βMoai designs are getting lostβ: extreme weather chips away at Easter Island statues
Experts call for conservation action as the features on Rapa Nuiβs famous monoliths are eroded by fire and rain
The Ahu Tahai moai, on the east side of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is an impressive 4.5 metres high. Carved from a soft volcanic rock, the statue looks out solemnly over the island, with its back to the bay.
The Tahai (βwhere the sun setsβ) and the islandβs other thousand or so moai were erected roughly between 1100 and 1700 as a representation of Rapa Nuiβs ancestors.
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