MAORI BURIAL CAVE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19434, 21 October 1925, Page 14

MAORI BURIAL CAVE

SKELETONS IN CAVERN. HEAPED ON EVERY SIDE. Searching for a sheep which had disappeared in the thick undergrowth at the foot of the Te Waiherere cliffs, six miles north-east of Kennedy Bay, Coromandel, Mr. S. M. Hovell, of Waihi, found the entrance of a volcanic cleft, which subsequent investigation proved to be a Maori burial cave of considerable antiquity and importance. The discovery was made when Mr. Hovell, who is an authority on Maori relics and folk-lore, was holiday-making at the farm of his sister, Mrs M. Bright, at Te Waiherere. Accompanied by a Maori boy he was mustering a flock of sheep at the time and had one of the animals not made its way into the thick scrub and disappeared suddenly the cave might never have been discovered.

Knowing that other important ethnological finds had been made in the vieinity, Mr. Hovell decided to explore the cleft, the entrance to which is only* about 3ft. by 4ft. A candle lowered on the end of a rope showed that the cavity was shaped somewhat like an inverted V and that its depth was considerable. It was, nevertheless, possible to make a rough estimate of the distance and both Mr. Hovell and the Maori lad climbed down into the cave by means of ropes. It was only when their feet had touched solid rock and they had lighted their candles again that the size of the cave became apparent. From the entrance 10ft. above their heads, it widened gradually. The ledge on which they found themselves was fully 20ft. wide and 50ft. long. Hundreds of Skeletons. Heaped on every side were hundreds of Maori skeletons, all in an excellent state of preservation. The sight must have been an eerie one with the candle light flickering on the grinning skulls of the dead of many generations ago; of warriors and wahines who, long before the foot of a white man trod their native land, had “drunk their cup a round or two before, and one by one, crept silently to rest.” Among the remains were many skeletons of young children, possibly the sons and daughters of chiefs. Closer investigation showed that the cave was of larger extent than Mr. Hovell had at first thought. The ledge in .which the remains were discovered ended abruptly, and a candle lowered showed that there was another drop of from 30ft. to 60ft. The dim light revealed at the bottom of this other heaps of skeletons. Mr. Hovell decided to explore the newly discovered portion at a later date. Interesting Finds

A search of the first ledge, however, resulted in several interesting and important discoveries. Perhaps the most notable was the mummified body of a Maori woman. Portions had apparently been eaten by rats, but sufficient cvii dence remained to prove that the preservation of their dead had been one of the ancient Maoris 7 skilled arts. The little finger of the right hand, with the finger-nail intact, is in Mr. Hovell’s possession and clearly demonstrates the remarkable manner in which the dead were mummified and preserved by the smoking process. The discovery is all the more important in view of the fact that the only other known case of mummified remains being found was at Whangaroa. It is believed the remains must be those of a chief tai ness of considerable importance. Another rare find was a stone bar pendant, an anci ent Maori charm. It is carved from grauwacke stone and is about two and a-half inches long. In shape it is not unlike a fish. Although greenstone are more or less common, stone ones are very rare. Mr. Hovell states that he knows of no other stone ear pendant having been found. Slabs and Fish Hooks Other relics brought to light by the search were carved wooden ornamental slabs, a calabash containing the remains of red ochre, stone axes, a number of shell-fish hooks and three large wooden fish hooks about 6in. long and 3|in. across at the bend. No greenstone was found. Fish hooks are not as a rule placed in burial caves. The wooden ones, which are fairly well preserved considering their antiquity, are rare. The ornamental slabs were painted with red ochre and were in a good state of preservation. Many of the skulls had fine sets of teeth. One skull which Mr. Hovell brought back to Waihi with him possesses a complete and remarkably well preserved set which has not even become discoloured with age. The unusually dry nature of the cave, Mr. Hovell believes, accounts for the state of preservation of its contents. He estimates that the cave has not been used for 300 or 400 years, and that it was the burial place of a tribe which died out verv long ago. None of rhe oldest Maoris in the district had any idea that it existed. Air. Hovell intends to explore the cave thoroughly at Christmas, and be lieves that other interesting discoveries may be made. He stated that, in company with others, he had searched the locality from time to time. It was peculiar that the discovery should have been made in such an accidental fashion. Huge Terraced Pas. 4 ‘There are traces to show that this particular locality was at one time the centre of a very large native population,” Mr. Hovell added. The remains of huge terraced pas were still to be seen, and there was evidence that over 4000 acres of land had at one time been under cultivation. Not far from the cave was an artificial lake which had been used to supply water to the pas. Around the cave itself was a belt of cliffs from 50ft. to 250 ft. high. In 1914 Mr. Hovell and another wellknown collector of Maori curios, Mr. R. W. Bell, discovered the famous TeTekaroa cave three miles away, to the north of Te Waiherere. Some valuable curios, including the largest greenstone pendant in New Zealand, were found at the time. The pendant is at present in the Auckland Museum. Another important discovery in the locality was the well-known Taiharuru cave, from which Messrs. Hovell and Bell colleeted 82 well-preserved skulls and forwarded them to Professors Pickerill and Bell, of the Otago University.