A very unusual find.
Easter Island is already one of the most isolated and mysterious places on the planet. However, the enigma of the Moai, the famous stone statues of the island located 3,200 kilometers off the coast of Chile, still thickens: archaeologists have just made an amazing discovery. A new “stone giant” was found in the dry bed of the Rano Raraku volcano lake, the career where most of these colossi came. This find, very unusual and at least unexpected, is shaking up certain hypotheses concerning the location and function of these statues.
Until now, the Moai were known to be sculpted directly in the career, erected on coastal platforms (called “Ahu”) or abandoned along the transport roads, can be read in a study published in the Revue Antiquity. The presence of a statue at the bottom of a lake is therefore unprecedented, raising crucial questions: was it voluntarily placed there for a specific ritual, or is it the result of an abandonment during its transport?
This discovery, relayed by media like the Daily Mail in July 2025, shows that Easter Island has not yet delivered all its secrets. Despite the scientific advances on sculpture and transport techniques (notably the theory of “Moai that works” which suggests that the inhabitants of Easter Island moved their standing colossal statues, by changing and “advancing” thanks to strings and the ingenuity of their shape, simulating a walk), each new find reinforces the mystery around this isolated civilization. These stone giants, often represented as simple heads, actually have whole bodies, often decorated with complex engravings, buried underground. They probably embodied deified ancestors, watching over their communities.
While Easter Island faces the threats of climate change, this new discovery recalls the importance of continuous research and the preservation of this unique world heritage. The Moai continue to challenge us, silent guardians of a story not yet fully understood.
