this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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Mildly Interesting

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This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.

This is obviously an objective criteria, so the mods are always right. Or maybe mildly right? Ahh.. what do we know?

Just post some stuff and don't spam.

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[–] semperverus@lemmy.world 56 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Damn, those layer lines are clean. Link to STL?

[–] cdc@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

The layer shifting is pretty severe in this print!

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 35 points 2 years ago (1 children)

According to the Wikipedia article on the history of Bukhara:

After the fall of the Kushan Empire, Bukhara passed into the hands of Hua tribes from the Mongolian steppe and entered a steep decline. However, the 5th century saw an unprecedented growth in urban and rural settlements throughout the entire oasis. Around this time the whole oasis territory was surrounded by a more than 400 km long wall.

I assume this structure dates to that period of construction?

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

I wonder whether this Kushan empire is the inspiration for the name of the protagonist's tribe in the Homeworld videogame series.

[–] YaksDC@lemm.ee 35 points 2 years ago

In case you were curious, like is was, the walls are 16 to 20 m (52 to 66 ft) tall.

[–] ssboomman@lemm.ee 31 points 2 years ago (9 children)

Was there any advantage to having it lean like that?

[–] Sordid@kbin.social 59 points 2 years ago (2 children)

In defensive terms, no, not really. They had to build it like this because these aren't really walls per se, it's just brick lining on the outside of an earthen mound, and mounds are, well, mound-shaped. https://gomadnomad.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Bukharas-Ark-Palace.jpg

[–] BB69@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

It would’ve made siege ladders harder to set up.

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You’d think there’d be a reason beyond construction requirements, though—otherwise someone in the past 1,500 years would have replaced it with a more conventional wall.

[–] Sordid@kbin.social 9 points 2 years ago

They did. This is only the oldest, innermost fortification in the city. AFAIK additional layers of walls were build around it later.

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Harder to knock down or undermine?

[–] Belgdore@lemm.ee 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Not this one, but newer forts were built with angled walls to help protect against canon balls and the like.

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

But there the walls were still vertical to the ground yeah?

[–] jerkbank@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is it a lean, or is it wider at the bottom?

[–] Ricaz@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This question confuses me geometrically

[–] b14700@lemm.ee 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Sordid@kbin.social 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

It's _/‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾\_ shaped. It's not freestanding walls, the whole thing is an earthen mound with a flat top and its sides lined with bricks.

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

So it's not walls then I suppose. Just the slopes of a flat topped pyramid like thing. I mean, it still provided a height advantage, but it feels like they have lesser cover from arrows than they would have if it was like a conventional wall.

[–] rDrDr@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

You'd think it would lean the other way to make bit harder to climb.

Edit: or this could be a view from the inside. Or maybe the goal is to keep people in rather than out.

Edit again: none of these things seem true according to Wikipedia. It's curved inwards and it houses the rich, so it seems to just be aesthetics.

[–] No_Eponym@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 years ago

Well clearly it's because the castle defenders of that era were quite sophisticated, but simply don't dance they just pull up their pants and do the rockaway.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

It's gregnant

[–] Imgonnatrythis@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago

What does it take to get you very interested? This is pretty amazing to me.

[–] kenoh@lemm.ee 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Very cool. Cross-posted to !castles@lemm.ee, where you can find more ancient structures.

[–] CommunityLinkFixer@lemmings.world 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !castles@lemm.ee

[–] kenoh@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago

Good bot! I had a feeling I was messing that up.

[–] palitu@lemmy.perthchat.org 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Prince Siyawush built the Ark of Bukhara and was eventually buried there.

Ok, saying a fortress in Sogdia was built by Siyavash is like saying a fortress in Britain was built by Arthur or a fortress in Greece was built by Hercules—it’s what the locals say when they forgot who really built it.

[–] palitu@lemmy.perthchat.org 1 points 2 years ago

not to mention the hundreds of slaves/peons/peasants that built it. they also get forgotten!

[–] Darkhoof@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

This is super interesting! Not just mildly. :)

[–] toolCHAINZ 5 points 2 years ago

Ark of Rolling Shutter

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Needs to cut down on the baklava.

[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

People accomplished so much without TV and Internet.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Slavery gets shit done.

[–] Comment105@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

The front gate of the castle is huge and impressive, but the backside is like those toddlers with the open ass-flap in ancient Disney-movies.