This repository contains a preprint manuscript presenting a constraint-based observational analysis of two geographically distant but technologically comparable bodies of ancient stonework: the mirror-polished granite interiors of the Barabar caves (Bihar, India) and selected high-precision granite sarcophagi associated with the Serapeum of Saqqara (Egypt). Rather than proposing an origin narrative or speculative interpretation, the study focuses on directly observable material, geometric, and spatial features, and evaluates their compatibility with historically documented tool families, labor organization, and procedural constraints. Particular attention is given to surface finish, geometric regularity, execution consistency, and the asymmetry between the engineering demands implied by the material record and the level of procedural detail preserved in textual sources. The analysis adopts a non-constructive, non-propulsive methodology grounded in physical feasibility, cumulative error constraints, and scale–time–labor considerations. Where appropriate, simple analytical expressions are used to illustrate geometric enforcement and error propagation without assuming symbolic mathematics or anachronistic machinery. This work is intended as a descriptive and methodological contribution, aimed at clarifying what classes of technological processes are compatible, improbable, or unsupported by the existing archaeological and documentary record. It is provided as a basis for further quantitative measurement, experimental archaeology, and interdisciplinary discussion.
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Aguirre et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
synapsesocial.com/papers/6980fcfcc1c9540dea80ebd7 — DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18420205
Andres Sebastian Bonomi Aguirre
Institute of Archaeology
Andres Sebastian Bonomi Aguirre
Institute of Archaeology
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