Located in the scenic Lata plantation in Savai’i is a man-made stone mound that became a subject of interest for a writer over 140 years ago who believed it was the final resting place of royalty.

A special correspondent named Cyril, who subscribed for the Samoa Times and South Seas Gazette which at that time was the first commercial newspaper of the islands, wrote about a man-made mound in Savai'i on 4 October 1879.

According to the writer, the mound would have seemed to a "casual observer" as trees and growth stemming out of boulders. But the fascinating structure had him pensively record the journey of his discovery alongside the proprietors of the Lata plantation on which the mound was found.

The mound was located in the Frank Cornwall plantation which was purchased around 1876 and laid out in 1877. While the trail to the mound was difficult to get to, it seemed to be in a good state of preservation once cleared of the undergrowth.

The mound had a footprint length of 73 metres by 27 metres wide at its base, with sloping sides leading to a top platform 55 metres long and 14 metres wide. It was reportedly 20ft (6 metres) high according to Cyril. The structure is thus comparable to the Pulemelei mound in Savai'i.

Cyril alluded to the belief that the builders of the mound would have been tall and powerful, and of a different breed to the local indigenous population at that time, based on his own estimate of how long it took him to reach the site and the heaviness of the rocks required to build the structure.

“The roads and high solid dividing walls which are to be met with in Lata are, to my thinking strong proofs that there was once a very large population; a people not merely of great numerical strength, but much superior to the present generation in height and physical strength in point of fact a most powerful, giant like race of people,” he wrote.

He then made reference to the spectacular sight of the mound, as he strolled along the plantation roads with the proprietors of the land and the large amount of work needed to get it done.

"When first discovered by the manager in clearing, it was so densely overgrown with vines that it had the appearance of a thick clump of bush. 

“He was therefore rather surprised when he found, on clearing off some of the vines, this huge pile of stones, but he went on with the clearing; and it is now perfectly free from vines, or weeds, showing its proportions as plainly and proudly as in days of old,” Cyril’s article read.

As to the purpose of the mound, the writer noted down to four reasons: that being a foundation for a large fale, a temple site, a point of vantage in the ancient fighting days; or in "honour of a renowned and powerful chief, whose influence or whose family were of sufficiently high rank.”

The surprising conclusion Cyril arrived at was that it was the final resting place of the last king of Savai’i, Tupu o le Vao.  

"There is no native living in the group, I believe, who is in the position to positively assert either that Tupu ole Vao was not buried here or where his mortal remains were finally laid, therefore, I think the honour might appropriately be attached to this place as anywhere else," Cyril wrote.

Only 259 acres of the Lata plantation is now cultivated by the Wetzell family with the original plantation measuring 550 acres. 

The managing director of the plantation, Richard Wetzell, told Samoa Observer that it has been a difficult time for the plantation since the COVID-19 pandemic and before that the measles epidemic.  

Much of the original estate has reverted back to the bush and it is not clear where the remnants, if any, of the Lata mound are located. The LiDAR survey of that locality on Savai’i does not conclusively indicate where this structure might have been.

But 3D drawings were drawn to scale and prepared by Samoan architect and historical researcher, Athol Greentree, from measurements given in the Samoa Times and South Seas Gazette article. 

Athol Greentree, who is currently in Auckland and a fan of traditionally built forms, told Samoa Observer that he believes the remnants of the mound are most likely to be found on a southern approach to Lata, rather than an approach from the west. 

He believes an approach from Taga, to the south, would be a good search option and he has family connections to Taga and knows the topography of that area well.

"In my view that the mound lay further south, not more than two miles from the old jetty in Fagaloa," he said. Fagaloa is abandoned now but abounds in stone roads, walls and tia. Best way to get to Fagaloa is from Taga.”