The Orongo ceremonial village, which was probably the centre of a complex of religious practices related to the Birdman cult, consists of over fifty semi-subterranean stone-houses built in contiguous groups, located on the rim of the Ran Kay crater below a towering cliff. There are abundant remains of the stone houses (hare) built by the earlier inhabitants of the island. The houses were raised on basalt foundation and form the nucleus for associated structures such as ovens or hearths, farm buildings and stone chicken houses. House groups sited near the coast are sometimes associated with round stone towers