The Moai - Statues

The great glory of Easter Island are of course the statutes, or moai, as they are called, all standing on their platforms or ahu.

All had been toppled by the time  the Europeans came to study them in the 1850s, but about half a dozen groups have been re-erected, and here we show a selection of the more spectacular ones

Tongariki is the biggest of all, with 14 statues.

Anakena, the original royal site with six restored statues and a single.

Akivi, a splendid group in the middle of the Island

Tahai, the group nearest the town, where part of the village has also been restored