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The most recent discovery on Easter Island is the uncovering bodies of several statues.

For those unfamiliar with these statues, they were carved from solidified volcanic ash or tuff that can be easily worked and found in one place - inside the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. Huge stone statues that made the island famous were carved around 1100-1680 AD (according to radiocarbon tests). A total of 887 monolithic statues can be found on the island and in museum collections. Although statues are often referred to as heads, they are actually torsos and most of them end in the upper thighs. Some are complete - kneeling with upright hands. Some upright statues were buried up to the neck due to the landslide.

The entire statues were excavated by Katherine Routledge in 1914-1915, then by Thor Heyerdal in 1955. The photograph is from Heyerdal's expedition in 1986.

Huge heads are one of the greatest mysteries in history. The fact that they have bodies is amazing. Their possible connection with extraterrestrial beings is being investigated.

When most people think of famous statues, they only imagine their heads. But in October 2011, the 5th season of a research project on Easter Island began, during which the sculptures were found to reach much deeper than originally thought.

Excavations have also revealed new petroglyphs on the statues. They are expected to be deciphered. Do they tell us the story of how extraterrestrial beings created these statues in their image?