<< Our Photo Pages >> Ha'amonga 'a Maui - Standing Stones in Pacific Islands
Submitted by DrewParsons on Wednesday, 17 August 2011 Page Views: 14196
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Ha'amonga 'a Maui Alternative Name: Tonga's Trilithon, Tonga's StonehengeCountry: Pacific Islands
NOTE: This site is 153.965 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Standing Stones
Nearest Town: Nuku'alofa Nearest Village: Niutōua
Latitude: 21.137S Longitude: 175.048W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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With his back against the stone he was safe from assassination attempts. The trilithon is constructed of 3 limestone slabs and is approximately 5 metres high, 2 metres wide and 6 metres long. In popular mythology the structure was built by Maui (a demigod known throughout Polynesia) who carried the stones from Wallis Island (1000 kilometres to the north). In reality the stones match the geology of local quarries.
The resemblance of the stones to Stonehenge has led to speculation that they formed an observatory but markings suggested as alignments for solar events today have moved considerably since its construction 800 years ago due to subsidence and so they could never have predicted such events when cut into the stones.
I visited the site in 1984, taking a local bus from Nuku'alofa. I recall the bus being overtaken along the bumpy road by a boy riding a horse. No doubt the roads have improved since then!!
References:
Wikipedia: Ha'amonga 'a Maui
South Pacific Handbook , D. Stanley
Note: Jarom Vahai's presents his research on Ancient 'GPS' Devices at Stanford Symposium
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