Case file · Folklore / legend

The moai that 'walked'

Rapa Nui tradition says the moai walked to their platforms by mana; in 2012 Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo showed that a team with ropes could 'walk' a replica upright by rocking it.

2012 CE · -27.12, -109.29 · status: explained

The account

Fallen statues along ancient roads have shapes that suit this method. The experiment answered claims that the moai required outside help or vanished technologies.

Connections in the atlas

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Moai
Open it in the living atlas