Mystery of Easter Island's haunting statues 'solved'
Researchers from New York’s Binghamton University say they have cracked one of the mysteries surrounding Easter Island’s ominous statues known as moai.
Said to have been carved from volcanic rock by the lost civilisation of Rapa Nui, there are almost 900 humanoid moai dotted around the Pacific island.
It is now thought that the statues with the distinctive, oversized heads are markers of where potable ground water bubbles to the surface on the otherwise barren island, which has a low yearly rainfall and high evaporation rate.
The university’s Professor Carl Lipo said Easter Island’s porous volcanic soil quickly absorbs rain, resulting in a lack of rivers and streams.
“Fortunately, water beneath the ground flows downhill and ultimately exits the ground directly at the point at which the porous subterranean rock meets the ocean,” he said. “When tides are low, this results in the flow of freshwater directly into the sea.
“Humans can thus take advantage of these sources of freshwater by capturing the water at these points.
“Now that we know more about the location of freshwater the location of these monuments and other features makes tremendous sense: they are positioned where fresh water is immediately available,” Prof. Lipo said.
The research is published in the Hydrogeology Journal.
Interesting always wondered what these carvings meant.
Now we know - water - something we now pay dearly for.