A research award of over £640,000 has been made by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to support the next phase of the University College London (UCL) project ‘Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Landscapes of Construction’.
The project is led by Professor Sue Hamilton (UCL Institute of Archaeology), with Colin Richards (University of Manchester) and Kate Welham (Bournemouth University) as Co-Investigators, and the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA), University of Highlands and Islands as project partner. The funding will allow the team to continue their ground-breaking study of Easter Island.
The most prominent archaeological features of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are the colossal stone statues (‘moai’) dating between c.AD 1000 to AD 1600 that once stood on stone ceremonial platforms (‘ahu’) positioned around the coastline of the island.
The project aims to develop new interpretations on the organisation and meaning of these monumental construction activities and to unify the previously isolated research focuses of statue quarries, transport roads, and ahu, into an integrated island-wide programme of landscape study, survey and excavation.
This is a new phase of the project ‘Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction’, which is directed by Sue Hamilton and Colin Richards and is a collaborative venture between UCL and the University of Manchester, Bournemouth University, ORCA, the University of Chile, Santiago, the Rapa Nui National Parks (CONAF), and the Island’s Museum (MAPSE).
Images from the work already undertaken by the team can be viewed at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/rapanui
Notes to Editors:
AHRC Media Contact Jake Gilmore j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk Tel: 01793 41 6021
Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Each year the AHRC provides approximately £112 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,300 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.