Apparently the ramp was partially rebuilt in 1981 for a TV miniseries and it’s not necessarily as monumental a feat of engineering as it appears, as it’s built on top of a natural spur.
Still pretty nuts, but if it were entirely manmade it would’ve taken years to build.
The only source I have for that is the caption on the photo on the Wikipedia page for Masada… The TV show page also mentions that they built a ramp that is still visible, though I can’t find any more detail on whether it’s the same ramp, how much work they did, etc.
Back in the seventies they didn’t much care for those sorts of… pesky details for archeology nerds.
When the Mexican government - tourism or culture departments, or even if federal or state level, I’m not sure - mounted a permanent evening light show at Teotihuacán. They “tidied up” the place, filling in holes and pockets in the pyramids with cement, they drilled into them to run up the wiring and mounting the light stands, etc.
They basically committed every contemporary sacrilege except using dynamite.
Keeping compacted soil in place at such an incline, at such a scale and able to support the weight of an army filing up, is still mightily impressive from where I’m standing.
Apparently the ramp was partially rebuilt in 1981 for a TV miniseries and it’s not necessarily as monumental a feat of engineering as it appears, as it’s built on top of a natural spur.
Still pretty nuts, but if it were entirely manmade it would’ve taken years to build.
I knew about the natural spur, but I’ve never heard the rebuilt claim.
The only source I have for that is the caption on the photo on the Wikipedia page for Masada… The TV show page also mentions that they built a ramp that is still visible, though I can’t find any more detail on whether it’s the same ramp, how much work they did, etc.
You’re saying a TV show was allowed to damage an archaeological site? Isn’t it also a national park?
Back in the seventies they didn’t much care for those sorts of… pesky details for archeology nerds.
When the Mexican government - tourism or culture departments, or even if federal or state level, I’m not sure - mounted a permanent evening light show at Teotihuacán. They “tidied up” the place, filling in holes and pockets in the pyramids with cement, they drilled into them to run up the wiring and mounting the light stands, etc.
They basically committed every contemporary sacrilege except using dynamite.
I saw this picture and remembered the series. That ending was shocking to a kid unaware of the history.
Keeping compacted soil in place at such an incline, at such a scale and able to support the weight of an army filing up, is still mightily impressive from where I’m standing.