By Tseperka Panagiota (B4).
Easter Island (Isla de Pascua), also known as Rapa Nui in the local language, meaning large island, is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, at the eastern end of the Polynesian triangle, and is a province of Chile.
Easter Island is volcanic and together with the neighboring islets form the peaks of a volcanic mountain, 2,000 meters high from the bottom of the sea. The island was created by three local volcanoes, about 700,000 years ago.
The name of the island is due to the Dutch navigator Jakob Rogeven, who arrived there at Easter 1722 and this was the reason to name the place «Easter Island».
Apart from its special name, the island is famous for its huge anthropomorphic sculptures, which the locals call Moai.
The mystery surrounding the giant sculptures has to do with how they were transported and placed where they are today.
According to American archaeologist Jo Ann van Tilberg in 2011 – after 15 years of research – it seems that the sculptures are not incorporeal entities as their bodies lie beneath the surface of the earth.
On the island there are a total of 887 statues, dating between 1250 and 1500, each of which is 3 to 5 meters high and 1.6 meters wide. It is believed that the statues are arranged in such a way that they look either towards the mainland of the island or towards the sea.
The mystery spreads around their raison d’être. Many argue that the Moai were created with the aim of honoring their ancestors or chiefs.
Easter Island has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995 and even today is still one of the most mysterious places on the planet.
