Archaeologists on Easter Island have discovered an iconic Moai statue that had been hidden for centuries in the bed of a lake that has gone dry. The remarkable find was reportedly made last week when researchers set about examining the freshly revealed ground which has been exposed due to climate change. To their surprise, in the lake bed was a Moai statue slightly smaller than the approximately 1,000 monuments which can be found standing throughout the island. Ma'u Henua, vice president of the indigenous group that serves as the caretaker for the island's national park, called the find a "very, very important discovery" and marveled that "even the ancestors, our grandparents" were unaware of the long-buried piece.

This excitement was echoed by archaeologist Terry Hunt, who observed that "we think we know all the moai, but then a new one turns up." What is particularly thrilling about the discovery is that it is the first time that one of the legendary statues has ever been found in a dry lake bed on the island and it is quite possible that there could be additional pieces at the location waiting to be found. "When there's one moai in the lake," Hunt mused, "there's probably more." To that end, researchers hope to comb over the area with special equipment in the hopes of spotting any other monuments as well as additional artifacts which have been made accessible after all these years.