New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number Z17/186 is a pit site that forms part of the dense archaeological landscape of the Tolaga Bay (Uawa) area. It is located on Titirangi Station, to the southeast of the Tolaga Bay township. Pit sites and the many other recorded archaeological sites including pa, midden, gardens and urupa reflect the intensive Maori occupation of the Tolaga Bay from the time of initial Polynesian settlement approximately 700 years ago. Access to abundant food resources from the sea, rivers, inland forests and horticultural production (kumara) meant that a large population could be sustained. It has been estimated that the early Maori population of Tolaga Bay totalled approximately 1200; and the main iwi was Te Aitanga a Hauiti. Pit and pit/ terrace sites are very common in Tolaga Bay, and demonstrate the importance of horticulture to Tolaga Bay's earliest inhabitants. The Bay's fertile soils and temperate climate were well suited to kumara gardening, and the pits were used for storing harvested kumara over the winter months. Rectangular storage pits (which were once roofed with a layer of earth), are more prevalent than the underground storage pits found elsewhere in New Zealand, a pattern attributed to the harder substrate of the soil in this area. They are in fact the most common archaeological site type in Tolaga Bay, and are found along the river banks and on the rolling hills to the south of the Bay. They are generally located in clusters on knolls or terraces, or on ridge crests, in lines from end to end Pit site Z17/186 is located at Cook's Cove at the northern end of Titirangi Station. It is located in pasture, at the northern end of a ridgeline to the west of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) monument commemorating Captain Cook's visit to the Cove. A stream runs to the west of the ridgeline and a fence line is located to the east of the site. The walking track to Cook's Cove is immediately north of the ridgeline. This site was first recorded by archaeologist Kevin Jones during his archaeological survey work in the Whangara, Tolaga Bay and Uawa Catchment areas in 1982-1983. This survey work was undertaken to gain information about the nature of prehistoric settlement in this locality, and also to evaluate specific sites for registration under the Historic Places Act 1980. Jones recorded two pits - a rectangular pit (2.5 metres x 1.5 metres) right on the northern edge of the ridgeline, and a raised rim pit to the south, measuring 2.5 metres x 1.5 metres x 0.4 metres (depth). A 4 metre x 2 metre terrace was also recorded to the south of the pits. Z17/186 was revisited by archaeologist Vanessa Tanner in 1999 as part of the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording Scheme Upgrade Project. Tanner recorded that the site was in poor condition, and under threat of continued stock damage and slippage. The western edge of the ridgeline was found to have eroded substantially since the site was first recorded, and the raised rim pit was re-located right on the edge of the ridge. The terrace was very vague but the northern-most pit was 'well-defined'. No major changes to the site were observed during a 2007 New Zealand Historic Places Trust site visit. The two pits were clearly visible, with the southern edge of the raised rim pit being the most intact. The terrace, approximately six metres to the south of the raised rim pit, was very poorly defined. Z17/186 is one of numerous pit and pit/terrace sites recorded in the Tolaga Bay area, and is part of a dense archaeological and cultural landscape that is of considerable significance to Te Aitanga a Hauiti. This landscape reflects the intensive Maori occupation and settlement of the Tolaga Bay area since the 14th - 15th centuries AD, and the important role that horticulture played in this.