https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/06/the-enigma-of-the-gigantic-basin-in-the-matarrubilla-dolmen-solved-transported-by-boat-and-over-1000-years-older-than-the-tholos-that-houses-it/
Well there you go...
What always rather amuses me is the surprise of modern archaeologists and historians that our ancestors were competent :)
We know they quarried the block. We know they could shape it. We know they had to have the skills and manpower to move it. Why is their ability to drag it onto a pretty large raft such a surprise. After all, if you build the raft, drag the block onto it, get it across the watercourse, drag the block off it, the raft still remains, probably as an excellent source of building timber. 8)
:)
To me the mystery would be 'Why did they create this curious piece of architecture/sculpture in the first place?' Quite happy that folks could shift stuff about.
bathroom extension? :P
Ancestral peoples were often smarter than many more modern types. I was once told about a group of employees from South African Breweries who decided to enter the Tugela River Raft Race. They constructed their raft by welding together some old beer casks and scrap stainless steel angle iron.
Having duly finished and painted the whole contraption in company colours, one of them decided to lift a corner to see how heavy it felt - somethng approximated by his utterance of "Oooh, f**k!" Checking the buoyancy with an engineer resulted in a few more kegs being added to the design, which now required a crane to lift it onto a truck.
At the race start line, the raft was levered off its truck bed into the river, splintering a couple of competitors' rafts in the process. The crew boarded, the starting pistol fired and everyone set off downstream. Steering proved to be nigh impossible, but largely irrelevant. Collisions with rocks did little beyond scratching the paintwork. Collisions with after rafts generally resulted in the latter sinking, much to the dismay of the occupants who now had to contend with the crocs who inhabit the river.
By the finish line, our heroes had surpassed all opposition. They duly collected their trophy and proceeded to enjoy the barbeque and beer. As they were leaving a race steward informed them that they needed to take away their raft. However, not having a suitable crane to hand, our intrepid crew instead chose to undo the mooring ropes and push the raft into midstream. Eventually, of course, it reached the Indian Ocean where, being constructed entirely from stainless steel, it can probably still be found today, creating a hazard for any passing vessel.
:-[
;D