Jerusalem: The Biography

* Herod would have used the latest technology. The Egyptians had known how to move vast stones to build the pyramids as early as 4000 BC. The Roman engineer Vitruvius had created enormous devices – wheels, sledges and cranes – to transport such stones. Large wheels over 13 feet in diameter served as axles pulled by teams of oxen. Then there were winches – horizontal rotating beams with attached poles and cranks which enabled teams of ten men or fewer to use them. This way, eight men could lift 1½ tons.