The Ha'amonga 'a Maui — "Burden of the God Maui" — is a massive coral trilithon standing on the eastern tip of Tongatapu, 32 km from Nuku'alofa. Two upright pillars of coral limestone, each roughly five metres tall, support a single lintel stone weighing more than 8,900 kilograms. It was built around 1200 AD by the 11th Tu'i Tonga, Taufa'ahau, and is thought to have marked the entrance to the royal compound known as To Tele. No other structure like it exists in Polynesia.
The comparisons to Stonehenge come easily and are not entirely wrong. Both were raised with enormous effort, using stones hauled from a distance, by cultures without metal tools or wheeled carts. In Tonga's case, the coral blocks are believed to have been quarried on the island's coast and dragged overland — an undertaking that required the mobilisation of hundreds of people over many years. The trilithon has survived earthquakes, tropical storms, and eight centuries of neglect in reasonable condition. Since 1972, when King Tupou IV declared it a protected national park, it has been maintained as an archaeological reserve. There is a small visitor shelter at the site.