“the Romans built cranes with a mechanical advantage of up to 70 to one, meaning that one man exerting a force of only 25 kg could raise a weight of 1.75 tonnes.
However, the hydraulic version of the lever has one outstanding advantage over earlier mechanisms … the possible multiplication ratio is almost infintely greater and both pistons may be a considerable distance apart — up to about 25 km”
https://mstdn.social/@markhburton/114856001920894810
and also
"To give an idea of the importance of hydraulic power, it suffices to look once more at the evolution of lifting devices. In 1586, a 344 ton obelisk was moved between squares in Rome. Domenic Fontana, master builder of the Vatican, raised the obelisk with the help of 40 capstans worked by 400 men and 75 horses. In 1878, John Dixon raised another obelisk — Cleopatra’s needle, weighing 209 tons — using four hydraulic lifting jacks, worked by four men."
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