Talietumu
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Talietumu or more correctly Kolo Nui (1) is an archaeological site in Wallis and Futuna in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.
[edit] The site
Talietumu is situated about 9 km (6 miles) southwest of the capital of Mata-Utu close by the villages of Halalo and Lotoalahi in the Mu'a district on Wallis Island (Uvea) (2).
The site was a fortified Tongan settlement called Kolo Nui (3) 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") (4). The platform is of circular prolonged shape upon a circular stockade base (5). Raised walkways paved in stone start from the marae and radiate in all directions inside the fort.
[edit] History
The fort was build around 1450 AD during the expansion of the Tu'i Tonga Empire 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) have restored the central platform for several years using original technique 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:
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