A new statue, on Easter Island, was discovered in a dried lagoon of the crater near a volcano. Easter Island is a Chilean territory in the Pacific Ocean, said the indigenous community responsible for administering the island’s national park.

“It is a unique discovery, because it is the first time that is discovered a moai inside the lake of the crater of Rano Raraku”, assures in a communiqué the community Ma’ u Henua, which manages the national park Rapa Nui where the volcano is, estimating that this discovery could open new perspectives on the history of the island.

The statue was discovered on February 21 by a team of scientists from three Chilean universities who are collaborating with the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) to recover a wetland in the crater of Rano Raraku, which was hit by a fire last October.

“This statue, this “moai,” is in the center of a lagoon that began to dry up in 2018,” explained Ninoska Avareipua Huki Cuadros, director of the Ma’u Henua indigenous community.

“What is interesting is that, at least in the last 200 or 300 years, the lagoon had a depth of three meters, so no human being could have left this moai there,” stressed the one who is also the head of the Conaf on the island also known as Rapa Nui.

The statue, which measures 1,60 m, was discovered lying on the side, “with a complete body and recognizable features, but not clearly defined”, indicates the Ma’u Henua community, which says to be “in search of financing to carry out a thorough study of this discovery”.

Easter Island is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, 3,500 km from the Chilean coast.  Easter Island, of Polynesian culture, is known worldwide for its impressive megaliths of mysterious origin, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Some statues can reach 20 meters high and weigh up to 80 tons.