mining and removing mountains
Could, and did, any Ancient Civilizations(I guess Greeks and Romans would be contenders) flatten and basically remove a Mountain? I dont mean digging holes in the thing like Swiss cheese, although if they do that then collapse it then thats an okay explanation, I mean taking the top and going to the bottom to make the Mountain not exist!
Also, if they can, how long would it take them? A few days/weeks/months/years/decades?
For folks wondering why I ask, I wish to write a story about a Mage and the fact that his city is protected on all sides except the valley at their front and the sea/port at their back. They have a Mountain that they want rid of thats in the way of the city expansion within the Mountain range that makes up the natural barriers.
I'd rather it was possible by normal human hands than the hands of a Mage(who could probably throw his own Mother up a cliff haha) although I don't mind if he helps etc... sorry, went into a bit too much detail lol. Have a good weekend 🙂
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.
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