posted on Feb, 28 2015 @ 01:28 AM
Ha’amonga a Maui
Looking at the structure above the first thing that comes to mind is that it is some sort of Stonehenge like structure, however this trilithon stands
alone and is not arranged in the same form. It is 5.2m high and about 5.6m across and weighing approximately 80tons all up and made out of three large
coral lime stone blocks. The lintel piece (top) has been recessed into the two standing stones with remarkable precision.
Now there is no joking about this, but Tongan guys, are big guys. However, no matter how large they are I find it hard to believe any of them could
lift a 10 ton block up to a height of 5m and place it into the recessed notches pre-cut in the two larger standing stones so lets take a look to see
what kind of process would be involved in constructing this.
1. Gather materials (quarry) and move them to the site.
2. Erect the standing stones
3. Lift the lintel into place.
So to gather the materials is the first challenge, today this would be considered easy but easy is only a relative term. First we would cut the blocks
out of the quarry site with a diamond tipped saw and then use a crane to lift them out, place them on a vehicle for transport and again lift and place
with a crane. It would be a costly and time consuming process even today and thus we do not replicate these structures.
However, firstly let us consider the difficulty in cutting the blocks into shape. The early Polynesian people were a stone age people when James Cook
discovered them back in the 1700’s. Stone age implies that they have no metal technology, no steel, no bronze just stone, bone and wooden tools. Now
coral is a relatively soft stone, so indeed it can be worked and carved with harder stone tools, but to hand carve these blocks out of the quarry site
with hammer stones is an impressive feat alone and would have taken months if not over a year, to quarry even one block by this method. So the
quarrying of these blocks was alone and impressive feat.
Then we have to move the blocks to the site. Now because the Island itself is made of the same material and we assume the quarry was actually close to
the site (it hasn’t been identified) but we know it was not directly at the site, so some level of heavy movement was required. This is a
challenging feat for a stone age civilization without the wheel or pullies and with only the most crude of ropes. Various sources make claim that this
was done with wooden stilts and earthworks (changing the gradients of the ground) but even so this is an impressive and time consuming process and no
evidence of the earth working has been found.
Then we need to prepare the ground, give it some stability otherwise the structure will sink into the ground under its immense weight. We do not know
any of this as no excavations of the site have been allowed to take place. But since we know it has been standing for many centuries (if not
millennia) we can only assume they did a good job and that it is probably attached to the bedrock below and is very stable as Tonga is very prone to
natural disasters and the structure still stands.
This level of engineering would only assume the builders knew what they were doing and some level of trial and error would have taken place before
hand to learn these processes. However this in not at all the case.
We then need to stand the two largest stones (30 and 40 tons) upright, again though, without cranes or pully systems this is an impressive feat too, I
can only suppose if they could move the quarried blocks they could stand them up.
And finally place the lintel which weighs approximately 10 tons into the recesses cut into two standing stones. So it is not just getting thrown up on
top, but in fact, precisely placed.
Ask anyone on the Island about the history and how the construction took place and you would likely get told that Maui, the demigod and giant built
this in a very remote time long before them and their families and no one really knows how the sacred site got there as no mortal man could move these
However, this tale doesn’t play well with archaeologists who view the structure with wonder and need a ‘real’ explanation for it. So according
to our current understanding the monument would have been built around 1200AD by a great king.
The problem is, there is no written history recorded from these times, no pictures and we cannot date the structure itself so all we have to date this
is oral history.
Now this again is a problem, when the oral history of the locals claim Maui built it, but an un-named royal orator seemed to be the only person who
knew the real history and told scientists everything we know now. Of course there would be no reason for most to assume that the structure was not
indeed built by a powerful king 800 years ago with stone tools and heavy labour. Unless maybe a new theory arrived that made more sense.
But what if the experts are wrong in trusting one orators oral recounts, in fact, how can we be sure this orator even existed? He seems to be
nameless, the whole story could be made up in the minds of the archaeologists.