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Ahu Tongariki

Easter Island, Valparaíso, Chile

Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Its moais were toppled during the island’s civil wars, and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since been restored and has fifteen moai, including one that weighs eighty-six tonnes, the heaviest ever erected on the island. Ahu Tongariki is one kilometer from Rano Raraku and Poike in the Hotu-iti area of Rapa Nui National Park. All the moai here face sunset during the winter solstice.

History
Ahu Tongariki was the main centre and capital of the Hotu-iti clan, the eastern confederation of the Rapa Nui people. Its moai were toppled during the island’s civil wars. In 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile swept the ahu inland.

Ahu Tongariki was substantially restored in the 1990s through the efforts of a multidisciplinary team headed by archaeologists Claudio Cristino and Patricia Vargas Casanova. The five-year project was carried out under an official agreement among the Chilean government, the University of Chile, and Japan-based crane manufacturer Tadano Limited.

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