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A R C H A E O L O G I C A L SITES, G R E A T B A R R I E R I S L A N D

by E. Gael A t w e l l *

S U M M A R Y

Twenty-seven archaeological sites from the Whangaparapara — Okupu area, Great Barrier Island, are briefly described. Of these sites, which include pa, terraces, pits, and shell midden, only one has been previously recorded.

A full description of a ridge pa at Whangaparapara is presented. This is followed by a detailed account o f an excavation o f a test square on the pa that yielded a large number of obsidian flakes.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A list and brief description of archaeological sites, chiefly in the Whangaparapara area of Great Barrier Island (Fig. 1), was compiled during the A . U . F . C . 50th Anniversary Scientific Camp in August, 1972. Site records have been deposited in the Auckland District files o f the N . Z . A . A . site recording scheme.

D E S C R I P T I O N O F SITES

Gr id references (e.g. 889345) refer to N Z M S 1, 1st Ed . , October, 1953.

N30-31/30 (889345) Terrace with shell midden, 200-300m N o f Whangaparapara wharf, on side of road. Shell slumped down bank from large terrace above road, just below cottage. Midden shows 3-4m exposure on road edge; shell mostly cockle, some pipi , and possibly oven stones. Terrace 20x10m, on ridge-end slope above harbour; contains scattered large boulders.

N30-31/31 (889347) Occupation site. Beach edge and creek mouth, east side of Whangaparapara Harbour, 400m N of wharf. 20-30cm dark soil under 30cm top soil. Dark layer has fragments of siliceous rock, large pieces of charcoal, some bone. Area of shell midden on left bank of creek mouth.

N30-31/32 (901349) Terrace and shell midden on E side of Whangaparapara Harbour, about 500m from N30-31/31. Small terrace on hillside 3m above road, 6m a.s.l. Thin lenses of cockle on terrace edge exposed in road cutting. At down-hill edge of ridge-end knol l , in manuka, there may be the lowest o f a group of terraces — not investigated. Midden cockle small.

* Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland.

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N30-31/33 (888337) Possible pits, on ridge-top trail junction, SW of N30-31/14, in regrowth forest (12m kanuka). Two possible pit sites or sunken shelter sites, 3 x 4 x 0.6m and 4 x 4 x 0.6m, along side trail. Cockle at N W end of pit. More likely to be shelters than pits.

N30-31/14 (893340) Small headland pa associated with beach-front shell midden on Mac's Point, S end of Tennis Court Bay, W side of Whangaparapara Harbour. Beach midden on N side of pa, with 12m exposure along beach (cockle, small p ipi , other gastropods, obsidian flakes, and bottle glass on beach in wash-out). Previously recorded by W. Spring-Rice, (site record, N . Z . A . A . ) .

N30-31/34 (886339) Ridge terraces, 500m NW from N30-31/33, on ridge-top trail, (a) 15 x 8 x 3m scarp, (b) 8 x 5 x 2m scarp cut into rock. Th in scatter of cockle at E end.

N30-31/35 (884339) Shell midden on trail NW of N30-31/34 and /35 , on top o f knol l . Ridge branches here to Whangaparapara peak and Mangati Creek. Area 20m square. Thin shell scatter o f cockle at SE end.

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N30-31/36 (886339) Occupation area (possible) between N30-31/35 and /36. Depression 3 x 5 x 0.3m. No shell midden.

N30-31/37 (875339) Terrace, W side of Mangati Creek, 12m a.s.l. Ar t i f ic ia l ; very thin shell midden about 40m away. Mangati Creek very small, swampy, no flat land. Obsidian found on W side of inlet.

N30-31/38 (881334) Shell midden and probable terraces, E . side of Mangati Creek, 45m a.s.l. 30-40m shell scatter on several possible stone-faced terraces.

N30-31/39 (891342) Shell midden on beach front terrace, W side of Whangaparapara Harbour, 4m a.s.l. 15 x 16m wide. Two midden layers, (1) cockle 20 - 30cm (2) large stones and charcoal, no shell.

N30-31/40 (891343) Shell midden, 10-12m N of N30-31/39. l m a.s.l; several patches of shell midden (cockle), charcoal, stones.

N30-31/41 (895346) Small ridge-end pa. 3 terraces descending east. Shell midden patches on 2 lowest terraces and summit of area.

N30-31/42 (895350) Terrace, at side of ridge track. Possible shelter site; no shell. 0.8m scarp.

N30-31/43 (898349) Occupied ridge top on N side of Cope's Flat . Shell on side of ridge top covering 4 x 5m. No terraces.

N30-31/44 (Site 16) (897347) Ridge-end pa, S side of Cope's Flat. Two ditches, several undoubted pits, number of scarps or terraces. Obsidian scatter on top. Extremely well preserved, sharply cut scarps. See later description.

N30-31/45 (898348) Beach-front midden, right bank of stream, Cope's Flat . On flat immediately to north of and below pa (N30-31/44), 50 - 60m from lowest terrace of pa. Midden covers quite a large area on the beach front and an oven is being exposed by erosion. State of site poor. A one-metre test square was excavated and the upper layer showed disturbance and European material.

N30-31/46 Shell midden scattered down boulder-strewn slope just up from site N30-31/30. Source of shell midden (cockle) appears to be a small terrace now occupied by Monihan's house.

N30-31/47 Shell midden, mainly cockle, N bank of stream, Cope's Flat, on narrow terrace 1.5m higher than site N30-31/45. Site cold and shaded by 12m Leptospermum ericoides (kanuka), with undergrowth of Paesia sp. and Cyathea sp. ferns.

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N30-31/48 Occupation site, with pits and terraces on 21m high knol l 1£ o f road from Whangaparapara wharf. Knol l 40 x 40m with rounded top, several terraces, and one deep cut into softish rock. No defences.

N30-31/49 Shell midden, on ridge leading from N E end of Whangaparapara peak into valley at head of Whangaparapara Harbour. Reported by B.W. Hayward.

N30-31/50 Shell midden, mostly cockle. Ridge end, N E of Bowling Al ley Bay. Reported by B. Hayward.

N30-31/51 Occupation site on very small flat by stream, just N of Okupu Wharf, Bl ind Bay. Reported by local resident as pre-European village site. Not examined.

N30-31/52 Terraces about 500m from wharf, at end of road, Okupu. Some limited clearing of small boulders to form terraces above beach.

N30-31/53 Beach-front occupation. Local report of occupation from W side of Bl ind Bay to wharf. Reports of shell midden and bone. Not checked.

N30-31/54 Shell midden at mouth of Wairahi stream. Reported by B. Hayward.

N30-31/55 Pits 400m W of N30-31/42. Two pits on top of kno l l , just before ridge changes to N W direction.

N30-31/56 Shell midden 400m from beach front on S side of Wairahi estuary. Smallish cockle. Reported by B. Hayward.

W H A N G A P A R A P A R A R I D G E P A (N30-31/44)

The site is a ridge-end pa located at the southern end of Cope's Flat, immediately above site N30-31/45. It consists of a large number of terraces, and is covered largely with second-growth native forest, although a few trees such as puriri were probably there when the site was inhabited. Natural defences include a 20 metre sheer drop to the beach on the south-west side, and steep flanks on the northern end. These natural features are supplemented by terracing in the north and two ditches, one 4m deep running south to south-wes.t, and the other with a 4m high bank on the pa side to the south-east. A t the lop of the ridge is a flattish area of irregular shape upon which a scatter o f obsidian was found.

This platform is surrounded by a series o f terraces of varying widths, the scarps of which are extremely well preserved. There are 21 terraces, the majority of which face to the north and south. Definite pathways lead from one terrace to the next. N o terrace is continuous on all sides of the platform, and each is separated from the next by a scarp. This scarp may be from 5m to 8m high, the distance between terraces being the greatest towards the southern reaches o f the site.

l o !

c m

Fig. 2: Plan of ridge-end pa N30-31/44, Whangaparapara.

Patches of midden were found on some of the terraces. Most midden material ( A , B , C, Fig. 2) is found on the terraces facing north, with only D on the southern end. A number of possible and undoubted pits were found on the terraces to the north and south of the summit platform. More obsidian was found in the form of flakes scattered down the scarp at E , which lies to the south of the platform.

D I S C U S S I O N

The pa looks out over the harbour and Cope's Flat. Today much of it is covered with 12m high kanuka — much of which seems to be confined to the edges of the terraces - and other trees of similar height.

The pa appears to have been well fortified, as each terrace would have to be separately reduced by an attacker, and the terraced slopes are extremely hard to scale without using paths. The terraces would also have given additional living room, and the site probably gave refuge to local inhabitants.

Shellfish-gathering evidently played an important part in the economy of the people in this area, taken by the number of midden sites located, and a description docs not seem complete without reference to site N30-31/45 which

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Fig. 3: Sections from the test square on site N30-31/44, Whangaparapara. 1. Loose surface leaf litter. 2. Soft loose brown soil. 3. Hard packed fine brown soil. 4. Surface of brownish clay, (- - -) marking limit of excavation.

lies in close proximity. Sites such as this would probably be used in the course of daily life, and as they lack any apparent form of defence they would probably be evacuated in times of trouble, their inhabitants seeking refuge in the pa.

Site N30-31/45 is 50 to 60m below the lowest terraces to the north of the pa. This consists of a small triangular flat cut by a stream that runs down between the ridge pa and adjacent ridge. The largest area of flat ground is now on the south side of the stream, which has changed course at least once fairly recently. On the beach front o f this flat is quite a large midden site. The main species in these deposits appear to be cockle and pipi. Both cockle and pipi in the harbour arc now greatly depleted due to logging booms and whaling, and the latter has given rise to a rather greasy layer across much of the mudflats.

These two adjacent sites, N30-31/44 and /45 appear to have been complementary to one another.

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F I G . i. (a)

3 0 r

number of 20

( l akes

- l e n g t h breadth

0-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 5-6, 6-7 7"8.

s i z e of f l a k e s (cm)

100

90

SO

- l e n g t h — breadth

7 0

60

50

1.0

Graphs to show the size of flakes found in: (a) Upper level - leaf litter and loose brown soil. (b) Lower level - hard packed fine brown soil.

30

20

1 0

0-1. 1-2, 2-3, 3-1 4-5, 5-6,6-7 7-8, 8-9.

s ize of f l a k e s (cm)

164

Fig. 5: Flakes from N30-31/44, Whangarapara, Great Barrier Island.

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Excavation A systematic excavation was made of a one metre test square on the summit

o f pa N30-31/44. Obsidian flakes were found in and around this square, which is located on the south side of the platform on the edge of a 4m scarp.

A total of 307 flakes, many of which had one rough cortex indicating water-worn pebbles as the source, were found scattered through three layers (Fig. 3). This number includes 7 flakes found just outside the test square.

66 flakes (Fig. 4a) were found in the leaf litter and loose brown soil. This upper level was penetrated by a number of fairly large roots, and the flakes were located in the higher southern quarter o f the square nearest the scarp. Also present in this layer were several particles of greasy soil.

Below this was a layer o f hard-packed fine brown soil, in which the majority of the flakes were located on the lower eastern side facing the harbour. This lower level yielded 234 flakes. The majority of these flakes were small, that is under 2cm (Fig. 4b), but a significant number had dimensions within the 3 to 5cm range. As well as the flakes there were more greasy soil particles present, a possible cooking stone, and two fairly large pieces of weathered andesite plus a large flat stone.

Below this layer were some very shallow, slotted depressions, but no flakes.

Discussion The obsidian found was a translucent grey in colour, and was suitable for the

manufacture of flakes. Some of the water-worn cobbles making up the raw material may have had a diameter of about 6cm judging from a flake with an outer cortex at both ends (Fig. 5). Such flakes were possibly used for tasks such as the cutting of flesh. The majority appear to be unmodified flakes rather than flakes showing secondary retouching. A small proportion however appear to have secondary flaking, or possibly use has caused chipping on cutting edges. The large number of flakes suggests that this location was probably one where flakes were manufactured from water-worn pebbles of obsidian carried in . The raw material in this instance may have come from the Mount Hobson area (Awana Stream), but would more likely have come from the Te Ahumata Plateau on the other side of Whangaparapara harbour, which is closer to the site.

N o attempts seem to have been made to produce special forms of flakes. Attempts to reassemble an intact water-worn pebble have proved unsuccessful. However, 274 flakes out of a total 307 recovered from the test square show a water-worn pebble cortex on one or more sides. The lack of secondary working on the flakes from the test square, and the fact that they were left lying on the surface of the ground, may have been due to the abundance of obsidian in the area, which would mean the flakes did not have to be used again.

The flakes are to be lodged in the Auckland Museum.

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

The author wishes to thank the following people for their assistance: Mrs A . Sullivan for her contributions to, and criticism of the manuscript; Miss G . F . Puch for field assistance and final preparation of diagrams.

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