Moai — the statues of Easter Island

900 stone heads in the middle of the ocean

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,000 km from the nearest land, there's a tiny island — with 900 giant stone statues on it! They're 10 metres tall and weigh 80 tonnes. How did people move them 500 years ago without wheels or cranes? Scientists tested it: the statues can be 'walked' with ropes — they 'walked' by themselves! The statues have bodies too — buried in the ground.

The moai are 887 monolithic statues made by the Rapa Nui people (Easter Island, 164 km²) between 1250 and 1500, representing ancestors and chiefs; on average 4 m and 12.5 t, the largest 10 m and 82 t (an unfinished one is 21 m). They were carved with basalt adzes from Rano Raraku volcanic tuff; their eyes were white coral and red scoria; 'pukao' are red-stone topknots. Transport: a 2012 experiment showed the statues can be 'walked' with three ropes by rocking them — matching local legend. The island's history is often read as an ecological lesson: deforestation → erosion → collapse (disputed; rats are also blamed). Discovered by the Dutch on Easter Sunday 1722. The statues were toppled in the 18th–19th centuries; 50 have since been re-erected. UNESCO (1995). Climate change (sea level, wildfires) is a threat.

Fun facts

• The moai 'walked' — they can be moved by rocking with three ropes, scientists proved.
• The famous 'heads' have bodies — buried up to 7 metres deep.
• The island is 2,000 km from the nearest land — one of the loneliest places on Earth.