|
 
The moai and the pukao are pivoted into an upright position using levers. Slow but steady progress is made raising and securing the replica moai on its transport frame. Rocks are stacked underneath to raise it and on each side to support and steady it. NOVA's hope is to raise it in one day. Once the statue is pivoted more than 45 degrees, less effort is needed to lift it. The moai finally stands proud. "We made our moai of cement with red scoria in it, the soil of the island," Van Tilburg says of the youngest moai on the island. "He's as perfect as we can make him. . . What will happen on the island, I don't know. I don't know whether he'll be accepted and they'll want to keep him or whether they'll want to break him up into a million pieces and throw him into the ocean." Previous Vince Lee's Uphill Battle | NOVA Moves a Megalith | How Big Were They? Move the Moai | Explore Easter Island | Secrets of Easter Island | Resources | Transcript Medieval Siege | Pharaoh's Obelisk | Easter Island | Roman Bath | China Bridge | Site Map 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 |