Remains Of Moa Hunter Village At Redcliffs

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28347, 5 August 1957, Page 10

Remains Of Moa Hunter Village At Redcliffs

What he claims to be the extensive remains of an 800-year-old Moa Hunter village, including the floor of a large building and widespread bone and stone artifacts and other remains, have been discovered by an Auckland archeologist, Mr Selwyn Hovell. only a few yards from the Redcliffs Primary School. On the six and a-half acre property of the Hamilton family, the discoveries are not far from the Site of diggings done by Mr Hovell in the Redcliffs cave on the eastern end of the causeway some weeks ago. Thousands of square feet of the site is yet to be explored, but Mr Hovell says that test holes indicate the widespread presence of Moa Hunter remains. Busy on the site in excavations about 20ft long and 10ft wide and 4ft deep yesterday, Mr Hovell displayed a selection of artifacts, bones and fragments which he said had been unearthed from the site. School Children Help He wfis being assisted by pupils from the Linwood High*’ School and from the Sumner and Redcliffs Primary Schools. The founder of the Canterbury Museum (Dr. J. Von Haast) recovered remains 'both east and west of the Redcliffs cave, but building operations have obliterated remains of the middens on the causeway or eastern side. Mr Hovell has confirmed that Moa Hunter remains exist in the western middens on the Hamilton property, and has proved that the middens are more extensive than was previously thought. In spite of the abundance of midden remains the number of finished artifacts on the site is comparatively few, and not on the scale of those found in the diggings at the Wairau bar or in Otago or South Canterbury.. “Fairly Large” ViUage Mr Hovell says that he has found evidence of a fairly large village, including the floor of a

building about 40ft by 20ft. Outside the building, he says, there are some 32 stone ovens and cooking places within an area of about 60ft by 30ft. Mr Hovell, who has been concentrating on the Hamilton property adjoining the Redcliffs School grounds, says that all the artifacts and ornaments have been identified as of Moa Hunter origin.’ He said that among the discoveries so far are two' imitation shark’s teeth, simple fish hooks in the making, stone adzes in the making, and fishing sinkers, and there was an abundance of moa egg fragments in the diggings. He said that some hundredweight of seal, Maori dog, fish, mo , and bird bones had been collected, but that these comprised only a fraction of those yet to be dug up. A notable feature of the finds was the very large number of remains of kuri or Maori dog. apparently eaten on the site, and many dozens of dog lower jaw bones had been found near the cooking places. Mr Lovell said that a topographical survey and a detailed plan of the area was being prepared and would be made available to the Canterbury" museum. A large quantity of the material would also be offered to the museum.