TE P1T0 TE HENUA. OR EASTER ISLAND. 499 



Those truncated cones, nearly cylindrical in shape, were easily trans- 

 ported. The material is readih quarried and fashioned, being light, 

 only about 1.4 times heavier than water, while the average density of 

 the image-stone is about 2.1. 



The largest crown measured was 12i feet in diameter, but of those 

 that had actually been placed in position the average weight would not 

 be more than 3 tons. The crowns were placed in position upon the 

 heads of the standing images by building a road-way upon which they 

 could be rolled to the proper spot. The clearing away of the incline 

 was the final act. The earth which formed the surface was utilized as 

 garden-patches, and the stones which formed the foundation of the road- 

 way were disposed of in building the wing-extensions of the platform. 

 The platforms differ greatly in dimensions, but the general plan and 

 characteristics are invariably the same. Many of them are in a fair 

 state of preservation, except that the images have been thrown down 

 and the terraces in the rear obliterated or strewn with rubbish, while 

 others have been reduced to a state of complete ruin. The platforms 

 are usually located near the beach, and on the high bluff some of them 

 are quite near the o^^^ overlooking the sea. The general plan consists 

 of a front elevation composed of blocks of stone fairly well squared 

 and neatly lifted together without cement, a parallel wall forming the 

 inside boundary, built of uncut stone, inclosing small chambers or 

 tombs placed at irregular intervals. Loose bowlders fill the spaces 

 between the tombs and form the horizontal plane of the platform, into 

 which are let the rectangular stones which constituted the base upon 

 which the images stood. The facade stones are large and heavy, and in 

 some eases the smooth surface presented could not well be attributed 

 to the rude implements at the command of the builders, and must have 

 been produced by friction or grinding. Long wings composed of uncut 

 stone extend from the platform proper, built up to the summit at the 

 line of junction and sloping away to the surface of the ground at the 

 ends. In the rear of the platform a few steps descend to a gently 

 sloping terrace, which terminates in a low wall and is bounded by a 

 squarely built wall raised above the ground so as to join the top of the 

 platform. Unman remains till the inner chambers', and bones lie scat- 

 tered about among the loose bowlders of t he platform and its extensions. 

 The ruined condition of these solid specimens of architecture, with the 

 overthrown images and immense deposit of loose bowlders on the 

 surface of the ground, are strongly suggestive of earthquakes and 

 volcanic eruption. The images in all stages of incompletion in the 

 workshops, and abandoned en route to the coast in various directions, 

 indicate that the work was suddenly arrested, and not gradually brought 



to an end ; but the t rail it ions are silent upon the subject, and no record 



has been handed down of the disturbance of any of the volcanoes on 

 the island. 



