Ahu Akivi Moai In Easter Island (Rapa Nui National Park)

Ahu Akivi Moai in Rapa Nui
National Park

In Easter Island, Ahu Akivi was one of seven moai (monolithic human figures carved from rock ) they are :1. Rano Raraku 2. Ahu Tongariki 3. Ahu Vinapu 4.Ahu Akivi 5. Ahu Naunau 6. Ahu Tahai 7. Rano Kau and Orongo in Rapa Nui National Park. Ahu Akivi built in 1460 this site was one of the later constructions built, probably at a time when the statue cult was beginning to unravel. Unlike other sites, Akivi is inland and has a commanding view of the western part of the island. Its 7 moai, all about 14 feet tall and approx. 12 metric tons each, are remarkably similar. When UCLA archeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg documented all the statues on the island the Ahu Akivi statues were found to be the statistical average of all the moai.


The statues were raised and the site restored in the 50's by famed archeologist William Mulloy. Studies suggest that the ahu itself was begun around 1442 and lasted until 1600. Van Tilburg has postulated that during that time 8 chiefs of this region could have ruled. It is thought that perhaps the statues where build by the 8th chief who was most likely a direct descendant of the others. As statue construction stopped about this time this 8th chief never got his due after building such an austere and beautiful monument. I found myself returning again and again to this site during my visit to Rapa Nui. After photographing it in every possible light I realized that night a full moon would be rising in the area.(Mystorious Place)

According to Wikipedia, Ahu Akivi is an ahu with seven moai on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia. The ahu and its moai were restored in 1960 by the American archaeologist William Mulloy and his Chilean colleague, Gonzalo Figueroa García-Huidobro. Mulloy's work on the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex was supported by the Fulbright Foundation and by grants from the University of Wyoming, the University of Chile and the International Fund for Monuments. Ahu Akivi also gives its name to one of the seven regions of the Rapa Nui National Park.

The Moai face sunset during Spring and Autumn Equinox; and have their backs to the sunrise during Spring and Autumn Equinox.
Unlike other ahus, the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex is not located on the coast. In contrast to the monumental statuary at other sites on the island, the moai at Ahu Akivi face the ocean.