Chilean scientists discovered a new moai statue on the Chilean island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, in a volcano's crater lake, which has dried up in recent years, exposing the figure entombed for centuries by the mud.
The discovery was made at the bottom of the crater of the Rano Raraku volcano, east of Rapa Nui and near one of the most touristic spots on the island.
As the vice president of the indigenous people of the Ma'u Henua island, Salvador Genua, explained to EFE, the moai was discovered by several student volunteers from the University of Chile and the University of Rancagua when they were doing geological research at the bottom of the volcanic crater where They found the figure.
The students reported the discovery to the authorities of the Ma'u Henua people, who administer the Rapa Nui National Park.
"This new moai, according to what the wise men of our town who are collecting background and data remember, served to demarcate the territory of the island, which was divided in two," said Salvador Genua.
The indigenous leader maintains that several older people on the island remember having seen the now-discovered moai in 1952, although they kept it only "in oral tradition", being buried in the lake and mud of the volcanic crater.
The wetland where the moai is located, which has dried up in recent years, was an area that suffered a fire a few months ago, which affected several nearby moai, located on the interior hills of the Rano Raraku volcano.
The new moai, although it has suffered from water erosion, has recognizable features and is full-length.
Easter Island is known worldwide for its huge large-faced figures carved in stone, which are scattered at various points on the island, and hold the magical mystery of how they were transported to their current locations, as each statue weighs several tons.
The moai figures are the biggest tourist attraction of Rapa Nui, which each year attracts thousands of visitors who travel with that unique claim to the island, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean 3,600 kilometers west of the Chilean coast.
The discovery opens new lines of research on the history of the island and the ancestors of its settlements: "This finding marks a milestone for us that must be studied further and combined with all that the history of the Rapa Nui people means," remarked Genua. .
"Carrying out the necessary studies means a lot of resources, many hours of work and research, but these efforts are important because they are the only way to learn about the moai's past," he added.
The indigenous president asked Chile and the international community for support in the investigation of the new discovery, appealing to the fact that the island and its figures have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995: "It is important not only for Chile, as the ruling nation in the island, but for the whole world, because we are the tenth wonder of the world", he claimed.
Likewise, Genua stressed that the island's indigenous people should be open to explanations from foreign scientists because "there are specialists in the world who know a lot about Easter Island," he said, and can help to faithfully reconstruct the past.
