Mclaughlins Quarry, Wiri: Final Report on Archaeological Investigations (Site R11/47)
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MCLAUGHLINS QUARRY, WIRI: FINAL REPORT ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS (SITE R11/47) In Fulfilment of NZHPT Authority No. 2007/351 Report prepared for McLaughlins Quarry Trust By Simon Bickler (PhD) Rod Clough (PhD) Barry Baquié (MA Hons) Ben Pick (MA Hons) January 2013 Clough & Associates Ltd. [email protected] 321 Forest Hill Rd, Waiatarua AUCKLAND 0612 Telephone: (09) 814 1946 Mobile 0274 850 059 www.clough.co.nz EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background In 2007, McLaughlins Quarry Trust (MQT) obtained consent to extend their and Results Wiri Quarry. An assessment of effects carried out by Clough & Associates (Clough 2007a) determined that several archaeological features relating to recorded archaeological site R11/47, which includes terraces, middens and gardening features, would be impacted on. An NZHPT Authority to modify part of site R11/47 was granted in October 2007 (no. 2007/351). The Authority was conditional on preservation of some zones of archaeology and the investigation of specified areas of R11/47 including Zone A and parts of Zones B and C. Archaeological monitoring of earthworks that might affect archaeological sites was also a requirement. This is the final report for the Authority and includes the results of: Investigation of Zone B in 2008. Archaeological monitoring of topsoil stripping for quarry activities in 2008-2009 Investigation of a garden area in Zone C in 2011. The archaeological remains exposed were limited, but included two or three remnant pits, stone alignments and other stone features, cooking and food preparation areas represented by fire-cracked rock and midden. The remains in Zone B suggest that a small whare had been built on a knoll above a lagoon and an area of cultivation. A pit with a drain and large post hole was only 3m x 1.5m in size and represented either a food storage pit or a field shelter or small whare. Stone alignments in Zone B, Area B were relatively late in the sequence, overlying both midden and gardening soils, but their association with deep charcoal rich soils supports their interpretation as gardening features. In Zone C, the excavations in the garden terrace did not result in any archaeological features being uncovered. However, the trenches dug into the garden slope revealed a large quantity of shell midden interspersed in the rocks, particularly in the northernmost Trench. It is probable that a cooking area may have been located at the top of the ridge with the rakeout of middens thrown down the slope. A total of five radiocarbon dates from the excavations form a relatively tight grouping suggesting occupation during the 16th and 17th centuries AD. One sample from Zone A, Area B, Trench 3 may have been about a century earlier. The dates suggest intense occupation of the garden areas for at least 100 years and probably closer to 200 years. Soil samples analysed showed a high concentration of fragments of charcoal, reflecting human activity around the site. These activities included burning of vegetation and cooking fires. The results of the project demonstrate the benefits of the stonefields area for Maori in prehistory, combining good gardening conditions and access to inland and coastal waterways, centred on a defendable volcanic cone. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 The Project .................................................................................................................................... 1 Archaeological Background.......................................................................................................... 4 Assessment .................................................................................................................................. 17 Overview of Work Carried Out .................................................................................................. 21 2. Investigations 2008-2009 ........................................................................................................ 23 Investigation of Zone B .............................................................................................................. 23 Monitoring 2008-2009 ................................................................................................................ 38 Site Mapping ............................................................................................................................... 47 3. Zone C - Garden and Midden Investigation 2011 ................................................................... 52 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 52 The Garden Terrace .................................................................................................................... 54 The Gardening Slope .................................................................................................................. 60 4. Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 65 Midden ........................................................................................................................................ 65 Soil Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 69 Other ........................................................................................................................................... 71 Radiocarbon Dates ...................................................................................................................... 72 5. Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................................................... 74 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 74 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 80 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 81 Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 83 Microfossil Analysis ................................................................................................................... 83 Faunal Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 97 Radiocarbon Dates .................................................................................................................... 100 Clough & Associates Ltd. Page ii McLaughlins Quarry List of Figures Figure 1. Distribution of archaeological sites in the Manukau Harbour in and near the McLaughlins Quarry property .......................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Aerial view of quarry in 2003, with archaeological zones and boundary between quarry and stonefields Historic Reserve indicated ....................................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Showing the locations of Matukutureia Pa (McLaughlins Mountain) and stonefields, Matukutururu Pa (Wiri Mountain), Puhinui Reserve, and the Wiri Oil Terminal and Wiri Railway sites .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 4. Stonefields plan by Agnes Sullivan ................................................................................. 8 Figure 5. Stonefields plan by Agnes Sullivan from NZAA site record form for R11/25 ............... 9 Figure 6. View of Matukutureia pa and stonefields (R11/25) and Matukutururu pa (R11/32) in 1959 in relation to the project area. ................................................................................................ 11 Figure 7. View of Matukutureia pa (part of site R11/25) in 1959 ................................................. 12 Figure 8. Aerial view of the Puhinui Stream and Matukutureia prior to quarrying 1952.............. 13 Figure 9. Remnant of Matukutureia to the east of McLaughlins Quarry zone ............................. 14 Figure 10. Recorded archaeological sites around the quarry .......................................................... 15 Figure 11. Part of SO1122E dated 1897 ....................................................................................... 16 Figure 12. Zone A (R11/47), subsurface concentration of rocks in quarry trench ....................... 19 Figure 13. Zone B (R11/47), from east showing the knoll and lagoon ......................................... 19 Figure 14. Zone B, spur from knoll leading into lagoon , stone alignment and possible terrace .. 20 Figure 15. R11/1632, storage pits immediately south of small gully ........................................... 20 Figure 16. R11/1632, terrace overlooking Puhinui Stream .......................................................... 20 Figure 17. Location of project works .............................................................................................. 22 Figure 18. Zone B, excavation areas A-D .....................................................................................