Pits

Titirangi Station, Main Highway 35, TOLAGA BAY

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New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number Z17/255 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 Z17/255 is located in a saddle (in pasture) partway along the farm road that runs from the southern entrance of Titirangi Station (on Shelton Road) to the coast (Wairere Beach). The saddle is situated between two prominent ridgelines - Titirangi is immediately to the north and to the southwest is the ridgeline where Te Raroa pa is located. Two main farm tracks also converge at the saddle where the site located. 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 described the site as 'several pits in a saddle', with a single raised rim pit located approximately 100 metres to the west. A sketch plan of the site was completed, showing two pits in the northern half of the saddle, measuring 4 metres long x 2.5 metres wide and 3 metres long x 2 metres wide, and a single filled pit or terrace in the southern part of the saddle, measuring 6 metres long x 5 metres wide. The sketch plan does not include the raised rim pit to the west. In 2000, Z17/255 was revisited by archaeologist Vanessa Tanner as part of the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording Scheme Upgrade Project. Tanner described the site as being in poor condition, and at continued risk from stock erosion. The site was re-sketched, and the resulting plan shows a pit in the northern part of the saddle, and a single pit approximately 100 metres to the west. The pit in the southern part of the saddle is not illustrated on the plan. A 2007 New Zealand Historic Places Trust site visit revealed that stock damage continued to be an ongoing issue, and considerable stock erosion was observed on the northern part of the saddle, leading towards the pits. A grass farm track was also noted in close proximity to the western side of the pit in the southern part of the saddle, but the pits themselves were found to be in average - good condition overall; with the raised rim pit to the west being the clearest. The site was re-sketched during this visit. Z17/255 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

6646

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 64 DP 1324, Gisborne Land District and the archaeological site Z17/255 (New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number).

Legal description

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

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