The Walking Moai of Rapa Nui
On a remote Pacific island, giant stone heads stand far from the quarry where they were carved. The islanders say they walked.
What was reported
Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth. Its people carved nearly a thousand giant stone figures called moai, some taller than 10 metres and weighing many tonnes, at a single quarry, then moved them kilometres across the island.
With no large trees left and no wheels or draught animals, how they moved them puzzled outsiders. Rapa Nui oral tradition says the moai walked to their places.
Explanations offered
In 2012, archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo showed that a team of about 18 people with ropes could rock a replica moai from side to side so that it 'walked' upright down a road. The moai's shape suits this method, which matches the islanders' own account.
- When
- Carved about 1250–1500
- Where
- Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
- Witnesses
- Rapa Nui people, archaeologists and visitors
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.