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How were massive stone blocks at Persepolis fitted together without mortar?
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Persepolis
Ruins of the royal Achaemenid residence at Persepolis, Iran.
The massive stone blocks at Persepolis were fitted together without the use of mortar through the application of extreme precision in stonemasonry. The builders utilized dark gray stone sourced from the adjacent mountain, which was cut with such exactitude that the large blocks could be laid directly against one another to form stable, enduring structures. Many of these precisely fitted stones remain in their original positions today.1