Just read that a medieval anvil could weigh over 500 pounds

I was flipping through a library book on old tools from the 1400s and saw that number. Can't imagine moving that without a crane, let alone working on it all day. How did they even get something that heavy set up right in the first place?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.oliver7d ago

Wow, I always pictured them just dropping an anvil on a stump and calling it good. But the book I read said they'd dig a pit, lower it with ropes and levers, then pack the base with stones and clay for a totally solid setup. Makes sense when you think about how much hammer force it had to take.

abbyr9622d ago

Remember helping my uncle move an old cast iron stove that probably weighed half that. We used a bunch of pipes as rollers and just kept levering it forward bit by bit. Took all day but you can move anything if you're stubborn enough. I bet they used logs and ropes in a similar way back then, maybe built a ramp out of dirt to tip it onto its stand.

elliot_lee22d ago

I heard they'd sometimes bury the base in the ground for stability, which is wild lol.