Talietumu
Encyclopedia
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
site in Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...
in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The site
Talietumu is situated about 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of the capital of Mata-UtuMata-Utu
Mata-Utu is the capital of the Wallis and Futuna Territory. It is located on the island of Wallis , in the district of Hahake, of which it is also the capital. Its population is 1,191 ....
and northeast of Halalo
Halalo
Halalo is a village in Wallis and Futuna. It is located in Mua District on the southwest coast of Wallis Island. Its population according to the 2008 census was 563 people.Just to the northeast is the archeological site of Talietumu....
in the Mu'a district on Wallis Island
Wallis Island
Wallis is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna....
(Uvea) (2).
The site was a fortified Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
n settlement called Kolo Nui (3) and the whole fortress is surrounded by a strong defensive wall
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
build of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
with several entrances. Inside the fort there are a few preserved buildings and structures, lawns and the central elevated platform called Talietumu (a Marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
or Mala´e, "Sacred Place") (4). The platform is of circular prolonged shape upon a circular stockade base (5). Raised walkways paved in stone start from the mala'e and radiate outward from within the fort.
History
The fort was built around 1450 AD during the expansion of the Tu'i Tonga EmpireTu'i Tonga Empire
Some early European commentators have propagated the notion of a pre-historic "Tui Tonga Empire" or "Tongan Empire" in Oceania.This idea has long been a source of cultural pride among some Tongans even though it has been seriously challenged and generally discounted by modern archaeologists,...
and it was the last holdout of the Tongans on Uvea until they were defeated.
French archaeologists Daniel Frimigacci, Jean-Pierre Siorat and Maurice Hardy of the French CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....
) spent several years restoring the central platform using original techniques and completed that work around 1997. The platform now measures about 5 meters in height and about 80 m in length (6).
Today the ruins of the fortress are a popular tourist attraction.
