A new statue is finished at the quarry. Now the whole island will walk it to the sea.
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Carving the stone…
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To the ahu
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QuarrySea
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Moai
Rapa Nui · Easter Island
Between about 1250 and 1500, the Rapa Nui people carved nearly a thousand moai, almost all from the soft tuff of one volcano, Rano Raraku. Each was the likeness of an honoured ancestor, set on a stone platform, most of them facing inland to watch over the villages. How did they move them? The islanders always said the moai walked. In 2012, archaeologists tested it: 18 people with three ropes rocked a 4-tonne replica forward, step by step, 100 m in 40 minutes. Today the island’s ahu and moai are cared for by the Rapa Nui community, and Rapa Nui National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.