- MD
Sidestep: Waitore Lagoon
More Taranaki artifacts:
Down the coast from where the carved stones of Tongaporutu in Taranaki lie (see No.7 Petroglyphs post), is a site of interest at the Waitore Lagoon. Here are some photos of the excavation including an anchor stone. This anchor stone looks like a small number of other anchor stones on display in museums, but most Maori anchors eventually had holes.
But more important are wooden artifacts found there long ago. They say they are 15th century. Here they are below. They are some of the more unusual artifacts uncovered. Click the images to view closeup detail. These are very old and most likely are pre-Maori in age for all the obvious reasons. Here is the article: http://www.nzarchaeology.org/cms/NZJA/Vol%201%201979/NZJA1.85-108Cassels.pdf
And just to reintroduce the use of spiral patterns...below is an artifact from Oaonui...back up the Taranaki Coast about 70kms. All these unusual rocked carving items (incl those from blog post no.7) are from the same vicinity. They are found almost nowhere else except the Raglan region.
Postscript: Thehead shown in the middel photgraph above appears to have been 'stolen'or 'lost'. Amazing how only the things found that don't stack upo with Maori seem to get 'lost'. And yes, I mean exactly what I am saying. This is why our discovery of the tall ones skeletons will not be turned over to the authorities until every scrap of indentification and testing is completed and when access is properly sealed we will show video of the roads, the walk to the cave, the entry and what is inside. This is so even if they blow the site, (unlikely but not impossible) we will have evidence it once existed, where it is and whats inside in clear and unmistakable records - and can take them to task.
