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- "A number of local legends surround the pillar. One of them has it that the top of the rock was connected by a long iron chain to the dome of the Katskhi chur

- "A number of local legends surround the pillar. One of them has it that the top of the rock was connected by a long iron chain to the dome of the Katskhi church, located at a distance of around 1.5 km from the pillar.[1]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katskhi_pillar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katskhi_pillar Is that plausible, for medieval engineering? Are there other examples like this?

CptFribble 4y ago
According to Google, a typical chainmail hauberk could have as many as 45,000 10mm rings - if we assume that 2cm rings are not excessively more difficult to make than 10mm rings, then 45,000 2cm rings linked end-to-end would stretch around 900m long. Even assuming the chain didn't float in the air and instead draped down the rock and along the ground, it would likely take "only" 3-5 chainmail hauberks' worth of rings to cover the distance. It wouldn't be an easy task, but there were far more than 5 people in medieval times with full sets of chainmail armor, so it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
- CGamesPlay 4y ago
  It feels like it would snap under its own weight well before that, though, unless it was suspended from multiple points.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
  > it would likely take "only" 3-5 chainmail hauberks' worth of rings to cover the distance. It would take a lot more metal, though!
MichaelCollins 4y ago
> for medieval engineering? Are there other examples like this? Nails. This single Roman fort in Scotland had nearly a million iron nails, all of them hand made: > When it was excavated in the 1950s by Richmond, a large pit was found in the summer of 1960 containing 875,400 complete iron nails (Square shaft) ranging from 50–410 mm (2–16 in) plus another 28 (round shaft nails) weighing 7 tons, together with other iron objects, including cartwheel rims weighing a combined total weight of ten tonnes (Inchtuthil Nails by “Roddy Fraser”). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchtuthil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchtuthil That's just one fort in a remote frontier of the empire. They were mass producing stuff like this, by hand.
btbuildem 4y ago
Connecting the two in a zip-line fashion? I don't know enough about materials science, but a 1/4" welded steel chain has a working load of 3150 lbs and weighs 0.63 lbs per foot. 1.5km is roughly 4900 feet, a chain that long would weigh 3100 lbs. So it would hold until the first wind or rain -- keeping in mind that these specs are for a modern forge-produced chain.

CptFribble 4y ago

According to Google, a typical chainmail hauberk could have as many as 45,000 10mm rings - if we assume that 2cm rings are not excessively more difficult to make than 10mm rings, then 45,000 2cm rings linked end-to-end would stretch around 900m long. Even assuming the chain didn't float in the air and instead draped down the rock and along the ground, it would likely take "only" 3-5 chainmail hauberks' worth of rings to cover the distance. It wouldn't be an easy task, but there were far more than 5 people in medieval times with full sets of chainmail armor, so it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

CGamesPlay 4y ago
It feels like it would snap under its own weight well before that, though, unless it was suspended from multiple points.
onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
> it would likely take "only" 3-5 chainmail hauberks' worth of rings to cover the distance. It would take a lot more metal, though!

MichaelCollins 4y ago

> for medieval engineering? Are there other examples like this? Nails. This single Roman fort in Scotland had nearly a million iron nails, all of them hand made: > When it was excavated in the 1950s by Richmond, a large pit was found in the summer of 1960 containing 875,400 complete iron nails (Square shaft) ranging from 50–410 mm (2–16 in) plus another 28 (round shaft nails) weighing 7 tons, together with other iron objects, including cartwheel rims weighing a combined total weight of ten tonnes (Inchtuthil Nails by “Roddy Fraser”). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchtuthil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchtuthil That's just one fort in a remote frontier of the empire. They were mass producing stuff like this, by hand.

btbuildem 4y ago

Connecting the two in a zip-line fashion? I don't know enough about materials science, but a 1/4" welded steel chain has a working load of 3150 lbs and weighs 0.63 lbs per foot. 1.5km is roughly 4900 feet, a chain that long would weigh 3100 lbs. So it would hold until the first wind or rain -- keeping in mind that these specs are for a modern forge-produced chain.