandoned as their foundations shift and they become inhabitable. But although these proposed solutions by the UN may be new, this problem is an ancient one, one the Romans would have been well aware of.

The massive Trilithon stones provided the weight needed to press down and secure the stones in the wall below.

This is why you only see these huge stones one side of Baalbek – the side where the steep slope is. The idea that these stones were part of a platform and were used as a landing pad is something that requires ignorance of the layout of the site in order to believe.

The video on Page 4 will include this text.

Cedar photo attribution: ALAN SOUTHWORTH [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Next Page: How did the Romans move the stones?