What hides the Stone Giants of Easter Island

There is hardly a person who has not heard about the giant stone heads of Easter Island, and the image is so ingrained in the consciousness that the idols are associated exclusively with disproportionately large heads sticking out of the ground. However, apart from the heads of ancient idols have a body, deep burrowing into the ground. The first article, archaeologists have unearthed in 1914. Since then and continuing excavations and research mysterious giants.

A total of 887 stone sculptures Island "moai", only 150 of them dug into the ground on his shoulders. Apparently, the statue sank into the earth under the influence of climate change over time.

During excavations in the ancient statues of the bodies were found petroglyphs, which have been preserved thanks to the fact that all this time were in the land.

Petroglyphs on the back of one of the statues.

They also found that body size statues are proportional to their heads - tel length is 7 meters. The original statues were painted with red pigment.

, There are several theories about how the islanders dragged the giant statues from the quarries to the installation site. They did not have no wheels, no draft animals. Portage? With the help of wooden rails? Legends say that the statues "were" themselves, that is moved in a vertical position.

Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl reproduced and described in the book "Aku-Aku" way to move, which he said a local resident. Statue dragged dragged in vertical position established by use of the three logs, slipped under it as leverage, swinging logs achieving move the statue on the vertical axis. Movements were recorded using a place under their foundation stones of various sizes and interleaving.