Mysterious new Easter Island statue emerges after volcanic crater lake dries up

02 March 2023 , 15:13

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The moai was found last week by a group of scientists studying the bed of the Rano Raraku lake (Image: Ma'u Henua Indigenous Community/)

Scientists on Easter Island say they have uncovered another of its iconic moai head statues after a lake in an extinct volcano dried up.

The monolithic head carving was found on its side submerged in mud in the former crater last week.

Its intriguing discovery was made by scientific volunteers from Chilean universities visiting the island on February 21 to restore the lake after it dried up in 2018.

It's now hoped tests on the 1.6m statue will be able to tell more about the famous effigies which have become synonymous with the island.

The island's Ma’u Henua community said the discovery was the first time one of the statues had been found in the volcano's lakes, and it's opened the possibility for yet more to be discovered.

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The head was discovered in the dried bed of the Rano Raraku lake, in the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano (Ma'u Henua Indigenous Community/)

The 1.6m giant moai head was found submerged in mud following a volcanic lake which had dried up (Ma'u Henua Indigenous Community/)

The community, indigenous to Rapa Nui national park where the head was found, said the find had "great potential for scientific and natural studies".

It's thought the head had been entombed for centuries, as the lake had been "at least three metres deep" for the past 200-300 years, making it impossible for it to have been moved there in that time.

The group said it was now looking to finance further tests on the moai, although there were no current plans to move it from where it was found.

The lake dried up in 2018, which scientists think was as a result of human activity in the area altering its chemical balance.

The moai statues are synonymous with Chile's Easter Island (Getty Images/Image Source)

Around 900 Moai are known to exist after they were carved by the Rapa Nui people between 1250 and 1500.

Most of the sculptures were carved from volcanic ash from the Rano Raraku volcano, where the latest discovery was made.

While many still dot the island, a small handful reside in museums worldwide, such as the British Museum, after they were removed during the 19th century when the Polynesian island was annexed by Chile.

Susie Beever