WMF Mission to Easter Island

At the request of the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales from Chile and the Rapa Nui National Park (RNNP) on Easter Island, World Monuments Fund in collaboration with a grant from American Express, sponsored a mission to develop a monitoring system at the Ceremonial Center of Mata Ngarau in the archaeological site of 'Orongo, on Easter Island. The mission was carried out in collaboration with the National Park Service, through an agreement this institution has with the Chilean counterpart, CONAF. Blaine Cliver and Raul Vazquez, NPS, and Michael Schuller, Atkinson-Noland Associates, were in charge of the installation and surveying of reference points for the necessary monitoring measurements. The Mata Ngarau Ceremonial Center is located on the edge of the Rano Kau volcano, 300 m above sea level. The site was devoted to the birdman cult and was only used in spring (during the month of September) while sea birds returned to nest on the three islets opposite this southwest tip of Easter Island.