The island is famous for its gigantic stone statues, of which there are more than 600, and for the ruins of giant stone platforms (ahus) with open courtyards on their landward sides, some of which show masterly construction. Archaeological surveys were carried out in 1886, 1914, and 1934; archaeological excavations were initiated in 1955. The excavations revealed that three distinct cultural periods are identifiable on the island. The early period is characterized by ahus at Tahai, Vinapu, and Anakena, carbon-dated to about 700–850 ce. The first two were admired and described by Captain Cook; the wall in Anakena remained hidden
Easter Island: Two million metres apart
One of the most remote and mysterious outposts on the planet, Easter Island is an enigmatic place to practise extreme social distancing. We discover more than moai in the far, far Pacific
After a steep hike up the Te Ara O Te Ao trail, through eucalyptus, papaya, cypress and acacia trees, and across swaying grasslands dotted with purple-flowering thistles, I finally reached the vast crater rim of Rano Kau, a 324m-high volcano that dominates the southernmost tip of Easter Island. The calls of a swooping, hawk-like caracara briefly sounded before being drowned out by a howling wind that threatened to buffet me over the precipice and into the flooded caldera below.