Canoe slipway and statue
Ceremonial platforms (ahu) are placed at frequent intervals around the coast of Easter Island. Elaborate ramps surfaced with basalt beach boulders are built down to the sea on one side of the ahu to allow the launching and landing of canoes. This one forms part of the Tahai complex. Canoes had a symbolic importance and the bases of the ceremonial platforms are often boat-shaped. The statue on the ahu to the right of the slipway has a red ‘hat’ known as a pukao. This indicates high status.
This photograph was taken during the Spring 2008 season of the ‘Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction’ project, an international collaboration co-directed by Dr Sue Hamilton (UCL Institute of Archaeology) that involves universities and local organisations and is supported by the British Academy.
Rapa Nui is the local name for Easter Island. It is one of the remotest places on Earth, lying in the South-East Pacific west of Chile and measuring 170 square km. Its most well known feature is its iconic statues, which were created 1000–1500 AD.
To find out more about the project and how you can support it, please contact Dr Sue Hamilton.
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