Pits

Titirangi Station, Main Highway 35, TOLAGA BAY

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New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number Z17/192 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 Z17/192 is located in pasture to the east of the farm road leading down the Titirangi ridgeline, from the trig and masts to the junction with the main farm road through the Station. An artificial stock pond is also located adjacent to the site. The site is approximately 360 metres to the northwest of the trig. A number of other archaeological sites are located in the vicinity, including a terrace site (Z17/193) to the south near the trig and masts, and pit and pit/terrace sites to the east, west and north. The 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. Z17/192 was described as 'a number of pits on a broad slope', with two further raised rim pits and a terrace on a scarp edge to the east, though Jones notes that the bulldozing of the artificial pond may have also damaged part of the site. A completed sketch plan records the dimensions of the pits as being 3 metres x 2 metres x 0.6 metres, 3 metres x 2 metres x 0.4 metres (2 pits), and 2.5 metres x 1.5 metres x 0.3 metres (2 pits). The terrace measured 4 metres x 3 metres. Z17/192 was revisited by archaeologist Kate Hill in 1999 as part of the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording Scheme Upgrade Project. Hill noted that the site was in average condition, under threat of stock damage and natural erosion along the northern edge of the site. Reeds were growing in the raised rim pit towards the edge of the broad slope. Hill also recorded a third pit directly to the north of the artificial pond, which isn't show on Jones's sketch plan. No major changes to the site were observed during a New Zealand Historic Places Trust visit in November 2007. The raised rim pits and terrace on the scarp to the east of the broad slope were most-well defined. Whilst the raised rim pit on the broad slope itself was still clearly visible, the pits directly adjacent to the artificial pond show only as shallow depressions. Z17/192 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.

Pits | Joanna Wylie | NZ Historic Places Trust
| Joanna Wylie | NZ Historic Places Trust
| NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

6635

Date Entered

3rd March 1986

Date of Effect

3rd March 1986

City/District Council

Gisborne District

Region

Gisborne Region

Extent of List Entry

The registration includes part of the land described as Lot 1 DP 317992 and Lot 64 DP 1324, Gisborne Land District and the archaeological site Z17/192 (New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number).

Legal description

Lot 64 DP 1324 (RT GS126/62), Gisborne Land District.

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