Posted on 10/07/2022 5:26:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Fire has damaged Easter Island's iconic megalith statues known as moai. An unknown number of the nearly 1,000 stone-carved statues were affected.
Ariki Tepano, director of the Ma'u Henua community in charge of management and maintenance at the UNESCO heritage site Rapa Nui Natural Park, said the damage is "irreparable and with consequences beyond what your eyes can see."
"The moai are totally charred and you can see the effect of the fire upon them," Tepano said in a social media post.
The city of Rapa Nui said in the post that the site is closed to visitors while investigations are underway to assess the damage.
Chilean Cultural Heritage Undersecretary Carolina Perez Dattari tweeted that fire swept through the World Heritage Site on Easter Island.
More than 247.1 acres, including the moai sector, were hit by fire affecting "one of the major archaeological sites," the city of Rapa Nui said in a Facebook post.
The statues, created by the Rapa Nui people between 1400 and 1650, are considered to embody the spirit of a prominent ancestor with each one considered to be a living incarnation of the person.
According to a UNESCO description of the Easter Island site, "A society of Polynesian origin that settled there c. A.D. 300 established a powerful, imaginative and original tradition of monumental sculpture and architecture, free from any external influence. From the 10th to the 16th century this society built shrines and erected enormous stone figures known as moai, which created an unrivaled landscape that continues to fascinate people throughout the world."
I did not know that the statues had been painted. However, I don’t see the need to “power wash, etc” off the burn marks, eve if there were any remains of paint on them; and even more so to avoid with there being traces of 500+ year old paint.
Lightning?
Muslims???
p
Ain’t that tuff enough?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_qmKhukpvY
Thank you for providing that crucial information about the paint ruined by the fire. It will be impossible to replace what was burned.
You are correct. Articles and reports intended to create a sense of panic always precede requests for funding.
Give them chia pet hair to match their new color...
Any indication that UNESCO’s Rapa Nui is blaming this all on Climate Change per chance?
Sounds like making a mountain out of a mole hill to me.
Yes it is. Likely the Rapa Nui National whatever will be begging for more money.
Climate change.
Tom: What ya doin’ this weekend Fred?
Fred: Just burnin’ a few rocks. and having a BBQ, wanna come? Plenty of pork and poi!
Tom: Nah, too sooky for me, thiose rockls make funny noises and squirm when you lihjt ‘em up!
Fred: Yah! Its a trip, the girls get all excited when the rocks moan and squirm around.One even started jetting fire from its eye sockets when it got real hot!
Tom: Rapa Nui!
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