Ha'amonga 'a Maui
In Tonga stands a giant stone gateway, like a piece of Stonehenge, which legend says the demigod Maui carried there.
What was reported
Ha'amonga 'a Maui, 'the burden of Maui', is a trilithon on the island of Tongatapu: two upright coral limestone stones about 5 metres tall, topped by a third stone, each weighing many tonnes. Legend says the demigod Maui carried the stones there from another island on a pole across his shoulders.
Tongan tradition credits its construction to King Tu'itātui, around the 13th century, as a gateway to his royal compound.
Explanations offered
In 1967, King Tāufa'āhau Tupou IV pointed out that markings on the lintel line up with the sunrise on the solstices, suggesting it may also have marked the seasons. How the stones were quarried and raised is not recorded, but levers, ramps and large work crews could have done it.
- When
- Built around 1200
- Where
- Niutōua, Tongatapu, Tonga
- Witnesses
- Tongans and visitors
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.