The Mu’a area contains Tonga's richest concentration of archaeological remnants. In AD 1200, Tu’itatui, the 11th of the Tu’i Tonga kings, moved the royal capital from Heketa (near present-day Niutoua) to Mu’a. There are 28 royal stone tombs (langi) in the area, built with enormous limestone slabs. The most accessible of these are two monumental ancient burial sites off the dirt road towards the sea, just north of the Catholic church.
The structure closest to the main road is the Paepae ‘o Tele’a (Platform of Tele’a), a pyramid-like stone memorial. Tele’a was a Tu’i Tonga who reigned during the 16th century. The other, the Langi Namoala, has a fine example of a fonualoto (vault for a corpse) on top.
