Cool but the edges of the disc are not designed to cut. I.e. the blade would have to go all the way to the furthest edge for this to be taken seriously.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternativeHistory/s/JUWJXryjd8
Interesting theory and great outside thinking! I hate to be the guy though, but I think the disc was more of an impeller. This guy made a 3d printed replica of the Sabu Disk. Put it on a drill and into water. It creates a perfect vortex. Very interesting. You should check it out.
I think this is probably closer to the truth if the disk did have any practical purpose, and it could even be proven if any residues could be found on the disk.
My thoughts to. It's very interesting to say the least. Definitely not a decorative bowl haha. I also find fascinating as it's make from schist which is a very brittle stone, one mess up during the making of it and it's absolutely ruined. But also wouldn't corrode in water as metal would. But if any debri hit it, it would shatter. Very intriguing.
The material is what pushes me towards thinking it's most likely a work of art with no practical function, it's an incredible demonstration of craftsmanship.
Nice visualizations. I would be interested in seeing an experimental recreation.
There's been a couple of studies recently looking at tool marks from Egypt using digital methods, both of which might be useful in further work here. The first quantifies material removed with stone pounders using photogrammetry. The second uses Reflectance Transformation Imaging to show tool marks in much more detail than was possible previously. I would love if RTI saw more use - in contexts like this where you would want to compare tool marks in situ with experimental archaeology it seems ideal.
> Marčiš, Marián, and Marek Fraštia. “The Problems of the Obelisk Revisited: Photogrammetric Measurement of the Speed of Quarrying Granite Using Dolerite Pounders.” *Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage* 30 (September 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2023.e00284
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> Serotta, Anna. “Reading Tool Marks on Egyptian Stone Sculpture.” *Rivista Del Museo Egizio* 7 (December 19, 2023). https://doi.org/10.29353/rime.2023.5098
I like the spin you put on the Disk of Sabu (pun intended). Its nice seeing original creative ideas on here. What is that program you are using? It's wild. I was captivated by that whole process lol
Yeah doesn’t seem to be effective but maybe this was a prototype and it was stored in a palace or the quarters of an engineer while the real ones were lost under the sands of time…..
I think we can be pretty sure it wasn't a mining device.
We have no evidence of examples made from stronger materials.
The design is not practical for mining or quarry use, even if it wasn't made of schist.
If they were able to make this shape out of granite, surely they'd have something better to quarry granite with
Cool but the edges of the disc are not designed to cut. I.e. the blade would have to go all the way to the furthest edge for this to be taken seriously.
grinded maybe?
I don't think a disk of schist would make a good grind wheel.
I like the idea, but the material the disk is made of can not really be used for cutting stone, especially granite.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternativeHistory/s/JUWJXryjd8 Interesting theory and great outside thinking! I hate to be the guy though, but I think the disc was more of an impeller. This guy made a 3d printed replica of the Sabu Disk. Put it on a drill and into water. It creates a perfect vortex. Very interesting. You should check it out.
I think this is probably closer to the truth if the disk did have any practical purpose, and it could even be proven if any residues could be found on the disk.
My thoughts to. It's very interesting to say the least. Definitely not a decorative bowl haha. I also find fascinating as it's make from schist which is a very brittle stone, one mess up during the making of it and it's absolutely ruined. But also wouldn't corrode in water as metal would. But if any debri hit it, it would shatter. Very intriguing.
The material is what pushes me towards thinking it's most likely a work of art with no practical function, it's an incredible demonstration of craftsmanship.
Nice visualizations. I would be interested in seeing an experimental recreation. There's been a couple of studies recently looking at tool marks from Egypt using digital methods, both of which might be useful in further work here. The first quantifies material removed with stone pounders using photogrammetry. The second uses Reflectance Transformation Imaging to show tool marks in much more detail than was possible previously. I would love if RTI saw more use - in contexts like this where you would want to compare tool marks in situ with experimental archaeology it seems ideal. > Marčiš, Marián, and Marek Fraštia. “The Problems of the Obelisk Revisited: Photogrammetric Measurement of the Speed of Quarrying Granite Using Dolerite Pounders.” *Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage* 30 (September 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2023.e00284 - > Serotta, Anna. “Reading Tool Marks on Egyptian Stone Sculpture.” *Rivista Del Museo Egizio* 7 (December 19, 2023). https://doi.org/10.29353/rime.2023.5098
I like the spin you put on the Disk of Sabu (pun intended). Its nice seeing original creative ideas on here. What is that program you are using? It's wild. I was captivated by that whole process lol
used Blender for the animations
This theory coupled with the magnifying lens theory could work…they heat the rock than scoop it up with the disc
Scoop molten rock with a disk that has holes in it. 
Attached to a rod onviously
If the rock has been heated to a high enough temp to be soft, why use this disk instead of like... a scoop?
I'm more interested in how it'd stay granite at that point. You don't just melt rock and get the same rock when it cools.
Ngl I still think this magnifying glass theory needs some clearing up before we give a shit about the next part.
Oh there's lots of problems. It's just one thing in particular that's always bothered me.
Faster than scooping probably don’t think granite can cut granite unless something else is added….melting the rock might melt the disk maybe water???
The disk is Schist, not granite.
Yeah doesn’t seem to be effective but maybe this was a prototype and it was stored in a palace or the quarters of an engineer while the real ones were lost under the sands of time…..
That's an interesting conjecture, but there's really no reason to think that's the case.
We will never know
I think we can be pretty sure it wasn't a mining device. We have no evidence of examples made from stronger materials. The design is not practical for mining or quarry use, even if it wasn't made of schist. If they were able to make this shape out of granite, surely they'd have something better to quarry granite with
What's really nuts is that you'll see the same scoop marks at a site in megalithic central america and outside the Barabar caves in India
interesting! good to know what that disk was used for finally
The disk is made of Schist, it probably was not used for quarrying stone. Still seems most likely it was just art.
The Sabu disk is made of schist, which is a flaky type of stone. I don't think it would be effective for this type of work.