30-Foot Kite Used to Raise Obelisk
By ANDREW BRIDGES
AP Science Writer
LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — Researchers used a mammoth kite Saturday to set a
6,900-pound obelisk upright, a feat they say demonstrates that ancient
Egyptians may have harnessed the wind to move even the most massive of
stones.
It took two tries but less than five minutes before the reinforced concrete
obelisk, which had been prone on the ground, was raised by the tug of a
brightly colored parachute modified to fly like a kite in the stiff Mojave
Desert wind.
``It's a heck of a lot easier lifting it with the wind than it is pushing it
or pulling it,'' said Maureen Clemmons, a Reseda, Calif., business consultant
who has spent the last four years spearheading the project.
The feat required just two people to fly the 30-foot kite, which provided an
estimated 400 pounds of thrust as it danced in the 14-16 mph wind. A complex
system of pulleys provided enough mechanical assistance to make the task
possible.
Clemmons, 44, said the idea for using wind power to move heavy objects came
to her in 1997 after she read a magazine article about modern efforts to
replicate how experts believe ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Stones
used in the pyramids weighed about 5,000 pounds.
``I was looking at this picture, all these guys pushing, pulling, sweating,
the ramps and the sand, and nothing worked,'' said Clemmons, who has spent
$30,000 on the project. ``There had to be another way.''
Clemmons was inspired by tales of Viking ships sailing across land on log
rollers, using wind power. In 1999, she brought her idea to the California
Institute of Technology, where a small group took on the project as an
engineering challenge.
``You can lift up any weight if you provide the right kite size,'' said Mory
Gharib, a professor of aeronautics at Caltech, who has worked with Clemmons
for three years perfecting the concept.
Clemmons began with a child's kite and a foot-high toy obelisk and has
gradually scaled upward. Saturday marked the fourth time her team has used
wind to lift the 6,900-pound version. Eventually, they hope to lift a
20,000-pound obelisk.
Kite experts and Egyptologists are skeptical.
``We just do not believe she's got a prayer. It's just not logical. It
doesn't bear the scrutiny of people who know kites,'' said Valerie Govig, the
publisher and editor of Kite Lines magazine, which recently ceased
publication.
Experts in Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York added
through publicist Egle Zygas that the concept of kite-flying pyramid builders
is ``highly unlikely.''
But Clemmons — who maintains ancient paintings and reliefs suggest the
Egyptians flew kites — remains a firm believer in wind power.
``How many people does it take to pull an oak tree out of the ground? One
gust of wind can pull it out by its roots,'' Clemmons said.
———
On the Net:
http://www.fdsmail.com/archeologee/Default.htm
top news | u.s. | world | business | sports | sci | tech | arts | weather |
politics | search
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Comments and questions
AP privacy statement
