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On Proving Ancient Megalith Construction
by Jim Solley
Elizabeth City, NC

Copyright by Jim Solley
All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.

Coral Castle is an unsolved megalith whose secrets of construction can be uncovered and proved using only information found on the Internet. This article presents the proof and links the methods used to construct it to a scientist's proof of Egyptian pyramid construction that was rejected several decades ago.

Acknowledgments:
GOD – HIS help was essential.



1 Introduction
This step-by-step proof was written for everyone. Prior experience with science is unnecessary as everything is explained in detail.

Several Hyperlinks to other websites are provided as a means to confirm sources of information but need not be visited while reading unless that is your preference.

This section begins with explanations of a scientific principle known as the principle of parsimony and of the standard used to measure the quality of proof. These two important tools are referenced throughout. Next, two obstacles are identified that prevent Egyptian pyramid construction from being proved. Section 2 is the main body that focuses on removing the second obstacle. Section 3 discusses the heaviest stones ever lifted by ancient man. Section 4 briefly describes a scientist's proof of Egyptian pyramid construction, focuses on removing the first obstacle, and summarizes. A Frequently Asked Questions section follows the proof.

The terms hypothesis and theory are treated as synonyms, and the term pyramids refers to the Egyptian pyramids.



1-1 The principle of parsimony
“Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate.” ---William of Ockham

The principle of parsimony, also known as Ockham's Razor, translates from the Latin as pluralities should not be multiplied without necessity. It means that truth is most often simple and lies are most often complex.

Parsimony states that when two or more theories are presented that propose to solve the same problem, the simplest that gives the most complete and satisfying explanation has priority to be studied in detail as it is the most probable. If during study the simplest is found to be flawed, then it is excluded, multiplying pluralities becomes necessary, the next simplest gains priority, and so on.

For example, imagine that a family lives on the equator, and a store they custom is located 30 miles west of their home. There are many ways they could travel to it, but parsimony states that it is more probable that they use a route that incorporates some means of traveling 30 miles west to enter the front door than that they travel 25,000 miles east and circumnavigate the globe to enter the back door. Either method will work, but parsimony gives the 30-mile theory priority to be studied.

When problems remain unsolved after sufficient time has passed in which they reasonably could be expected to have been solved, this is the prime clue to beware of deception. Deception comprises missing and/or misleading information. It relies upon limitations of human perception, causes problems to be solved incorrectly or not at all, and it plays no favorites; all can be deceived. To overcome deception, the missing and/or misleading information must be discovered.

A technique that often is useful for overcoming deception is to behave as a rat does when it encounters a dead end in a maze. It turns around and moves in the opposite direction rather than persisting in the forward direction, remaining stuck, and starving to death. Thinking and visualizing in terms of characteristics of things being precisely the opposite of what is seen or expected is the human equivalent of turning around and moving in the opposite direction.

For example, if an attempt is made to tighten a left-threaded bolt by always turning it clockwise, it will be impossible regardless how long it is turned or the number of people who help. After turning it for a while without success, the clue for deception is present. If the clue is recognized and the bolt turned in the opposite direction, the missing information about the direction of the threads will be discovered, and the impossible will become trivial.

If the clue for deception is present, parsimony suggests that we should cease searching for simple truth, turn around, and commence searching for the most complex suspect we can find. If it is a lie, it will present us with our best chance to trip it. Parsimony, however, offers no guarantee of success, and parsimony is not proof. It is a valuable tool of probability that is useful as a guide for conducting efficient and orderly work.



1-2 Standard for proof
Proof comprises completing in any order all steps of the following pattern.

A hypothesis must be conceived.

Evidence must be available to support it.

All opposing hypotheses must be excluded.

It must be demonstrated.

The need for each step is easily explained with examples. To reduce verbiage, step numbers are referenced. A helpful acronym is HEED (Hypothesis, Evidence, Exclusion, Demonstration).

Example 1:
A hypothesis is conceived that a modern overhead crane was used to construct the pyramids. It can be demonstrated, and it would exclude all opposing hypotheses because it would have been simpler and more efficient for ancient man to use it, but no evidence has ever been found to support this hypothesis. Step 2 is incomplete, and the modern-overhead-crane hypothesis remains unproved. Remaining unproved, however, is not the same as being disproved. The modern-overhead-crane hypothesis can still be proved if evidence is ever found to support it.

Example 2:
Long ago it was hypothesized that the world was flat. Supporting evidence was that increasingly steeper slopes would be encountered during travel if the world wasn't flat, and soon we would slip off. With no opposing hypotheses, steps 1, 2, and 3 were complete, but it would have been necessary to find an edge to complete step 4. No edge was ever found, step 4 was never completed, and flat remained unproved. Virtually everyone had been deceived by missing information about gravity.

Example 3:
In the fifteenth century a hypothesis was conceived that the world was round. Supporting evidence was that as ships sailed beyond the horizon and irrespective of their direction of travel, always the last thing visible was the tips of their sails. Flat and round are mutually exclusive. Demonstrating that the world is round automatically excluded flat. All steps were completed, and round was proved.

At the pyramids, however, there are many hypotheses that can complete steps 1, 2, and 4. Automatic exclusion is impossible. In a case like this, the means to complete step 3 is to unbalance step 2. As in a court of law, the correct hypothesis must present substantial amounts of high quality evidence that overwhelm the evidence of all opposing hypotheses.



1-3 Obstacles
1-3-1 First obstacle

The first obstacle to proving pyramid construction is that they're inaccessible to virtually everyone on the planet including most scientists. Quarries have been closed and the pyramids placed off limits to “protect” them. Without access, it is impossible to prove how the pyramids were constructed, but the reason for this is subtle.

Inaccessibility forces pyramid construction to be treated as an engineering problem. Engineering begins with the goal (to build the pyramids the same way ancient man built them), construction items available to ancient man, and a theory we conceive that we believe is the way he built them. First, a survey is made of what was available. He had skills, hand tools, and natural resources. There are many of each, and they form an alphabet. Next, a theory to build the pyramids is synthesized using the alphabet. Once synthesized, the theory is fixed, and the direction is set. To make the theory work as well as possible, evidence is speculated whenever necessary. The assumption is that irrefutable high-quality evidence crucial to proof is missing, thus we are forced to speculate any missing evidence our theory needs.

The strategy is that if many theories are synthesized to build pyramids, then sooner or later the correct theory must be uncovered. Meanwhile, all we have is lots of speculation and argument about whose theory is best. Inaccessibility has caused many theories to be synthesized, and new theories appear from time to time. The flaw in this strategy is that even if a demonstrable theory is developed, there is no guarantee that it is the one used by ancient man because the attempt to complete step 3 contains only minimum evidence acquired from the alphabet plus whatever additional evidence is speculated. Without substantial amounts of high quality evidence, there is always the possibility that some other theory was used. Theories based upon engineering the solution are guesses that are steps 1, 2, and 4 complete, but without access, guessing is all that can be done. Science demands proof, and it's not that modern man is incapable of proving how ancient man built pyramids. It's that inaccessibility prevents us from proving it.

"In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practise it much. In the every-day affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards, and so the other comes to be neglected. There are fifty who can reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically."

---“A Study In Scarlet”---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Pyramid construction was an engineering problem for ancient man, but it is a reverse engineering problem for us. Methods associated with reverse engineering are methods that will allow us to acquire substantial amounts of high quality evidence. They are different from the methods for doing engineering, and the differences are described in the paragraphs that follow.

Engineering begins by synthesizing ideas to create a theory to build the pyramids. The lines of reason are based upon how we use only ancient man's resources to get to the end result which is the completed object. The priority is theory and demonstration first followed by evidence which must be speculated as needed.

Reverse engineering begins with access to a completed object (the pyramids), disassembles, studies, and analyzes it to discover the ideas that were used to build it. The discovered ideas become the theory. Evidence must not be speculated.
The lines of reason are based upon how we take apart and analyze the completed object to get to its beginning which are the ideas that ancient man used.
The priority is evidence first followed by a theory and demonstration.

Engineering typically focuses on one part of the problem at a time. This is known as a divide-and-conquer strategy. Most interested persons focus on solving lifting while ignoring all other parts of the problem until that part is solved. Reverse engineering does the opposite and studies all parts of the problem. It is detective work to acquire as much high quality evidence as possible for the purpose of discovering how something was accomplished by someone other than ourselves. As such, principles of deductive reasoning apply.

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment."

---“A Study In Scarlet”---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Reverse engineering begins with access to the pyramids and no theory or preconceived notions. All evidence is collected, and analytical reasoning is applied to develop the theory that best fits all of it.

Detective work makes the assumption that there are always clues left behind. Likewise, reverse engineering makes the assumption that if a man-made object exists, then evidence supporting how it was built also exists. The external structure is studied and details noted, especially details that seem odd or amazing. For example, there is a sarcophagus in the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid that is too large to fit through the doorway. When a theory is developed, the means used to place it in the chamber is one of many details to be collected that need to be explained.

Scientific tests and measurements are performed using modern equipment that enhances human perception to assist in collection and analysis of evidence. This is done on both the external and internal structure of the stones to ensure that all evidence that can be collected is collected. After all evidence is collected, analysis begins. If a pattern begins to emerge as evidence is being analyzed, then a flexible theory is conceived. As more evidence is analyzed, the theory is adjusted as necessary to fit the newly analyzed evidence as well as the old. When all evidence has been analyzed and a stable theory developed, it may be possible to prove it depending upon the amount and quality of the evidence.

When doing engineering, the theory is chosen by us, fixed at the beginning, and the evidence is flexible and speculated as needed. When doing reverse engineering, the evidence is fixed, the theory is chosen by the evidence, and the theory remains flexible until the end.

For any arbitrary reverse engineering problem, complete and correct analysis of all evidence by individuals working independently without knowledge of the other(s), unlike synthesis, always produces the same theory, the correct theory.

While it is impossible for anyone to do more than guess about the pyramids unless they have access, permission, equipment, and skills to perform detailed technical analysis, Coral Castle can be reverse engineered, and the general concept used in its construction can be proved without access because overwhelming evidence is available there.


1-3-2 Second obstacle

The construction phase follows architectural design, surveying, and layout. The event sequence that defines the construction phase of many megaliths is:

Quarrying building material

Transporting building material

Lifting building material atop supporting structure

Precision construction

The second obstacle to proving pyramid construction is that no models (a proved theory) have been accepted that show how ancient man performed events 3 and 4 where weights of stones rival or exceed those used in the pyramids. Models are needed because they represent the strongest kind of evidence. They dramatically increase confidence.

Because the clue to beware of deception is present, parsimony suggests that all megaliths should be searched for the most complex block of stone that has events 3 and 4 among its characteristics and whose weight rivals or exceeds that of the stones used in the pyramids.

Vertical work is the study of all characteristics of a single megalith while ignoring other megaliths. It is an attempt to uncover all secrets of one megalith and the traditional means used to minimize confusion. Most interested persons choose one megalith to concentrate their study.

Horizontal work is the study of one or more specific characteristics of interest across many megaliths while ignoring other characteristics. It is an attempt to uncover some of the secrets of one or more megaliths and is an alternate means to minimize confusion.

Vertical and horizontal work are analogous to columns and rows of a table where columns represent megaliths and rows represent specific characteristics. The second obstacle will be removed by focusing on stones that have the event 3 and event 4 rows of characteristics while ignoring stones that don't have them. The reasons for doing this will be explained in context in subsection 3-1.



2 Models
2-1 Second obstacle removed
Coral Castle is the youngest unsolved megalith. All four events of the construction phase are present plus celestial alignments and various shaped stones. It has been examined by countless numbers of visitors and studied by scientists and engineers from around the globe yet has remained unsolved for many decades. The clue for deception is present.

Coral Castle, located in Homestead, Florida, was built by Edward Leedskalnin in the early part of the 20th century. Ed was a stonemason who stood just over 5 feet tall and weighed 100 pounds. He worked alone under cover of darkness using lantern light to assure that he would not be seen. He used only hand tools and a simple hoist. The average weight of his blocks of coral stone is 12,000 pounds. The average weight of the blocks of limestone used in the casing of the Great Pyramid at Giza is 5,000 pounds. Ed did not own an automobile, and there was no wired electricity at Coral Castle. He did acquire an automobile generator from a junkyard, but that was after he built Coral Castle, so it could not have been used during construction. He claimed that only primitive tools were needed.

"I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons!"

---Edward Leedskalnin

Ed was a recluse who passed in December of 1951 without ever disclosing the secrets.

Ancient stonemasons built the pyramids using large rocks. A modern stonemason built Coral Castle using larger rocks. Construction of both are mysteries. Thus, there is a potential connection between Coral Castle and the pyramids, but Ed's claim to know their secrets is invalid if he used resources that ancient man could not have used or substituted. In one creation he did. It is the most complex suspect. It was chosen over rival complex suspects at ancient megaliths because enough information is available on the Internet to prove the general concept used in its construction, and Ed's deception is a documented fact. He let no one see him work, therefore information is missing, and that is the stuff of deception.


2-1-1 The gate
The nine-ton gate is the most complex block of stone at Coral Castle. It has been lifted atop supporting structure, and it was constructed with extreme precision.

The Coral Castle website reports that this 18,000 pound gate is so perfectly balanced that it can be opened with the simple push of a finger. It closes to within a quarter inch on either side of the frame opening. It broke in 1986. Six men and a 50-ton crane were needed to remove and repair it. What they found was that Ed had centered and balanced it using an iron shaft and truck bearing. He drilled an almost perfect round eight-foot hole for the shaft using only hand tools. Today a laser-guided drill bit would be used to achieve such extreme precision. State-of-the-art adhesives were used when reinstalling the gate.

The essence of reverse engineering is access, disassembly, study, and analysis. In 1986 the gate was accessed, disassembled, and the findings reported to the public. The reported information plus what was already known about Coral Castle is sufficient to prove the general concept used to construct it.


2-1-2 Four categories of hypotheses
Four categories of hypotheses have been posited to build the gate. Three will be excluded. The four are:

Ed was assisted by intelligent beings such as aliens.


Ed discovered an anti-gravity force or invented an anti-gravity machine.


Ed built Coral Castle using hoists. At least three photographs exist that show different large tripods he built that have hoists attached. It is obvious that he used them to lift the huge stones, and one photograph shows him doing exactly that, but there is a problem. Scientists and engineers have studied Coral Castle, and they know everything there is to know about hoists. It makes no sense that they can't discover how Ed used hoists unless the fourth category is considered which explains why they can't.


Ed built Coral Castle without using hoists. If true, then consider the following scenario. Scientists and engineers would visit Coral Castle, see photos of the hoists, and try to discover how Ed used them. They haven't been successful, and that alone tells us he didn't use them. Now, suppose an owner of the correct theory that doesn't use hoists visits Coral Castle. As soon as s/he sees the hoists, s/he will believe that their theory must not apply to Coral Castle because it's obvious that Ed was using hoists. S/he'll leave and forget about Coral Castle. Thus, Coral Castle can not be solved by anyone who believes that Ed used hoists. If Ed built hoists that he didn't use and allowed us to see them, then they can have only one purpose.


2-1-3 Hypothesis conceived
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
---“The Boscombe Valley Mystery” ---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Deception of the misleading kind is the sole purpose of Ed's hoist as it is depicted below. The photograph in Figure 1 shows that the tripod has no wheels. It would have been impossible for Ed to transport building material from his quarry to his creation under construction using this arrangement.


Figure 1: Ed using a hoist

The mechanical advantage (a multiplier of effort) of a hoist equals the number of chain segments ascending from its movable block. The photograph is unclear, but six segments are visible near the fixed block at the top. If Ed grasped the fall of this hoist and suspended himself by hanging from it, then the effort of his 100 pound body weight would have been multiplied by a factor of 6, and he would have been able to exert a 100 X 6 = 600 pound lifting force. For him to be able to lift a stone its weight must be less than 600 pounds since that is the maximum lifting force he could exert, but the stone in the photograph weighs many multiples of 600 pounds. Using Ed's known height of 5 feet as a reference, the stone can be conservatively estimated to be 4' X 4' X 3' = 48 cubic feet. Using a density of 125 pounds per cubic foot (this density is reported in the “Who's Ed?” section of the Coral Castle website) for Ed's coral stone, 48 X 125 = 6,000 pounds is its estimated weight. There is a huge discrepancy between the weight of this stone and the maximum amount of weight Ed could lift. Because it was impossible for him to have lifted more than a few hundred pounds with this hoist, the only possibilities are that the photograph was tampered, or the stone being lifted was a hollow shell that weighed only a few hundred pounds. Either would be deceptive, but the latter seems more probable because it would assign a purpose to the broken stone in the background which is to convince us that he was not lifting a hollow shell.

Some hoist theories recognize that the stone in Figure 1 can't be lifted by Ed and his hoist alone. They speculate that he used a motor hidden in the mysterious box at the top of the tripod regardless that there is no room for a motor, no drive pulley and chain for it, and no infrastructure to supply the substantial amount of power needed for it to lift such heavy weights. Other theories speculate that the motor is hidden within and connected directly to the pulleys. Still no infrastructure for power, and such a motor would require an enormous amount of torque. Yet other theories speculate a winch on the ground. Such a winch must weigh more than one sixth the weight of the stone being lifted, or it would rise instead of the stone. An alternative is that the winch would be bolted to the ground. These are all speculations with no actual evidence to support them.

One special reason it is believed that Ed used hoists is that somewhere between 50 and 100 affidavits from people who claim to have known Ed or to have seen him work give that impression. Most do not mention construction but are character references for Ed. Though one or two state that Ed used hoists, none tell us how, and we have no means to know precisely what someone else saw or what Ed showed them. It is suspicious that the date of the first affidavit is an April Fool's Day. The affidavits were considered, but their vagueness makes them worthless as supporting evidence for hoists. The tripod has no wheels, and the mechanical advantage of the hoist is too low. This is evidence that can be verified that contradicts the affidavits.

Those who choose hoists prefer that Ed use known laws of physics. A testimony that owners of hoist theories often cite is found on this link and is presented below, but no reference is given of who authored it.

“In the course of our visits we became friendly with a woman named Virginia, whose last name now escapes us. She was in charge of the little souvenir shop, and claimed that she and her husband had known Ed quite well before Ed's death in the early 1950s. We begged Virginia to tell us the secret behind Ed's amazing work, and she always insisted that he did not use levitation or any other mysterious force. In those days we had the Will to Believe, and resisted Virginia's prosaic explanation.”---Author Unknown

For now, use of known laws of physics is the presumption. Aliens and anti-gravity are not considered in the discussion that follows but will be discussed separately in a later sub-subsection.

Notice the number of pluralities that must be added for any theory to build Coral Castle based upon hoists. First, we see Ed lifting a 6,000 pound stone, but laws of physics prove that he can't lift it without a motor. A motor must be added, but a motor needs electricity. Electricity must be added. Since the tripod has no wheels, a means to transfer the stone from the hoist to a mechanical transport must be added. The mechanical transport itself must be added. Thus far, a motor, electricity, transfer method, and mechanical transport represent four pluralities, and they aren't all. This only gets the block of stone to the creation under construction. This is the engineering approach that theorizes prior to analysis of all the evidence. Speculation of a lot of missing evidence is forced when attempting to make hoist theories work. Because analysis of the photograph shows that it was impossible for Ed to construct Coral Castle using hoists in the manner shown, this scene is a grandiose, well-staged, and effective attempt to deceive us.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”---“The Sign of the Four”---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

It was impossible for Ed to use the hoist as depicted, and with only primitive tools it was impossible for him to lift and transport an 18,000 pound block of coral stone all at once. These are eliminated. The only remaining possibility, however improbable, is that he lifted and transported the gate a piece at a time. He crushed coral stone and used a process involving water to make mud, clay, cement, or concrete. Next, he lifted and transported 18,000 pounds of liquid or semi-liquid material a bucket at a time. (A crushed piece of coral stone has characteristics opposite of an 18,000 pound block of coral stone, a bucket has characteristics opposite of a 10-ton hoist mounted on a 25 foot tripod, and a lone stonemason who uses only hand tools has characteristics opposite of six men and a 50-ton crane.) Mud, clay, cement, or concrete henceforth will be identified collectively as ancient cement.

Ancient cement is a general concept---not a specific formula. To determine Ed's exact formula and process for making ancient cement still requires access, permission, and hands-on testing and analysis of the internal structure of Coral Castle stones by experts. That evidence is lacking at the moment, so the only claim that can be made is that there is enough high quality evidence to prove that the ancient cement concept was used in Coral Castle construction. For convenience, the terms ancient cement and man-made stone will be treated as synonyms and used interchangeably.

Man-made blocks of coral stone is the hypothesis conceived for construction of Coral Castle's nine-ton gate. Hypotheses based upon Ed using hoists are excluded. Step 1 is complete. Steps 2 and 3 are partially complete.



2-1-4 More evidence supporting gate construction
(Note: Placing the evidence following the hypothesis is better suited for organization of this article, but much of it was studied prior to conceiving the flexible hypothesis that had to be adjusted once. As more evidence was studied, the use of fire to produce burnt lime that is used in modern cement manufacturing was changed to the use of hard water that is rich in calcium and magnesium, is available throughout virtually all of Florida according to water hardness maps of the US, and is used for manufacturing ancient cement.)

Matter in nature exists in one of three states. It is a solid (ice), a liquid (water), or a gas (steam). When water freezes and becomes ice, or ice melts and becomes water, or water boils and becomes steam, or steam condenses and becomes water, these kinds of changes are described as change of state of matter. Change of state of matter is a fundamental principle of science that has the potential to be deceptive. Ancient cement relies upon this principle. When change of state of matter occurs, there are before and after states. Water (the liquid before state) freezes and becomes ice (the solid after state).

If we watch cement being poured, when it is cured (hardened) there is no deception because we saw both the before state and the after state. We have all of the information, and we understand how the liquid cement became solid cement. Even if we only saw the after state, there would be no deception because we are familiar with cement. We would know that at some earlier time it had been a liquid.

This hypothesis claims that Ed used ancient cement made of coral stone and modified it to make it appear the same as natural coral stone. He controlled the texture of his ancient cement and added misleading tool marks on some of his creations. He embedded shells and did everything necessary to convince us that his blocks of coral stone are natural. The hoists and broken stone in the background of the Figure 1 photograph assist in convincing us.

The only way our brains normally get information is through our five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. If Ed was able to use his stonemason skills to convince all our senses that man-made stones are natural stones, then our senses can only mislead us. We would be missing information about the liquid before state, but we couldn't know it because the before state no longer exists, and our senses couldn't detect that it ever did exist. There would be a complete disconnect between our senses and information essential to solving the problem. We would only have the misleading solid-after-state information and would be left with a perceived problem that truly is impossible to solve. The potential deception of change of state of matter comprises both missing and misleading information.

Coral Castle seems impossible for Ed to build alone, but he is on record as having once said, “It's so easy, you'll never figure it out.” Easy, of course, is relative. The work still must be done, but there is only one way to reconcile something that is easy yet seems impossible. Magicians perform illusions that we know are impossible. We also know that it is easy for the magician and that deception is employed. Ed's statement indicates that Coral Castle is one of the world's greatest illusions.

Ed combined ancient cement with another fundamental principle of science: A liquid holds the shape of its container. For example, flavored liquid gelatin poured into a mold is the same shape as the mold. After the gelatin sets and is extracted, it still holds the precise shape of the mold. This principle of science is primarily responsible for Ed's precision construction.

Ancient cement would have simplified Ed's quarrying problem and solved his transportation, lifting, and precision construction problems all in one fell swoop. Whereas theories based upon natural stone must add many pluralities to solve these problems, ancient cement adds only three, and they only require stonemason and woodworking skills. One is that Ed must be able to manufacture ancient cement from coral stone. Two is that he must be able to construct forms (wooden containers analagous to gelatin molds) for use with ancient cement. Three is that he must be able to make his man-made coral stone appear the same as natural coral stone.

Coral stone is one of Ed's many deceptions. It seems only to be an innocently convenient building material indigenous to the area, but coral stone is rich in calcium carbonate, the primary chemical compound used in modern cement manufacture. In the lower-left quadrant of this Bamburi Cement LTD. web page, coral stone is shown as their source of calcium carbonate.

Ed worked in lumber camps prior to building Rock Gate Park, his deceptive choice of a name that was changed to Coral Castle after he passed. He was exposed to woodworking techniques in those camps.

After Ed passed, his tool collection was examined. It included saws, chains, many kinds of drills, wedges, hammers, chisels, and crowbars, but no mention is made of an eight-foot-long drill bit the exact diameter of the shaft of the nine-ton gate. If Ed's need for saws and many kinds of drills was to facilitate making forms for use with ancient cement, then that would explain the presence of a scattering of over-sized half-ton chairs at Coral Castle that have no tool marks on them. If they were carved, then tool marks should be present, but absence of tool marks is normal when using forms and cement. A plurality must be added for making chairs without tool marks for all theories based upon natural stone, but no plurality is added for chairs made of ancient cement. Coincidentally, there are no tool marks on the remaining casing stones of the Great Pyramid at Giza.



2-1-5 Gate construction procedure
Ed had stonemason skills, woodworking skills, hand tools, and natural resources. These are the same things that ancient man had. He built the nine-ton gate using those plus an iron shaft and a truck bearing. This procedure is based upon using homemade ancient cement that contains no gypsum, an additive used in modern commercial cement manufacturing to reduce the time needed for the cement to cure. To prove feasibility (not the exact method) that a lone stonemason could build the gate using ancient cement, construction would have been something like the following.

WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS. NO LIABILITY IS ACCEPTED FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

Given that the gate frame was already constructed, Ed snapped chalk lines on the diagonals of the top interior of the frame. He marked the exact center where they crossed, attached a plumb bob to that mark, dropped it, and marked the bottom. Using the top and bottom reference marks, he installed the iron shaft and truck bearing correctly centered and perfectly vertically aligned. Next, he placed shims such as small ball bearings on the bottom of the frame and surrounding area. Following that, he placed two boards atop the shims, one on each side of the shaft. The parts of the boards that were adjacent to the truck bearing had cutouts that matched the diameter of the bearing. Using these boards as the base, a wooden form shaped like the gate was built around the shaft. The form was built slightly wider than the frame opening and perpendicular to it. This facilitates removing the form after curing and adjusting the gate to cause it to close within a quarter inch on either side of the frame opening.

Following form construction, Ed filled it with ancient cement. (Note: It is possible that he accelerated task completion by using the large hoists to lift buckets of cement that weighed several hundred pounds.) When the cement was cured he removed the form. He shaved the ends of the gate until it would close to within a quarter inch of the gate frame opening and changed its appearance to conceal that it was man-made stone. Construction was complete.



2-1-6 Overwhelming evidence
Coral Castle presents our eyes with natural stones. This hypothesis claims that they are man made. To settle the contest, overwhelming evidence is needed. Ed's perfect round eight-foot hole is the deception within the gate itself that trips it and confirms that it is man-made stone. The overwhelming evidence is the absence of stone---a hole. The Coral Castle website reports that a laser-guided drill bit would be needed to achieve the level of precision of this hole, but Ed only had hand tools. Therefore, he had no means to drill a perfect hole, yet there it is. If its diameter was a tiny fraction too small, then the shaft wouldn't pass through and if a tiny fraction too large, then the precision wouldn't rival that of a hole drilled by a laser-guided drill bit.

To achieve perfect balance of the gate, the shaft must be sturdy, must be mounted perfectly vertical, and must be perfectly matched to the hole. That is all. These requirements for perfect balance confirm that information provided about the hole by the Coral Castle website is accurate.

Some websites report that the hole passes through the exact center of gravity of the gate, and no one has been able to discover how Ed accomplished this amazing feat on this odd-shaped block of stone. The answer is that he probably didn't because it's an unnecessary plurality. If he did, then it was by pure chance. Center of gravity is only important to balance of objects that are supported only in the horizontal plane such as Ed's rocking chairs. It has no effect upon the gate's balance because the gate is supported in both the horizontal and vertical planes. The truck bearing supports the gate from beneath in the horizontal plane, and the sturdiness of the perfectly vertical shaft supports it in the vertical plane and prevents it from toppling or listing irrespective of weight distribution around it or people pushing on it.

To clarify the previous paragraph, imagine a door in your home that is supported with one long hinge that runs the full length of the door. There is a matching hinge pin. The exact center of gravity of the door is located somewhere near its center, but the hinge is located at its edge. Because the hinge is sturdy, vertical, and the hinge pin perfectly matches the hinge, the door opens easily, is perfectly balanced, and stays wherever it is placed regardless that all of its weight is distributed on one side of the hinge. If a saw was used to remove an arbitrarily large segment of the door, the location of the center of gravity would change, but the segment that remained attached to the hinge still would be perfectly balanced. Thus, once the nine-ton gate was initially balanced, Ed could shave the ends so it would close within a quarter inch on either side of the frame and make any other changes he deemed necessary with no concern for balance.

State-of-the-art adhesives were used during gate repair to assure that the remounted gate would hold a perfectly-vertically-aligned position, but the gate never again worked as well as it did before it broke. The only means to explain how Ed was able to accomplish that which six men and a 50-ton crane could not is that he assembled the gate in a manner that was different from the one used by the six men.

In sub-subsection 2-1-5 where construction of the gate is described, the shaft was easily mounted perfectly vertical as there was no weight on it when it was mounted. Ed could take all the time he needed to assure himself that the shaft was correctly mounted. Ancient cement adds no plurality for mounting the shaft with an 18,000 pound block of stone surrounding it whereas every theory based upon natural stone must add one. And, no hole was drilled. The liquid cement merely surrounded the shaft, closed tight against it, and cured. When the shaft was removed during gate repair, Mother Nature's perfect round eight-foot hole was discovered, and a laser-guided drill bit couldn't do a better job. Again, ancient cement adds no plurality for drilling a perfect eight-foot hole using only hand tools whereas every theory based upon natural stone must add one.

Steps 1 and 2 are complete. What remains to complete step 3 is to exclude undiscovered entities, the first two items on the list in sub-subsection 2-1-2.



2-1-7 Undiscovered entities
An undiscovered entity is something that might exist but can't be demonstrated. It is found in our modern science fiction or our lore and myths of the past. In the case of megalith construction all undiscovered entities fall into one of two categories. The first is intelligent passive beings. The second is unintelligent active forces and devices. Both categories comprise synthesized ideas to engineer megaliths.

Ancient man had vastly less education than Ed who had vastly less education than modern man, yet the least educated solved the problem while the most educated failed. This indicates that education plays no role in solving the problem, and only two positions are available to remove it as a factor. Either something is preventing the problem from being solved regardless of education, or modern man does not have enough education to solve the problem. Every theory must take one of these two positions to explain the failure of modern man. Ancient cement takes the former position.

The first category of undiscovered entities includes aliens, time travelers, and Merlin the Magician. (Note: Ancient cement is a deceptive magic trick not unlike something Merlin might do.) These are intelligent beings who would have performed the most difficult or all of the work for Ed (and ancient man). They are passive because we can't pursue them. We must wait for them to reveal themselves. Those who choose members of this category are taking the position that our inability to pursue them is preventing the problem from being solved. Intelligent passive beings is the simplest theory possible as nothing could be simpler than someone else doing the work, and all parts of the problem are addressed. Parsimony states that intelligent passive beings has first priority to be studied. There is evidence to support the existence of a number of intelligent passive beings, but there is no evidence that they built or assisted building any megalith. Evidence must be speculated if they are to build megaliths, and none can be demonstrated. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are incomplete for this category as it applies to megalith construction.

The second category of undiscovered entities includes energy grids, magnetics, power from the Bermuda Triangle, secrets of Atlantis, anti-gravity machines, and transporter beams. (Note: Ancient cement uses the same operating principle as transporter beams which is to disintegrate, transport to the desired coordinates, and reassemble.) These are forces and devices that have no intelligence. Ed (and ancient man) would have been required to apply his own intelligence to discover or invent and use them. These additional pluralities make them more complex than intelligent passive beings. Those who choose members of this category are taking the position that modern man does not have enough education to solve the problem. Since modern man has vastly more education than ancient man and Ed, hypotheses in this category are grounded in unsound reasoning. Nevertheless, members of this category can be actively pursued, but as we have no idea how complicated they will be or what Ed would have needed to invent or discover and use them, we can't prove whether they were used until we have them. If members of this category were within Ed's (and ancient man's) reach to invent or discover them, then unintelligent active forces and devices is the next simplest theory for Ed and ancient man to use. Parsimony states that this is the next theory to study. There is evidence to support the existence of a number of unintelligent active devices and forces, but no evidence has ever been found that indicates any of them were used in construction of any megalith, and no member of this category has been demonstrated at the level necessary for them to participate. The few devices that can be demonstrated at some level require substantial infrastructure to support them such as megawatts of power or supercooled temperatures. When pluralities of infrastructure are added, device theories quickly become complex and lose their status as the next simplest theory. Force theories that do not require infrastructure keep their simplicity, but no force theory has been demonstrated at the level necessary to participate. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are incomplete for this category as it applies to megalith construction.

We can't prove that undiscovered entities don't exist, but we don't have them now. Because we can't prove they don't exist they can't be permanently excluded. Because we don't have them now, they can be temporarily excluded. Undiscovered entities have a rain check and are temporarily excluded until they are discovered, invented, or reveal themselves and complete steps 2, 3, and 4 for megalith construction.

Should intelligent passive beings appear, admit they helped Ed build Coral Castle, and demonstrate, then all steps will have been completed, and the ancient cement hypothesis will be excluded. At that time we will learn why they wanted to help Ed, and during the demonstration we will learn why it took them 28 years to build Coral Castle. We will ask them why Ed built large hoists that can't be used as shown in the photographs. We will ask them if they also built the pyramids. If their answer is, “What's a pyramid?”, then we must wait for other intelligent passive beings to reveal themselves, admit they built the pyramids, and demonstrate.

No claim is made that intelligent passive beings don't exist. The only claim made is that they didn't construct megaliths. They are an unnecessary plurality when a natural means is available. If ancient cement was available to Ed and ancient man, then they wouldn't also need assistance from aliens.

When unintelligent active devices or forces are demonstrated that are capable of building the nine-ton gate and if evidence can be found that shows Ed (and ancient man) invented or discovered them, then all steps will have been completed, and the ancient cement hypothesis will be excluded because Ed would have used them and saved himself a lot of work. If he had these devices or forces, however, then we'll have no explanation of how he drilled the perfect hole in the gate because these devices and forces are focused on solving the lifting part of the problem while ignoring all other parts. Drilling is an additional plurality for these theories. We'll have no explanation for why Ed felt the need to deceive us by building large hoists that are unusable as shown in the photographs. We'll have no explanation for him deceiving the people who wrote the affidavits. We'll have no explanation how he made a number of chairs with no tool marks on them. This is another plurality for these theories. We'll have no explanation for why he didn't patent or offer to reveal his technology for an enormous sum instead of spending 28 years at hard labor. We'll have no explanation for why he averaged one ton per day or less when reconstructing the walls and tower of Coral Castle in Homestead following the move from its original location in Florida City. The walls and tower contain no special shaped blocks of stone that require extensive carving. If Ed's technology was anti-gravity and his claim to know the secrets of the ancient builders is true, then we'll have no explanation how ancient men living in different centuries in different parts of the globe and Ed were all able to discover or invent that which has eluded millions of scientists throughout the centuries including Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking. We'll have no explanation how all of our ancestors all over the globe were able to keep such a significant discovery a secret or why they would want to. There are many flaws in this position, thus unintelligent active devices and forces do not offer satisfying explanation for megalith construction.

No claim is made that unintelligent active devices and forces don't exist. The only claim made is that they weren't used to construct megaliths. They are an unnecessary plurality when a natural means is available. Ancient man and Ed didn't need both ancient cement and these devices or forces.

Temporary exclusion is both fair and essential. There was a time when it was thought that Earth stood still at the center of the Universe. In the early part of the sixteenth century Mikolaj Kopernik's verifiable mathematical calculations proved that Earth orbits the Sun and that the center of the Universe is located somewhere near the Sun. Later it was discovered that Earth is located in an obscure part of an obscure galaxy that is a vast distance from the center of the Universe. Science is forever at risk of change from future discovery. When future discoveries are made that require old ideas to be replaced, they will be replaced. Meanwhile it is traditional and customary that science accepts that which works best until something better is available. Without temporary exclusion and this tradition, science would become a permanent hostage of the future, and the concept of proof would be meaningless.



2-1-8 Substitutes
Ed used deception to construct Coral Castle. We couldn't see him physically working. Neither could we see ancient man physically working. With assistance from Mother Nature, ancient man had the capability to substitute unintentional deception for Ed's deliberate deception. Stonehenge is a good example of how thousands of years of exposure to the elements would assist unintentional deception. Because ancient man wasn't trying to deceive us, it wasn't necessary for him to know how to make man-made stones appear the same as natural stones. Mother Nature took care of that for him. In this case, the ancient cement theory has only two pluralities. Ancient man only needed to know how to make ancient cement and have woodworking skills to make forms. If he could do this, then all of his construction problems would have been solved. It will be difficult for any demonstrable theory to tie or best two pluralities.

Evidence (second question and answer) has been found in prehistoric peat bogs that proves ancient man was highly skilled in timber work. He didn't have saws and drills to make forms, but he had the capability to substitute hand-made ropes and woodworking skills.

Limestone is used in the casing of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Limestone is a non-clastic sedimentary rock formed from deposits of coral reefs. Coral stone and limestone are close relatives. Portland cement, patented in 1824 by a British stonemason, accounts for 95 percent of all cement manufactured today. Limestone is the source of calcium carbonate used for manufacturing Portland cement. Ancient man had an appropriate substitute for coral stone.



2-1-9 Smoking gun
Following undiscovered entities, ancient cement is the next simplest theory. It offers complete and satisfying explanation. Ed would have known that ancient man had skills, hand tools, and natural resources comparable to his own. This explains how he could claim to know how ancient man raised huge blocks of stone using only primitive tools. In fact, ancient cement itself is a primitive tool because modern chemical engineers have a nickname. They're known as toolmakers. Since ancient cement is the simplest theory that is fully within Ed's (and ancient man's) capability, is the only theory based upon reverse engineering, is the only theory that does not speculate any evidence, does not require that Ed (and ancient man) have more knowledge about physics than every scientist who ever worked on these problems, is demonstrable, is deceptive, explains why he wouldn't let us see him working, allows him to work in the dark in relative safety, is the only theory that explains why he built hoists that are unusable as depicted, explains how he built chairs with no tool marks on them, explains why he didn't patent his technology, explains why he averaged one ton per day or less when reconstructing Coral Castle following the move from Florida City to Homestead, and is the only theory that meets every requirement of construction of the nine-ton gate by a lone stonemason with woodworking skills who only uses hand tools, a truck bearing, a shaft, and natural resources, any remaining opposing hypotheses are permanently excluded. By default they would be unable to compete with the elegant simplicity of ancient cement and all the evidence that supports it. Steps 1, 2, and 3 are complete.

Gate construction by one stonemason has been proved feasible, and step 3 has been completed. Together they automatically complete step 4. All steps are complete for proof of the ancient cement concept having been used to construct Coral Castle's nine-ton gate. Because every creation at Coral Castle can be constructed using ancient cement, Coral Castle construction is proved.

Proof of Coral Castle construction, however, does not prove that Ed knew how the pyramids were constructed nor does it prove that any other megaliths were constructed with ancient cement. Each megalith must be individually reverse engineered to prove its construction. What Coral Castle proves is that man-made stone can be made that appears indistinguishable to our senses from natural stone and that stones can be disassembled and reassembled using a simple process that doesn't require machinery or rotary kilns like those used in modern cement manufacture.

Every task Ed had to perform was studied and verified. A task is something that if Ed couldn't do it, then he couldn't build Coral Castle. For example, if he couldn't make chairs with no tool marks, then he couldn't build Coral Castle because those chairs are part of it. Therefore, one of Ed's tasks is that he must be able to make chairs that have no toolmarks.

The tasks are the requirements for building Coral Castle. They can be determined by examining the whole output which is Coral Castle to determine what he needed to do to build Coral Castle. He had to quarry, lift, and transport building material, make a perfect hole, mount and balance a gate, make chairs with no tool marks, et al.

Every input Ed had available also was studied and verified. Inputs are his skills, estimated physical capabilities, hand tools, natural resources, hoists, and anything else found on the grounds of Coral Castle that might have been used such as his cooker and well.

After the requirements and all inputs were studied and verified, the theory became the simplest conceptual process needed to convert the valid inputs into the output that offered the most complete and satisfying explanation. Because the theory was derived from examination and analysis of all evidence, it is the evidence that determined the theory. This document is only a record of my observations and the conclusion drawn that best fits all of the evidence. Therefore, Coral Castle is an unbiased smoking gun, and the obstacle of not having proved models to support lifting and precision construction at the pyramids is removed.

Coral Castle presents a new set of proved models for all four events of the construction phase, and the new models are potentially applicable at all unsolved megaliths. One that is particularly interesting is the Temple of Jupiter. Whereas Coral Castle's nine-ton gate represents extreme complexity, the Temple of Jupiter's Trilithon represents extreme weight.



3 The Temple of Jupiter
The Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Lebanon is located a few hundred miles northeast of the Egyptian pyramids. It is the home of the world champion heavyweights. This site has 27 blocks of limestone that are unequaled in weight anywhere in the world. The lightest of the 27 weighs in excess of 300 metric tons. A group of three are known as “The Trilithon”. Each member of the Trilithon weighs in excess of 800 metric tons. The Trilithon contains the heaviest stones ever lifted by ancient man. They are part of precision construction and rest atop supporting structure about 20 feet above ground.

The Temple of Jupiter has two sections. One is the Temple that has easily-identifiable Roman architecture, and the other is the retaining wall that contains the Trilithon. Whether the Romans built the retaining wall is uncertain. There is some evidence to suggest that it may have been built much earlier. Both possibilities are considered.

The crane that NASA uses to lift the space shuttle is designed to handle 430 tons. If the Trilithon comprises natural blocks of limestone, then ancient man could do something without machines or with only ancient Roman machines that would require us to use a machine with twice the capacity of NASA's crane. Natural stone forces us to conclude that those who raised the Trilithon had knowledge about physics of lifting that we don't because we can't lift natural stones of that weight using only known ancient Roman machines or less.

It is expected that each generation as a whole has more knowledge than all of its ancestor generations. It is a timeline violation (an error in reasoning that inverts the natural progression of knowledge) to claim that ancient man everywhere had knowledge about lifting and precisely placing the Trilithon that we don't. This isn't a discussion about an obscure localized craft that was known only to a particular culture. Laws of physics are global in scope, and they were used by ancient man everywhere. While lay persons may not be concerned about timeline violations, scholars and scientists are. They want to avoid them.

The timeline violation caused by natural stone presents a daunting challenge to scholars and scientists. The position favored by most of them is that ancient man built the Trilithon himself, he used a simple technology, he used known laws of physics, and the stones are natural. To avoid the timeline violation, owners of theories that comply with these specifications must do two things. First, a question must be answered. It is, Since we know more about known laws of physics than ancient man, what is preventing us from discovering his simple technology? Natural stones aren't deceptive, so that can't be the answer. Two possibile answers are that the evidence hasn't been found, or it has been destroyed. If the evidence has been destroyed, then these theories can never complete step 2. If it's only that the evidence hasn't been found, then until it is found these theories can't complete step 2. Second, owners must demonstrate the feasibility of their theories to participate. If that can't be done, then these theories can't complete step 4.

These theories are fixed at the beginning because they are based upon engineering. They are inflexible which leaves only two options for their owners. Owners must find supporting evidence and demonstrate feasibility, or they must admit that their theories are wrong. If owners are successful finding evidence and demonstrating feasibility, then a contest would ensue between the successful theories and ancient cement. In that case it would become necessary to determine which theory offers better explanation and has stronger supporting evidence. If owners are unsuccessful and admit their theories are wrong, then they are free to make corrections and choose a new position. Four options are available. The first is to abandon the idea that ancient man built the Trilithon himself. If that option is chosen, then they will own an intelligent-passive-beings theory that is temporarily excluded. The second option is to abandon simple technology. If that option is chosen, then they'll own another theory that contains a timeline violation that will need to be avoided. The third option is to abandon known laws of physics. If that option is chosen, then they'll own an unintelligent active force or device theory that also contains a timeline violation and has been temporarily excluded. The fourth option is to abandon natural stones. If that option is chosen, then they'll own a man-made-stone theory with proved models to support it.

Ancient cement avoids the timeline violation because it is fully capable of participating in construction of the Trilithon. It is packaged as a simple technology that doesn't use machines, uses known laws of physics, and comes with an explanation of why we've been unable to discover it. There is a great deal of supporting evidence for ancient cement, but the irrefutable overwhelming evidence will be found by examining the internal structure of the stones. The natural progression of knowledge is maintained because our knowledge of the physics of lifting has advanced from ancient times as would be expected. Today we can lift and precisely place far more cement than ancient man by using machines that have far less capability than NASA's crane. Hoover Dam is proof.

The advantage of ancient cement is that it allows each worker to function independently of other workers. Natural blocks of stone require that work be performed as a synchronized team. It has been estimated by scientists that the strength of 25,000 men would be required to lift the Trilithon, yet there is no means for that many men to get close to the stone being lifted all at the same time. Based upon Ed's largest stone that weighs 30 tons and the idea that the Trilithon is made of ancient cement, then the strength of 30 men is all that would be required. As was shown earlier, parsimony states that 30 has priority to be studied before 25,000.

Because ancient cement is the simplest theory for construction of the Trilithon that is supported by proved models and is capable of excluding all opposing theories by virtue of being the only theory that can perform a full-scale demonstration, science should accept that the Trilithon is man-made stone until something better is available. Ancient cement hasn't been accepted because the quarry contains a block of stone that seems to exclude it.



3-1 Confusion in the quarry
The quarry that is located a few hundred meters from the Temple of Jupiter contains the Stone of the South, a block of limestone that weighs in excess of a metric kiloton. In fact, it is reputed to weigh about 10 percent more than all the stones at Coral Castle or approximately 2.4 million pounds. Websites report that it remains attached to the bedrock. Therefore, it could be a natural block of limestone---or not. If website reporting is correct, then this stone only has characteristics of an incomplete quarrying event. Quarrying is the first event in the construction phase. If the ancient cement theory is to be excluded at the Temple of Jupiter, then it must be proved that this stone would have been transported, lifted, and precisely placed as a whole natural block of limestone.

It is a powerful temptation to see the stone in the quarry, see the Trilithon as evidence, make the mental connection, and speculate that this stone would have been dragged to the retaining wall and lifted into place. It may seem logical that this must be the correct scenario, but hypothesis, evidence, exclusion, and demonstration are required for proof. Without proof, there is only speculation. Since the stone in the quarry hasn't been dragged nor lifted nor can it be demonstrated feasible to do so, there is no possibility of completing step 4. Speculating the drag and lift scenario is reasoning forward in an attempt to engineer the retaining wall by taking this stone from event 1 to event 4, but getting to the end result is not what is needed. What is needed is to get to the beginning. We want to reason backwards to take this stone from event 1 to event 0 (its beginning).

"I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation."---"A Study In Scarlet"---Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

To show that there are other possible scenarios for this stone, an opposing scenario based upon fixed evidence is that ancient man planned to leave this stone exactly where it remains. Supporting evidence is its odd features.



Figure 2: Stone of the South

This stone has no working room beneath it at the lower end. How could it be carved squarely along the bottom if it is on the ground and still attached to the bedrock? This question makes website reporting suspect. Another odd feature is that it tilts such that it must be dragged uphill which makes dragging far more difficult. It makes no sense for ancient man to create this additional hardship for himself. It could be speculated that this stone is man made and was part of new construction that fell into a sinkhole due to its massive weight. That made it unusable, thus it was abandoned. Supporting evidence is that there are other stones nearby that are standing vertical. They suggest that new construction was underway.

While there are speculated scenarios for dragging and lifting based upon facts not in evidence, there are speculated scenarios against dragging and lifting based upon facts in evidence. In both cases, the scenarios are opinions---not proof. Because the nature and purpose of the stones in the quarry are uncertain, and as we can learn nothing about lifting and precisely placing stones by studying stones that haven't been lifted and precisely placed, all stones in the quarry must be studied as a separate problem.

To clarify the previous paragraph, please recall that confusion is being minimized by studying stones that have event 3 and event 4 rows of characteristics of interest while ignoring stones that don't have them. The stones in the quarry don't have them, and they are being ignored for two reasons. The first is that reverse engineering does not speculate evidence. If we want to study event 3 and event 4, then to avoid speculation we must use only stones that have those characteristics. The second reason is that stones that only have event 1 and event 2 characteristics are subject to uncertainty and confusion. The source of confusion is models that already exist for the first two events (quarrying and transporting) that are different from the models supplied by Coral Castle.

Several megaliths with similar event 1 and event 2 characteristics have been proved. One is Easter Island. Its statues were carved in the quarry then dragged a few miles to their present location on rollers made of trees where they were set in place. But, no stones at Easter Island have been lifted atop supporting structure nor is there any precision placement of one stone adjacent to another. Each statue stands apart from the others. With two distinct sets of models for the first two events of the construction phase, one from Easter Island based upon natural stone (cut and drag) and the other from Coral Castle based upon man-made stone (crush and carry), there is no means to be certain which set of models is correct for the stones in the Temple of Jupiter's quarry by observing them with the unaided eye. They must be tested and analyzed to make the determination. By ignoring them and choosing only stones that have been lifted and precisely placed, we can be certain that the proved models supplied by Coral Castle are correct for the Trilithon as those are the only models capable of lifting and precisely placing it. Thus, confusion is eliminated.



4 Scientist's Pyramid Construction Proof
4-1 First obstacle removed
To settle the contest at ancient megaliths, scientific equipment, tests, and measurements must be used to analyze the stones. Examining the internal structure of the stones is the only means available to irrefutably prove whether any arbitrary stone is natural or man made. Every unsolved ancient megalith is a potential candidate for ancient cement because the cut and drag models have failed to produce a provable theory for lifting and precision construction. All except the pyramids await testing. Several decades ago before quarries were closed and the pyramids made inaccessible, they were reverse engineered, tested, analyzed, and proved that they are constructed with man-made stone, but the proof was rejected. This issue will be addressed in the next subsection.

Professor Joseph Davidovits is the scientist who solved the Egyptian pyramids and gave us proof of their construction. He is a world-renowned award-winning expert in ancient cements of which there are many varieties. He is a registered Egyptologist who holds many University degrees and a lifetime of experience in chemical engineering. The battery of tests he performed on the pyramid casing stones included levelness measurements, density tests, chemical analysis, and x-ray diffraction spectrum analysis. The latter three test the internal structure of the stones. The test results proved that they are man made. He has the data available for all to see, and he discovered the specific formula used to create the casing stones of the Great pyramid. He has a web site that contains a web page from which a video can be downloaded that demonstrates the simple process that ancient Egyptians used to make multi-ton blocks of limestone concrete, and it shows how they controlled texture.

Ed guessed correctly when he said that he knew the secrets of construction of the pyramids, but it couldn't have been more than a guess because Ed didn't have access nor skills, permission, and equipment to test and reverse engineer the pyramids. Coral Castle represents Ed's synthesized idea of how the pyramids were constructed. Professor Davidovits, however, tested and reverse engineered the pyramids. He provides the equivalent of the technical ballistics report that validates Ed's claim. It confirms that Ed's belief that man-made stone was used to construct the pyramids was indeed correct.



4-2 Closing Argument
Professor Davidovits has accumulated enough high quality technical, physical, mathematical, historical, linguistic, and logical evidence to fill his published book with hundreds of pages, but the thought may cross our minds that he is biased just as every scientist is biased for his or her own work. Accepted. There is equality of bias for one's own work. Why do it if you don't believe in it? But, it makes no sense for a reputable scientist to present evidence collected from scientific tests and measurements unless it is accurate because the tests could be repeated by others and inaccuracies discovered.

Ancient cement is the only theory based upon examination and analysis of all evidence. It is the only theory that is supported by a second set of models that were independently proved without bias. It is the only theory that commits no timeline violations anywhere. Because ancient cement is the simplest demonstrable theory that solves every problem of construction of every unsolved ancient megalith, parsimony states that it has priority to be studied in detail everywhere before any other theory.

Establishing correct models must be done first as use of incorrect models will prevent the construction of any arbitrary unsolved megalith from being proved. Since there can be only two sets of models, a set for natural stone and a set for man-made stone, it reduces to answering one question. Are the stones natural? Yes or No. An accurate answer is needed for each different type of building material used at each unsolved megalith. No claim is made that every building material at every unsolved megalith will be ancient cement. The only claim made is that accurate answers are needed if we are to make progress toward proving ancient megalith construction. Until we have them, it remains probable according to parsimony that we're spinning our wheels and going nowhere.

Ancient cement is not a new theory. Likely it has always been with us. Obviously, Ed conceived it a long time ago, and many others have as evidenced by various media, television programs (BBC science series Connections, the Trigger Effect episode), websites, and forums that discuss it sincerely, with subtlety, or with humor. But, it remained obscure amidst the many other theories because technical capability required to prove it didn't exist until a few decades ago. When appropriate scientific equipment and tests were invented, they required skills not expected of archaeologists. Professor Davidovits possessed the proper skills and was granted permission to test the Egyptian pyramids, but the proof contained within his technical data was unexpected and disturbing. The data stood against the status quo of thousands of years of history and tradition that is accustomed to synthesizing ideas to find ways to build pyramids using natural stone. Ancient cement was rejected based upon argument rather than evaluation of test results data. The rejection is invalid because it ignores part of the evidence. The part that our eyes can't see.

The correct means to reject or accept Professor Davidovits's theory is to have independent verification of his work, but this wasn't done. Why not? After he presented his theory, quarries were closed and the pyramids placed off limits thus preventing any opportunity for further reverse engineering and confirmation of his work. The window of opportunity that was open ever so briefly now is closed.

Four puzzling questions are:

Why was a credible and highly reputable scientist's proof rejected when it was based upon results of repeatable and verifiable scientific tests and measurements that went far beyond what the unaided eye could detect and when volumes of other high-quality supporting evidence was available?


Why do we continue to engineer status-quo solutions when thousands of years of failure have shown us that this will not supply us with the answer?


Why does science ignore the principle of parsimony and fail to study the simplest demonstrable theory that offers full and satisfying explanation?


In this special case why does science break tradition, allow itself to be held hostage by the future, and not accept the proof that works best until such time as something better is available?

This paragraph has been changed as a result of recent events that overshadow the need to answer these questions immediately. A number of scientists believe that this is the correct theory. Their tireless efforts in defending it, an example of which is found here, have paid off. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities approved a new three-year study beginning in June 2005 to determine once and for all whether stones in the pyramids are natural or man made. Regardless whether they are found to be natural, man made, or a mix of both types, progress toward determining the correct model(s) is being made. This is a link to the source of that information. The last line of the second paragraph of that web page shows that the scientists involved in the new study used complex suspects for their initial evidence.

The Temple of Jupiter has been shown to be a prime candidate for testing and analysis. The Stonehenge Sarcen Circle also is a prime candidate because, as is true at many megaliths, the soil there is rich in calcium carbonate. There are simple ways to get calcium into sand to make sandstone which is the building material used in the Sarcen Circle. Children use calcium to make sandstone in primary-school science classes. They also use magnesium which is the other component of hard water.

The Bluestones at Stonehenge have not been lifted atop supporting structure and were placed at Stonehenge several centuries before the Sarcen Circle. They do not have the characteristics of interest, are like the stones in the quarry at the Temple of Jupiter, and must be studied as a separate problem. Being studied as a separate problem, however, does not mean that the Bluestones couldn't be man made. The Bluestones were set in place by a group of people known as Beaker Folk due to the large amounts of pottery discovered near Stonehenge. Potters are intimately familiar with change of state of matter and a liquid holds the shape of its container. Therefore, the Bluestones could be man made, but they do not fall within the context of the proof provided by this article and are being ignored.

The tiers of the pyramids and the lintels of the Stonehenge Sarcen Circle are documented by scientists as being extraordinarily level. No one can determine how ancient man was able to accomplish this extraordinary feat. Extreme levelness is a common factor at many unsolved megaliths. One television program (The History Channel series, Modern Marvels, the Machu Picchu episode) mentions the beautiful level terraces at Machu Picchu. Levelness is an especially amazing feat for ancient man to accomplish using natural stone at Stonehenge because it is built upon sloping ground. Levelness, however, is trivial for ancient man to accomplish on sloping ground if he used ancient cement because there is another fundamental principle of science: A liquid seeks its own level. For example, notice that in a glass on a table that has been partially filled with water that the surface of the water is level. If the glass is tilted, the surface of the water stays level. Ancient cement adds no plurality for achieving extraordinary levelness whereas every theory based upon natural stone must add one.

Ancient cement has potential candidates everywhere, a smoking gun acquired by reverse engineering, a matching ballistics report acquired by reverse engineering, and huge amounts of high quality evidence acquired by Professor Davidovits. It has only two pluralities at ancient megaliths, and it relies upon fundamental scientific principles that require no calculations and that can be observed by anyone. These principles are fully within reach of ancient man, and it should not be difficult to imagine that stone-age man knew about the properties of limestone, sandstone, and other common stones, especially since it is known that he was smelting copper ore, which is relatively rare, two thousand years before the pyramids were built. Ancient cement isn't a theory. It has been proved that it was used in the pyramids and Coral Castle. Ancient cement is a twice-proved fact.



FAQ
How did Ed move Coral Castle from Florida City to Homestead?
Ed never let anyone see anything he didn't want seen, and it has already been proved that he had no means to lift his creations all at once. Because he has already been caught in a number of deceptions, it is certain that the move was another. The Internet, however, does not provide enough evidence to conclusively prove how it was accomplished. A speculated scenario is forced. My speculation is that Ed made hollow dummies of a few of his creations by making wooden forms and coating them with a thin layer of ancient cement. He had some small hoists that would have been more maneuverable than the large hoists. They could have been used to lift the dummies onto the open trailer that he used for transport. During relocation, movement of the trailer would have prevented anyone having a chance at close inspection. As there was no reason to suspect that the huge creations weren't real, no one would have wanted a close inspection. It seems likely that Ed rode with the tractor to intercept anyone who came too close and to remove the dummies at the Homestead location. Following the move, witnesses reported that they saw exactly what Ed wanted them to see, and his credibility was greatly enhanced.

It is widely reported that Ed brought his 100 tons of carvings with him when he moved. The photograph below of the original site in Florida City following the move doesn't confirm that. Instead, it shows that a substantial number were abandoned. Why leave these behind and repeat this work? Ed didn't move them because he couldn't. If he destroyed some of the creations that supposedly were moved and rebuilt them at the Homestead site, it would seem as though he moved them, and we would be none the wiser.


Figure 3: Original Florida City Site

Two creations in this photograph that were rebuilt are the Florida Table and bench located at the right edge near the center. The current Florida Table whose photograph is shown here is substantially different, and the bench has been replaced with chairs. We might think that Ed had to rebuild the Florida table because the one in the photograph above is a misrepresentation of the State. The panhandle is to the right with respect to the peninsula when it should be to the left. It's obvious that Ed who was so meticulous about detail made a mistake here. Not likely. Parsimony states that there is a much simpler theory to be studied first. It is that the person who printed the photograph used the reverse side of the negative. This is another example of opposites and deception.

Long ago this site was bulldozed to make way for new development. The only remaining means to prove or disprove Ed's move would be to acquire photographs of the original Coral Castle while it was in operation that present close-up details of the 100 tons of carvings that were reported to have been moved. The detailed markings in the photographs would be like fingerprints. They could be compared with detailed markings on the objects at the current location to determine whether they were moved. Until the means to accomplish the move can be proved, it must be ignored. Proof is needed before it can be used to support ancient cement or to deny it. Meanwhile, proof of construction of the nine-ton gate with its characteristics of interest stands as proof of the general concept used in Coral Castle construction, and a few scientific tests can provide an alternate means to confirm or to deny it. A carpenters level placed on the flat roof of Ed's living quarters would be non destructive, inexpensive, almost effortless, and a good place to start. Acquiring permission is the obstacle.

Copyright by Jim Solley
All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.

Source: Website of Jim Solley

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"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Originally posted by Sassalicious:
That's intriguing. I think I'll read it when I'm not drunk.

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