Explore Easter Island with Me (3) - Rano Raraku Quarry 🗿🇨🇱 复活节岛摩托之旅（三）

Last weekend, I was shocked to see the images of charred moai, the iconic stone statues on Easter Island. It's reported that an arsonist set fire on the island, and the region near Rano Raraku volcano was the hardest hit.

I visited the island in 2016, but sadly, many of the impressive moai statues I saw at Rano Raraku are now severely damaged. According to local officials, the damage is irreparable. The island has only been reopened to tourists for 2 months since the covid pandemic.

So, today let's have a look at what the Rano Raraku quarry site used to be like. In my previous 2 posts about Easter Island (almost 5 years ago, high time to continue this series ;p), I showed you the location and shape of this island. It is located in Oceania, at the southeastern vertice of the Polynesian Triangle. Easter Island's overall shape is triangular. Rano Raraku is an area on the island's eastern headland that surrounds a volcanic crater.

During that 9-day trip on Easter Island, we explored almost all corners with motor scooter. The iconic giant moai statues can be seen scattered around the island, and Rano Raraku is like a cradle of them. The majority of the moai were carved in the quarry here and then transported to other parts of the island.

Hundreds of moai statues dot the slopes of Rano Raraku. The size and posture of each moai vary. The average height is approximately 4 metres. The largest is more than 20 metres and is still attached to bedrock on the upper slope. Some statues are standing or tilting, while others are toppled beside their ahu platform.

Visitors can walk the trails around the crater's outer slopes, looking closely at these mysterious massive stone statues. It's a truly unforgettable experience for me. It's really sad to see these cultural heritages damaged by fire now.

The Rano Raraku site is not only a megalithic workshop, but it also represents the rise and fall of an ancient culture. It is the epicenter of Polynesia.

Polynesians were present on the island long before the arrival of Catholic missionaries in 1864 and Chile's annexation in 1888. The construction of the ceremonial centres and moai statues marked the pinnacle of Rapa Nui culture.

These monuments were estimated to be carved by the locals between 1400 and 1650. They depict the revered ancestors of the Polynesians and are arranged in a ring form facing inland around the island. Later, around the 17th century, lineage conflicts brought down the Moai, and the Tangata Manu (birdman) ritual arose.

The unique moai statue below is called Tukuturi. It stands out from the crowd at Rano Raraku. It has a goatee and the typical kneeling posture of the Riu festival chorus singers. Poike, one of Easter Island's three main extinct volcanoes, and Ahu Tongariki, a group of 15 moai by the sea, can also be seen from here.

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周末看到报道说复活节岛上有人纵火，损坏了Rano Raraku火山坑外围的大量巨石雕像。我想起来六年多前去过这个采石场，对那些散落山坡上的大石雕印象深刻。而现在看到新闻中大片烧黑的草地和石雕，觉得很惋惜。

今天就来通过以前拍的照片回顾一下游览Rano Raraku的经历。当时在复活节岛上呆了九天，租摩托探索了岛上几乎每个角落，是一次非常难忘的旅行。不仅因为岛上神秘迷人的波利尼西亚文化和独特的火山地貌，也因为那里遥远难达，可能是一生一次的珍贵机会。

近五年前写过两篇复活节岛上其他两处的石雕景点Anakena和Ahu Akivi，也介绍过太平洋上的波利尼西亚文化大三角和复活节岛的概况，这次就不重述了，主要看看这个Rano Raraku火山坑外围采石场的几百尊大石雕。

^{All content by @itchyfeetdonica. Thank you for visiting!
图文 by Donica，谢谢来访！=)}

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