See What It Takes to Move a 1,100-Ton Stone Tomb
Transcript
How do you move a 1,100-ton, 541-year-old stone tomb? With careful engineering and a lot of patience.
The 15th-century Zeynel Bey tomb was relocated from its original site in Hasankeyf, an ancient town in the Batman province in Turkey.
It took almost 4 hours to move the mausoleum to a cultural park over one mile away.
The transport vehicle consisted of 191 wheels and a 3- foot deep concrete platform.
At the new site. the tomb was laid on top of a earthquake-resistant layer that will absorb seismic waves and leave the structure intact.
There are plans to relocate seven or eight historical structures to the cultural site.
The Turkish government approved the controversial move … in order to make way for a hydroelectric dam on the Tigris River.
Once the structures are relocated, the dam will submerge Hasankeyf and its remaining historical sites