It is so easy for us to think that the machinery used for cutting stone in the industry are all modern inventions, and as for how stone was cut and processed in the distant past, ah, well, who cares ?... Some simple contraption, of course, would be a generalised assumption.
How wrong! In 2005 gangsaws, similar to those used today, were discovered in Turkey. It is estimated they date between 200 to 300 AC. The first one was discovered in Hierapolis, and the second in Ephesus, where a marble factory was discovered among the ruins.
How wrong! In 2005 gangsaws, similar to those used today, were discovered in Turkey. It is estimated they date between 200 to 300 AC. The first one was discovered in Hierapolis, and the second in Ephesus, where a marble factory was discovered among the ruins.
The marble workshop in Ephesus was situated in the middle of a prosperous neighborhood in a city founded around 1000 B.C. The age of gangsaw discovered in Ephesus, is estimated to be between 600 to 700 AC. It was assumed the remains were of a large marble factory because several cut stones were found nearby. (A third machine was found in Grese (Jordan) and its age is estimated to be around 600 to 700 AC).
http://www.litosonline.com/en/articles/en/111/two-antique-gangsaws
