Templets made of...?
Templets are tracings. IF I ask you to cut out 10 pieces of PAPER using this templet, there is going to be a measurable difference between your 10 patterns. Don't believe me? Give it a shot.
Now, try using that templet to cut or shape 10 pieces of stone, and watch the difficulty compound...
Now, if you are going to suggest molds were used, then I think the work may start to match your theory of construction.
Templates can be made of wood, metal, leather or paper, or any substance that allows a pattern to be made.
A template need only provide the repeatable lines or reference points for marking out the work. You could, for example, make a template for laying out a complex shape using a piece of wood into which holes are drilled to mark the corners and reference points. A complex pattern could be marked out using a collection of specialized rules and partial patterns used sequentially. Once the work is marked out by scoring or scribing, the template is removed. If points are made for a geometrical figure, connecting lines can be drawn from those points after the template is removed.
If certain areas must be carved away to a very precise depth or other dimension, gauge blocks or test blocks can easily be designed.
If there is a need for multiple blocks and gauges, and the ones used in the field are subject to wear and tear, there might be a master pattern from which those working gauges are made. That's a standard sort of arrangement in manufacturing.
The possibilities for pattern and template making and marking of work are enormous, and even if we cannot know just what was done, we can certainly imagine many ways of accomplishing this without having to imagine mysterious or lost technologies.
Your example of paper is interesting, because, of course, there might be a measurable difference between pieces, but the pieces will be pretty much the same, within some tolerance depending on how usefully the template was designed, how carefully it was used, and how skilfully the paper was cut. Of course if you trace your template with a magic marker and cut it with kindergarten scissors, it will be very sloppy, whereas you could use a template designed skilfully to compensate for whatever pencil you plan to use, and then cut the paper with a scalpel, and get it very close indeed.
When we speak of those mass produced sandstone blocks, we presume that they are very uniform. But I don't see any reliable reference that discusses the tolerance, and it's quite a jump to suggest that they are so close that there is no measurable difference. If they are tolerably close, enough to interchange, that's splendid workmanship. It is not the work of gods or mythical beings.
by the way, King, I have worked with stone, though it's never been a serious pursuit, and I do not claim expertise simply because I've carved a few pieces of marble and shaped a few blocks of one thing or another. But your assumption that your foray into amateur masonry is unique is just silly.
