Home » “Irreparable damage” to the moais of Easter Island

“Irreparable damage” to the moais of Easter Island

by admin
“Irreparable damage” to the moais of Easter Island

A serious damage to the environment, history and tourism of the small paradise of Polyneasia. A fire ravaged part of Easter Island and charred some of its monumental stone-carved figures, known as moai. This was stated by the local authorities. The fire broke out in the Rapa Nui National Park, 3,500 km off the west coast of Chile, causing “irreparable” damage to the archaeological site.

The island was inhabited for a long time by Polynesian peoples, before Chile annexed it in 1888. The monuments are thought to represent the living ancestors of the Polynesian population of Easter Island and that they were once linked to ritual activities, constituting a focal point for communities.

“More than 100 hectares (247 acres) have been affected in the Rano Raraku sector, which includes the wetland and moai sector,” the national park said in a statement on its official Facebook page Thursday.

Carolina Perez, Undersecretary for Cultural Heritage, said the island has been fighting fires since Monday. Rapa Nui has more than a thousand stone statues – giant heads believed to have been first carved in the 13th century by the island’s original inhabitants. The area around the Rano Raraku volcano, a Unesco world heritage site, would have been the hardest hit. In that area there are several hundred moai, in addition to the quarry from which the stone used to sculpt the statues was extracted.

Ariki Tepano, director of the Ma’u Henua community responsible for the management and maintenance of the park, described the damage as irreparable: “The moais are completely charred and you can see the effect of the fire on them.”

Easter Island mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa said he believed the fire “was not an accident”, telling local radio Pauta that “all fires on Rapa Nui are caused by humans”.

“The damage caused by the fire cannot be undone,” added Edmunds Paoa. “The breaking of an original and emblematic stone cannot be recovered, no matter how many millions of euros or dollars are invested”.

Researchers from Binghamton University found that Easter Island’s moai statues were built near sources of fresh water. The park said the “shortage of volunteers” hindered officials’ ability to keep the fire under control. Total damage to the site has not yet been assessed. The fire comes just three months after the island reopened to tourism on August 5, after two years of closure due to Covid-19.

Before the pandemic, Easter Island – where tourism is the main source of livelihood – received around 160,000 visitors a year, with two flights a day.

An extraordinary meeting was convened on Thursday in which a delegation of the presidency of Chile and the island’s authorities discussed how to deal with the fire emergency and how to prevent the statues from being damaged in the future. In the meantime, the park will be closed at least for the whole day on Friday waiting for experts to estimate the damage to the monoliths, including the 30 that are located in the area of ​​the volcano.

(reuters)

See also  The ball is already rolling between Once Caldas and Bogotá FC at the Palogrande stadium | Other Soccer Leagues

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy