Al-Naslaa Rock Formation: Nature’s Perfect Split or Man-Made Artifact?
This incredible pair of standing stones of Al-Naslaa is located in Saudi Arabia, and it looks like a huge boulder cut in half with laser-like precision.
It was first discovered in 1883 by Charles Hoover, the formation has fueled debates amongst academics alternative researchers and tourists. Many people believe that it is an evidence of ancient high technology precision stone cutting at its very finest.
This place is rich in history with even possible ties to a Babylonian king and there is no doubt that this rock would have caught attention in days gone by just like it does today.
It displays a fantastic example of historic rock art with what looks like a human and a horse engraved onto aids therefor with the straight light cut aside the rock is archaeologically significant.
But, the straight cut down the center of the rock captures the imagination, especially because each stone looks to be balancing on its own small stone pedestal. Both are precariously balancing side-by-side yet the stone don't even touch.
Experts say that this isn't actually an artificial wonder, it was caused by some natural geological phenomenon. But apparently, there are a few different ideas to explain how it formed, and even though geologists explain it, not everyone agrees.
Some people claim that this is simply a natural fault line. Long ago, before all the erosion we see today, the ground shifted beneath the rock and caused cracking. Since the soft sandstone erodes easily and the rock in fault zones is weaker, windblown sand could have trickled down into the crack over thousands of years, steadily deteriorating the rock and creating the gap you see today.
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These cuts may have formed naturally as the joints in the rocks acted as zones of pre-existing weakness. These joints can appear in a remarkably straight manner and therefore lead many to believe that they are artificial. Natural wind erosion could have happened to expand these joints further and exaggerate their appearance into the actual formations we see today.
Alternatively, the bedrock could be moving on a fault line and is slowly pulling the two rocks apart, in support of this theory there are other natural fissures on the rock that have not been opened up by weathering.
In cooler climates, water seeps into cracks in the rocks under cool conditions, widens those cracks upon freezing, and finally pops the rocks apart. But this is one very interesting form of rock because, along with the fissure lines, each rock is resting on its own pedestal.
This somewhat unusual and intriguing shape is quite common in some desert environments. We can find many examples of large rocks attached to the bedrock on windy roads in small pedestals.
The Al-Naslaa rock formation hasn't been quarried and both rocks are still connected to the earth by their small pedestals, but some people think that this rock formation is too incredible and too perfect to be natural, and ideas including lasers, aliens and ancient technology have been put forward to explain it.
It could be an amazing example of ancient art, a focal point or landmark for traders to look for and meet at.
Simple metal tools could have created it, because the rock isn't very hard is soft sedimentary sandstone without seeing it in person the base looks more eroded than the crack, but the crack still looks fresh and linear not rounded by windblown sand what we would often see in a desert environment.
Therefore, the crack must have formed after the erosion at the base began, so if it is a natural wonder created by a fault like many geologists believe why it didn't topple the stones on the small basis is a mystery.
The pictures edged onto it are the only clear evidence of human activity and it doesn't appear that any other part has been artificially crafted shaped or scrolled on unless of course the fracture was worked on and widened by human activity.
Humans were in this area more than 1000 years ago and the area was important for trade routes, but very little archaeology has been done in the area to date.
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If I had to make an educated guess, I would choose a natural origin over artificial. It does just look like a natural sandstone outcrop albeit with a huge perfectly straight crack through the middle. Nature produces some incredible mind-boggling wonders and although this does almost look too artificial to be natural.
The natural explanation is the best one available at present, thousands of tourists flock to these sites every year, and whether natural, artificial or a bit of both you have to admit it certainly is an incredible wonder of the world.
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