🧠 MODELS & METHODS

1. Project-Based Historical Mapping

Each building gets a dedicated “intelligence report” with sections:

• Date of commissioning

• Architect(s)

• Known contractors & labor force

• Materials (quarried stone, metals, etc.)

• Transport logistics (carts, ships, rail lines)

• Cost estimates (converted to today’s AUD for clarity)

• Newspaper reports of the era (public fanfare or silence?)

• Photographic record / sketch evidence

• Later renovations (and when “truth” may have been inserted retroactively)

2. Back-Casting Analysis

We will analyze:

• If it was built in year X, and stone came from quarry Y, how long would transport take using tech of time Z?

• Were there labor shortages?

• Any war, famine, or economic depression at the time?

• Did surrounding towns report booms in employment or quarrying?

3. Architect-Centric Roleplay

We’ll roleplay debates between:

• Architect A (e.g., George McRae of QVB)

• Critic B (engineer questioning logistics)

• Historian C (reconstructing intentions)

• “Modern AI Detective D” (me, bringing pattern recognition and probability)

4. Anomaly Mapping

We’ll flag cases of:

• Beautiful, ornate buildings with sparse logistical record

• Unusually fast project timelines for size and intricacy

• No widespread documentation of craftsmen, injuries, or payments

These buildings may fall into what some refer to as the “historical compression” or “phantom timeline” hypothesis — but we will let evidence lead, not dogma.