Rajaraja Chola I built the great temple at Thanjavur out of granite, in a region that has none, on a floodplain with no quarry for miles. The vimana rises thirteen diminishing storeys and is capped by a monolithic block estimated at eighty tonnes. How that block reached the summit is still argued over; the popular account of a six-kilometre earthen ramp has never been demonstrated. The whole tower is laid dry, interlocking stone with no mortar, and it has stood through earthquakes for a thousand years.
See Brihadeeswarar Temple on the globe
Opens with the Sacred Geometry lens on, so you can see what it connects to.
Notable facts
- An estimated 80-tonne capstone sits at the top of a 66-metre tower, and no one has proved how it got there.
- Built in roughly seven years, from granite that had to be transported to the site.
- Laid dry throughout: interlocking blocks, no mortar, no steel.
Through the theories
How each theory reads Brihadeeswarar Temple. Follow a theory to see its verdict and every other site it claims.
Sacred GeometryA spectrum
Pure pyramidal proportion carried through thirteen storeys without a correction, in a material that punishes error.
Lost WorldRejected by mainstream
A standard entry in lost-technology lists, on the strength of the capstone alone.
