Post #184404 by hanford_lemoore on Mon, Sep 5, 2005 1:54 AM

For my Savage Renewal: Archaeology Topic I thought I'd share some amazing photos of an Easter Island Moai Raising that took place during Thor Heyerdahl's (first?) visit to Rapa Nui. These photos come straight out of my hardcover American edition of Aku-Aku by Thor Heyerdahl.

In the book, Thor convinces the Mayor of Rapa Nui to teach him his ancestor's secret of moving and raising the giant Moai statues into place. Over eighteen days, the mayor and his crew show Thor how it was done.

These images are very cool -- real Easter Island natives raising a Moai into place. There's more photos in the book and if people like these I can scan more.

(Sorry for the scan errors and any factual mistakes I might have made in the description. It's been a while since I read the book)

:up: First three wooden poles lift the statue by fractions of an inch as the mayor shoves small stones beneath it. As more stones are added, their size increases.

:up: As the work progresses, the statue is lifted into the on an ever-growing tower of stones.

:up: With a heap of stones under it's stomach the figure moves upward and backwards until it stands in its old place on the wall. Twelve men with poles and stones set it up in eighteen days. On the last day the giant is held by ropes to prevent it from toppling off the high wall when it is tilted into the standing position.

:up: A landmark visible far out to sea stood at Anakena when the giant was restored to his former place on the king's old site, behind our camp.

:up: After excavating the ahu at Vinapu, Bill discovered this particular wall had been built by stone masons of the first Easter Island epoch. Later additions were done by less refined techniques. The expedition's archaeologists discovered three distinct epochs in the history of the island.