SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Researchers have found a new moai statue in a dry lake on the Chilean island of Rapa Nui, joining the approximately 1,000 other iconic monolithic sculptures on what is internationally known as Easter Island.

The statue is relatively small at 1.6 meters (5.2 feet), as compared with some of the other broadly featured heads and torsos that reach as tall as 22 meters (72 feet). It was found by researchers from the University of Chile and O’Higgins University.

More statues might be found in the dry lake, which is at the center of the Rano Raraku volcanic crater, said Salvador Atan Hito, vice president of the Ma ́u Henua indigenous community that manages Rapa Nui’s archeological treasures.

A new Moai has be uncovered in an Easter Island lake that was previously full, but now dry. Interestingly, the “Birdman Glyph” is adjacent to the lake. Here is what it looked like in April 2018 when I was there: https://t.co/8GH1vXax87 pic.twitter.com/3Ik8VOCNW7

— Heather L. Arnold (@HeatherLArnold) February 28, 2023

The statue “is in good condition, it has wear from time, erosion, water, but its shapes and features are still very noticeable,” Atan told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

“This discovery is something historic for this new generation,” he added.

A new Moai statue has been uncovered on Chile's Easter Island. The latest finding is smaller than many of the nearly 1,000 Moai on the island. This is the first statue found in a dry lake, so it is presumed that there could be more stones left to uncover https://t.co/11tcy4by8l pic.twitter.com/N6Xe7C7aYx

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 2, 2023

About 400 of the island’s 1,000 moai are inside the volcanic crater or on its outer slopes, and the rest are scattered around the rest of the island’s Island’s 160 square kilometers (60 square miles).

Some of the moai are known to be buried under the surface though they have been left in place. However, this latest one had not previously been cataloged, Atan said.

History Thursday – One of the Easter Island Moai statues that was carved but never erected. it would have stood 72ft tall (the tallest standing is 33ft high) and weighed more than 2 Boeing 737's.

Visit George’s history blogs at: https://t.co/fhoWMzahEA#History #Archaeology pic.twitter.com/4jn4MT2qYF

— George Hruby (@GeorgeHruby) February 23, 2023

The figures represent the ancestors of the Rapa Nui community, and their role is to protect community members, which is why they were placed looking inward from the sea, Atan said.

Rapa Nui, located 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) from the continent, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In 2019, it was renamed “Rapa Nui-Easter Island” from its previous name of Easter Island.

The Easter Island statues have bodies pic.twitter.com/7r9sikWjev

— Lost in History (@LIHpics) March 2, 2023