<P> Ha ʻamonga ʻa Maui (Burden of Maui) is a stone trilithon located in Tonga, on the north of the island of Tongatapu, near the village of Niutōua, in Heketā . </P> <P> The trilithon is constructed from three coral limestone slabs, and is up to 5.2 metres (17 ft) high, 1.4 m wide, and 5.8 m long . The weight of the visible part of each upright stone is approximately 30--40 tons . There are hewn deep mortises in the top of each upright stone to fit in the lintel . </P> <P> Ha'amonga' a Maui was either built at the beginning of the 13th century under the 11th Tu ʻi Tonga Tu ʻitātui (king strike the knee) and the high chief Loʻau, most likely as a gateway to his royal compound Heketā, or by the deified ancestor Maui in the 6th century, most likely as a astronomical observatory . One can pass through the portal and walk the short distance towards the ʻesi maka faakinanga (stone to lean against), which served as the king's throne . Sitting with his back to that stone, he was safe from assassins from behind, and with his long stick he could hit every potential foe from the front on his knees . </P>

Ha'amonga ʻa maui a monumental coral gate from the 1200s