Ahu Akivi

Seven

Seven moai of equal shape and size stand inland at Ahu Akivi

The site has seven moai, all of equal shape and size, and is also known as a celestial observatory set up around the 16th century. It lies inland rather than along the coast.

Sevenmoai of equal shape and size

The alignment

They face sunset at the Spring Equinox, a precision seen only here

The seven identical moai exactly face sunset during the Spring Equinox and have their backs to the sunrise during the Autumn Equinox. Such an astronomically precise feature is seen only at this location on the island.

The scouts

These moai look out to sea, and a legend says they are seven scouts

Statues elsewhere on the island faced the village, but the Ahu Akivi statues face the sea. In oral tradition Hotu Matu's priest dreamed of the island, and the king sent scouts to find it. Seven stayed, and the seven statues stand in their honour.

Restored

Two archaeologists raised the seven statues again from 1960

In 1955 Thor Heyerdahl recruited William Mulloy and Gonzalo Figueroa García-Huidobro, who restored the statues they found knocked down in 1960. Raising the first moai took one month. The seventh took less than a week.