Oral tradition on Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island, has long been rapt with legend. When asked how the giant ancient stone heads, called Moai, had been moved to their current locations miles from where they were carved and quarried, the natives' reply was simple: "They walked." Made to represent their ancient ancestors, the largest of the moai stand 32 feet tall and weigh 82 tons. Imbuing this fanciful myth with a sense of practicality, archaeologist Sergio Rapu Haoa developed a theory that "walking" the heavy statues is precisely the method that was used in transporting them upright. In Mystery of of Easter Island, produced in 2012 for the NOVA television series, archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo put the upright "walking" theory to the test. Past assumptions had centered on the statues being pulled horizontally on log rollers, but seemed unlikely given the lack of resources on the desolate island. Hunt and Lipo designed and constructed a scaled-down concrete replica of a moai, and recruited a team of strong volunteers, to put their theory to the test. After several miscalculations and adjustments, three teams (one behind, two on either side) were able to rock the moai back and forth using ropes, using the weight and momentum of the 5 ton statue to "walk" it forward. What initially seemed doomed to be a failure now seems the probable method utilized by the ancient people on Rapa Nui, extolling their ingenuity and creativity in carving and transporting some of the most intriguing and colossal artworks ever produced by human hands.
Produced for the Smithsonian Channel series in 2011, Mystery Files: Alexander the Great provides an informative 25-minute search for the lost tomb of the ancient world conquerer and pillager, Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Upon his death in 323 B.C., Alexander morphed from man to divine being, and his body and tomb became a symbol of power and prestige for his namesake city of Alexandria. However, with subsequent conquests and the rise of Christianity, Alexander the Great's tomb was lost to history… with the last textual reference to the shrine being made in 391 A.D. This short TV documentary looks at the possibilities of the current whereabouts of the tomb. Insights are offered by archaeological scholars of the subject, including Dr. Michael Scott and Dr. Nick Saunders. However, the most compelling and controversial theory is presented by author Andrew Chugg, who suggests that Alexander's body and tomb were simply renamed as being that of Saint Mark, to appease Constantine's Christian followers, and currently resides in Venice, Italy. His evidence is based on the fact that the last record of Alexander's tomb was made in 391 A.D. and in the next year, with the rise of Christianity, a tomb in the same location was designated as belonging to Saint Mark. After Alexandria was conquered by the Muslims, soldiers of Venice snuck "Saint Mark's" body away to Italy, where it still resides. The location of Alexander the Great's tomb is a mystery for the ages, one that may never be solved, but provides an intrigue that is worthy of the prolonged search.
Accidentally unearthed in 1974 while digging a well, the now-famous 2,000-year-old ancient Chinese Terracotta Warriors have yielded much information in the past 40 years regarding their purpose of guarding China's first Emperor in the afterlife. Nevertheless, exactly how the 8,000 larger-than-life clay figures were constructed in a relatively short 11-year time period has remained a mystery. Produced in 2011 for PBS, Secrets of the Dead: China's Terracotta Warriors takes an in depth look at the study of the creative process involved in making the statues. Created between 221 and 210 B.C., the terra-cotta soldiers were commissioned by and buried with Qin Shi Huang, the ruler credited with unifying China. The thousands of clay soldiers constitute all military ranks from officers to infantry, and were designed to accompany the emperor in his great journey beyond… a humane approach, given that 300 years prior, human sacrifice of chosen court members was the prevalent norm. Highly individualized, no two clay figures are alike, and stand at over six feet tall and weigh 600 pounds each. Modern technology, including facial recognition software called NeoFace, has proven just how unique the faces are. It has not been determined, given the astute level of individualization, whether they were meant to be portraits of actual soldiers or if they were the diverse product of the artists' imaginations. Made of strong clay, using the traditional coiling method, each figure would've taken a month to make. Each warrior is signed by it's craftsman and there are 87 different signature stamps in all. Every lead craftsmen would have had multitudes of laborers working on their team, with each of the 87 teams producing up to 12 statues a year. However, sculpting the figures was just one step in the process, as traces of pigment indicate that the terra-cotta warriors were originally brightly painted and lacquered. This particular aspect has proven to be especially problematic for conservators, who have a limited time to preserve the paint after excavation. One particular color, Chinese Purple, was one of the oldest man-made hues, and has proven fascinating to physicists for it's unique chemical properties. Much is presented in this informative 50-minute program, but plenty of mysteries still remain hidden in these ancient masterpieces.
