Posts tagged ‘Easter Island’
CONTINUED
Now, let’s get the big guy to walk.
The walking stature was demonstrated in the book Easter Island Easter Island (*).
A statue was constructed out of concrete, 15 feet long. Not as big as many of the statues on the island but served the purpose to demonstrate the process.
Two ropes were attached one to the head and one to the base. With seventeen people on each rope, the rope on the head pulled the statue slightly forward, then the rope attached to the base pulled the entire statue forward. With practice the statue was made to waddle and walk forward.
The process was later tried on an actual statue nine feet tall and weighing 4 or 5 tons. With three men to tilt and five to pull forward, the statue ‘walked’.
Thus, the legend of the walking statues of Easter Island has some validity, but it was not a supernatural event.
(*) Paul Bahn and John Flenley, Easter Island Easter Island, 1992, Thames and Hudson, pages 141, 142.
July 24, 2024 at 11:31 am
I have always been intrigued by the culture of the remote Easter Island. Especially by the huge, magnificent statues associated with the island.
Legend has it that they walked to the sites where they now stand. A supernatural occurrence to be sure.
WHICH IS TRUE, to some extent.
Now, before they can walk they must stand.
I have seen them stand, going from prone to erect. But it was not a miracle. The statue went from lying on its back to standing up with the use of rocks (*). While lying on its back, using levers rocks were placed beneath the statue and the ground until the statue was lying on an inclined plane. Once it was raised to a significant height, ropes were used to finish the process.
*Paul Bahn and John Flenley, Easter Island Easter Island, 1992, Thames and Hudson, pages 158, 159.
July 23, 2024 at 2:53 pm
For some reason I have always had a fascination with Easter Island.
I’ve read about the island and became caught up with the struggles of two distinct populations and their undying need to build monuments. They decimated their forests to transport these magnificent structures.
I find it haunting that all this effort was going on while they had no idea that anyone else, outside their society, would see or appreciate this magnificent effort. Did they have the concept that there was more of the world?
I wrote a poem about these feeling which was published in 1975. The poem was published in the anthology, Best Poets of the 20th Century (another magnificent title and an awesome stretch), by Winston – Paramount Books, edited by B. Winston – Paramount.
EASTER ISLAND
Constructing sightless eyes no
one will see
They toil;
Probing rock with human fingers
They grope;
One – minded their effort approaches
uniqueness,
Years past witness human fingers to
dust,
Monuments remain to visit their labor;
Solemn stone faces looking out,
Pumice minds knowing an age of men
Possessing greatness long gone –
Deaf ears formed with stone axes,
Blood and sweat transformed
To monumental greatness;
Waiting on Easter Island.
February 24, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Walttriznastories's Blog 