One of the most memorable opening scenes in movie history has got to be the boulder scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Of course, undiscovered tombs, ancient booby traps and giant rolling boulders are the stuff of make-believe, aren’t they? Well, perhaps not. I came across the following photos recently while doing some random surfing.

As I viewed these pictures, my mind immediatley went back to the classic Indy boulder scene. My ‘need-to-know-almost-verging-on-obsession’ tendancy got the better of me, so I did some digging. (heh)

Apparently in the 1930′s, workers from the United Fruit Company, while clearing land in the Diquis Valley of Costa Rica, began unearthing large numbers of almost perfectly round stone spheres. The largest of these apparently man-made balls is over six feet in diameter and weighs over sixteen tons. No one knows exactly when or how they were made, or by whom, or for what reason. Today, virtually all of the spheres have been taken from their original locations. Many are now prized lawn ornaments across Costa Rica.

Could the original purpose of these boulders have been for elaborate booby traps to squash graverobbers? We may never know, but I kind of like to hope so!