Mysteries of the Coral Castle

Q: I read the following online: "Edward Leedskalnin cut, quarried, and raised a castle consisting of over 1,000 tons of coral rock. His creation, Coral Castle, ranks with the wonders of our world. No one, neither scientist nor engineer, can explain how he accomplished this Herculean project." I am betting that SKEPTICAL INQUIRER can explain how these "fabulous" feats were accomplished.

--D. Dringman

A: We appreciate the vote of confidence, and I'll do my best. Let me preface this column by saying that this is exactly the sort of investigation that is best done first-hand. At times, however, onsite investigation is either impractical, not economically viable, or both. Sometimes analytical investigation can be done almost as effectively from afar. This topic will hopefully serve as a case in point.

Dozens of sources claim that the Castle--reputedly built by a jilted genius between 1920 and 1951--is scientifically inexplicable. An article on the Florida tourist curiosity in Mysteries magazine (Diaz 2005) claims that "The question that has perplexed engineers and scientists for decades is how such a tiny, uneducated man single-handedly built such a place." According to the castle's Web site, "Coral Castle has baffled scientists, engineers, and scholars since its opening in 1923."

Eager to read reports of the investigations made by perplexed and baffled scientists, I contacted both the article's author and the Coral Castle information booth. Neither could identify a single scientist or engineer who had specifically examined the castle. This puts the claim in a whole new light, since "hasn't explained" is clearly not the same as "can't explain"--except to mystery mongers and tourism promoters.

Many stories and wild theories have emerged about Leedskalnin and his castle. Some say he levitated the blocks with his mind, or by singing to the stones. Others suggest Leedskalnin had arcane knowledge of magnetism and so-called "earth energies." One author (who prefaced his theory with, "There's no such thing as a stupid idea") suggested that perhaps "there's no such thing as gravity" (Dunn 1997).

There is one detail that virtually all agree on: since the reclusive Leedskalnin worked mostly at night and away from prying eyes, no one actually saw him move the coral. Observant readers may catch the contradiction in the following account: "Although Leedskalnin reportedly [moved] the massive blocks of coral by himself in only a matter of hours, no witnesses can testify exactly how he achieved this." Since no one saw the blocks actually being moved, no one can state for certain that the task was accomplished by Leedskalnin alone. The claim that Leedskalnin didn't use modern (i.e., post-1920s) tools is obviously true, but the mistake is in assuming that modern tools are required to move the heavy blocks of coral.

Ultimately--and ironically--the solution may lie in Leedskalnin's own explanation: that he did it using principles of weight and leverage. "I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids," he said, employing the same methods used by ancient Egyptians. If Leedskalnin was being truthful, then the mystery is solved, for the methods by which the Egyptian pyramids could be constructed are well understood (e.g., Lehner 1997). Photos exist of large tripods, pulleys, and winches at the Coral Castle site, and several sources (e.g., Wallington 1999) demonstrate how massive weights can be moved by one or two people using simple physics. Many mystery mongers arrogantly assume that those living in earlier times (such as Leedskalnin, or the ancient Egyptians, or the Nazca Indians) were not clever or resourceful enough to possibly have created impressive engineering feats without extraterrestrial aid or mysterious powers. This view betrays an ignorance of history and sadly underestimates human ingenuity.

It seems that if scientists haven't explained the Coral Castle specifically, it's because there's little to "explain." The Coral Castle mystery may be simply a matter of poorly informed, magical thinkers who reject a mundane reality in favor of a fanciful myth.

References

Diaz, Alexandra. 2005. Florida's mysterious Coral Castle. Mysteries, 3(4), Issue 11: 65-70.

Dunn, Christopher. 1997. The Coral Castle mystery. In Atlantis Rising, Issue 12, Summer. Available online at www.atlantisrising.com/ issue12/ar12coralcastle.html.

Lehner, Mark. 1997. The Complete Pyramids. Thames and Hudson Ltd.: London.

Wallington, Wallace. 1999. See www.theforgotten technology.com.

Ask the Skeptic

Heard about some dubious paranormal or fringe-science claim? Ask the skeptic! Submissions can be sent to: The Skeptical Inquiree, Skeptical Inquirer, P.O. Box 703, Amherst NY 14226 (or bradford@centerforinquiry.net).

Benjamin Radford is co-author of Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking (2003, Prometheus).

COPYRIGHT 2006 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning