Did you know that there are hundreds of tia ma’a, prehistoric megaliths or stone mounds, that have been found throughout the archipelago of Samoa and American Samoa? Some of these ancient monuments are truncated pyramids, such as one of the largest and perhaps oldest in all of Polynesia, known as Pulemelei.  That particular structure is also aligned to the cardinal points, further deepening the mystery of why these  

monuments were first built. Other stone mounds have radial arms or cogs and are referred to as star mounds and cog mounds. One common characteristic of high mounds such as the megalithics in Pōtini,  Sa’anapu, and Pulemelei in Vailoa, Palauli, is that anyone standing on top of these structures will have a commanding view of the surrounding terrain and ocean. The tops of these mounds can be above the trees growing around them.  

The Tiapapata Art Centre, with support under the ACP-EU Programme Enhancing capacity for the   sustainability of the cultural and creative industries in the Pacific, has begun the second phase of a project   now titled “Living Monuments: Exploring Samoa's Heritage Through virtual space.” The ACP-EU  Programme (Pacific) is funded by the European Union and the Secretariat of the Organisation of African,  Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and is implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology.

The first phase, titled Rock-Paper-Scissors, explored the stone tools of Samoa, pottery, and the making of fibre-based paper. With this current round of funding, attention has shifted to megalithic structures that dot Samoa’s heritage landscape. Most of these sites have been around since prehistoric times and tend to be thickly covered with trees and brush.  Professor Helene Martinsson-Wallin, an archaeologist from the Gotland Campus of Uppsala University, Sweden, was recently in Samoa to further her work in promoting an appreciation of Samoa’s rich cultural heritage and the links that exist between peoples in the past and the present.  

Professor Martinsson-Wallin is no stranger to Samoa nor to the megalithic structures here. In 2002 – 2004, she played a key role in a significant research project studying Pulemelei. That seminal work later resulted  in the publishing of a text titled “Samoan Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Monuments and People, Memory and History.”

The initial research was centred on the origins and successive development of the large scale Pulemelei mound and associated archaeological remains. This led to the establishment of courses in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Management at the National University of Samoa. She was also able to secure funding for an academic program that facilitated the exchange of students and faculty between Gotland and Samoa. The first student to benefit from this program is Dr. Iosefa Percival, who is lending his technical expertise in geo-spatial mapping to create a 3D model of the stone mound. Assisting him are Jonathan Fong, who has done similar work in Rotuma, Fiji, and Ben Percival, who has printed a 3D model of the Pōtini megalith.  

Two workshops and seminars about Samoa’s heritage monuments and how they can be geo-spatially mapped have recently been conducted at the Tiapapata Art Centre. Participants at both these events learned how drones and other remote sensing technologies have been used to create immersive virtual reality (VR)  experiences as well as create and print a 3D model of the Pōtini mound. Afioga Su’emalo Talie Foliga, ACEO Environment and Conservation, shared information about the Government’s efforts to preserve heritage sites throughout Samoa, making particular reference to a heritage Bill that the Ministry is preparing for Parliament. A video recording of one of the principal cultural custodians of the Pōtini Tia also shared his family’s oral traditions about the purpose of the Pōtini mound. They, like Samoan elders living near ancient stone mounds throughout the archipelago, attest that these structures were raised for the sport of catching pigeons, hence, the common Samoan name of these mounds is “tia suelupe” or pigeon-snaring mound. But there is a possibility that pigeon-snaring was a secondary use of the high mounds, a use that may have become popular after its original purpose was no longer important to those who commissioned their building.  

Opening up sites like the Pōtini mound is important for several reasons. Heritage sites are a tangible link to a cultural past that is little understood. Access to these sites provides opportunities to research to find answers to the puzzling questions of why and when these megaliths were built. The potential of such sites for heritage tourism is also largely unknown, as very few such sites have been opened up to the public.  The ACPEU project team are planning to officially open the Tia at Pōtini on 21 May 2025, World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.