Talietumu fortress (ruins)

The site was a fortified Tongan settlement called Kolo Nui and the whole fortress is surrounded by a strong defensive wall build of basalt with several entrances. Inside the fort there are a few preserved buildings and structures, lawns and the central elevated platform called Talietumu (a Marae or Mala´e, "Sacred Place"). The platform is of circular prolonged shape upon a circular stockade base. Raised walkways paved in stone start from the mala'e and radiate outward from within the fort.