[Tuesday, January 27]
Our next stop on Easter Island was Ahu Tongariki to see an ahu platform with 15
restored moai on the east coast. Archeologists Patricia and Claudio told the story of how the site was
completely destroyed by the tsunami that hit the island as a result of the 1960
Chilean earthquake – the strongest on record at 9.6 Richter. The moai were already toppled from the clan warfare occurring at the time of European landing, the tsunami scattered the pieces all over.
The pieces of the moai were moved upland by the tsunami and
scattered under lots of rubble and debris. They called the location “the mess”. In the 1990’s the Japanese donated a
crane to re-erect the moai statues.
But it took 5 years and another $400,000 to clear the site of debris,
treat the stone, piece the carvings back together, secure them with steel cores
and erect them on the platforms with the crane, all work under the direction of Claudio and Patricia. Their careful plan was successful – the resurrected moai have been standing
for 20 years without mishap.
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| Archeologist Claudio Cristino describes the process to raise the 15 moai |
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