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Moai Removed from Moldby Liesl Clark April 27, 1998 "Gentlemen, I want it cut, " said Jo Anne Van Tilburg. There was silence for a brief moment, then Van Tilburg's team began preparations for cutting the fiberglass mold from the face of the concrete moai. Just an hour earlier, the replica statue was lifted upright by a crane from its horizontal position to stand a full 14 feet in height. As it stood upright, Van Tilburg's team gave a relieved cheer; the first major step in the long process of transporting and raising a modern-day moai had been accomplished. 
The lower part of the mold came right off, but the face proved
more difficult, as the beautifully-shaped features seemed to
offer a surface for the mold to cling to. Van Tilburg's
solution was to cut the mold from the face. A chainsaw was
fired up and minutes later fiberglass was separated from
concrete and a moai was born.
Tomorrow the stone giant's face will be finished by
artist/sculptors Santi Hito and Cristian Arevalo Pakarati. The
maoi will be placed face-down on a wooden sledge and
transported by flat-bed truck to Tongariki, the location where
the experiments will begin.
Lessons Learned (May 11) A New Way to Move a Moai (May 9) Moai is Upright (May 6) Moai Nearly Raised (May 5) A Tourist Attraction (May 3) The Secret of the Sledge (May 2) Moai Ready to be Raised (May 1) The Moai is Moved (April 30) 15-Ton Moai Removed from Mold (April 27) Moai Platform Complete (April 26) Moai Mold is Filled (April 24) Moai Mold Ready for Concrete (April 23) Statue Mold En Route (April 22) The Team Arrives (April 20) Arrival on Rapa Nui (April 17) Photos: Liesl Clark Move a Megalith | Dispatches | Explore the Island | Lost Civilization Resources | E-mail | Table of Contents | Easter Island Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |