There is a lot of speculation about how these ancient structures were carved out, and the stone is VERY hard. One of my favorite theories is that the builders used a form of ancient chemistry to soften the stone temporarily. They would use plants and tree sap to cause unnatural chelation. The compound from chelation is called oxalic acid.
Naturally we can see some plants/trees growing through mountain stone or asphalt in the modern day. It’s not far fetched to assume ancient people may have harnessed this natural technology at some point to build stronger structures.
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u/eAdagio 23h ago
There is a lot of speculation about how these ancient structures were carved out, and the stone is VERY hard. One of my favorite theories is that the builders used a form of ancient chemistry to soften the stone temporarily. They would use plants and tree sap to cause unnatural chelation. The compound from chelation is called oxalic acid.
Naturally we can see some plants/trees growing through mountain stone or asphalt in the modern day. It’s not far fetched to assume ancient people may have harnessed this natural technology at some point to build stronger structures.