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Heritage New Zealand / RNZ Replacement Box
Up to a meter and a half of excavation was discovered along the creek beds in Awamoa Creek after previous reports of chance pits.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
A major Maori archaeological site has been badly damaged by illegal fossils in the Waitaki district.
Last Friday, up to a meter and a half of excavation was discovered along the creek beds at Awamoa Creek after previous reports of casual fossils.
Under New Zealand law, it is a crime to modify or destroy an archaeological site without permission.
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The director of Te Rūnanga or Moeraki David Higgins said that Te Awa Kōkōmuka has great significance.
“The site is part of important travel routes for the early Maori up and down the South Island, connecting with coastal and inland networks.”
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Otago Southland area manager Jane Macknight said it was disheartening to find such blatant fossils and damage.
It was unclear what had been removed, but it was a loss of awareness of Aotearoa’s legacy, he said.
“For the Maori, it is a mahinga kai site, possibly an occupation site. For the Europeans, it is the first archaeological excavation site on the South Island. (Government Commissioner) Walter Mantell stopped at that site when the Maori They were guiding him around the South Island and he removed the moa bones from the site, “Macknight said.
“There is clear signage that warns the public that this site is an archaeological reserve and that you should not remove items from the site.”
The recent damage was “on another level completely,” he said.
“If people search these sites in the hope of finding items of commercial value, they are likely wrong in their understanding of why the site is important and is probably causing unnecessary damage to the site and at the same time causing a loss in our stories and in our history “.
The site had previously been investigated under an archaeological authority granted by Heritage New Zealand Heritage Policy to Te Rūnanga or Moeraki, which revealed that it was a very early food site for the Maori.
Both the group and Waitaki District Council staff are working to assess the ongoing protection of the site, which is also subject to coastal erosion.
Anyone who may have knowledge of the recent damage to the site can contact Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga by email at ([email protected]) or 03 477 9871.
