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Easter Island: Early Witnesses
William Thomson
493
appears to have been to select a suitable rock upon which the image was sketched in a reclining position. The upper surface having been carved into shape and entirely finished, the last work was to cut the back loose from the rock. This necessitated the exercise of great care to prevent the breaking off of exposed portions, and was accomplished by building piles of stones to sustain the weight while it was being undermined.
Ninety-three statues in all, similar to those shown in Figs. 11 and 12, were counted inside the crater, and of these forty are standing up, completed and ready to be transported to the platforms for which they were
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FIG. 11.
IMAGE: RANA RORAKA (front view) |
FIG. 12.
IMAGE: RANA RORAKA (back view) |
intended. They stand well down towards the bottom of the slope, and are more or less buried in the earth by the washings from above, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The work of lowering the huge images from the upper terraces to the bottom of the crater and thence over the wall and down into the plain below, was of great magnitude, and we are lost in wonder that so much could be accomplished by rude savages ignorant of everything in the way of mechanical appliances. The average weight of these statues Would be something between 10 and 12 tons, but some are very large and would weigh over 40 tons. It is possible that a slide was made, upon which the images were launched to the level ground below; a number of broken and damaged figures lie in a position to suggest that idea, but from the bottom of the crater they were transported up and over the wall and thence over hill and dale to various points all over the island. Excavations were made at different points inside the
493