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Sometimes to uncover Auckland’s past, you need to dig deep. Just ask Chris Mallows, Team Leader Cultural Heritage Implementation in Auckland Council’s Heritage Unit. He’s part of a team of archaeologists unearthing the fascinating history of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Auckland’s rich and varied landscape – encompassing coastland, forest, wetlands, maunga and volcanic fields – mirrors the diverse heritage of the people who have settled here since around the 14th century. With Archaeology Week running from 3-11 May, it’s the perfect time to acknowledge the groundbreaking work of archaeologists who help further our knowledge of our region’s past.
Archaeology is the study of past human societies through the analysis of material culture, including artefacts or the remains of buildings.
“Archaeologists look at the physical evidence that’s left behind and interpret how people lived and worked in the past,” explains Chris.
In Tāmaki Makaurau, archaeological work could involve everything from protecting maunga and Māori pā settlement sites, preservation of the Wilson Cement Works in Warkworth or uncovering artefacts from the former Queen Street Gaol that was on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets from 1841-1865.
“During an archaeological excavation, we’re always finding something new and expanding our understanding of how people lived in that specific area,” says Chris.
Auckland Council’s archaeologists work on a range of projects including preservation work, providing advice on heritage sites and as well as reviewing on resource consent applications around areas with scheduled heritage sites.
While fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones’ favourite tool was his whip, in reality archaeologists are more likely to be armed with a trowel. Excavating can be physically demanding and painstaking work, as archaeologists work carefully to uncover artefacts without damaging anything in the process. The sharp edge of the trowel is used to meticulously unearth fragile items, such as ceramics, from the earth.
“Buying your first trowel is a bit like a rite of passage”, says Chris, who still has his first William Hunt and Sons trowel he received as a fledgling archaeologist in the UK.
Archaeologists use trowels to carefully unearth artefacts without damaging any fragile parts. Chris Mallows still has his WHS trowel from his first excavation in the UK.
“When you’re a field archaeologist, a trowel is the first tool you’ll ever get. It helps you excavate the small features in a controlled manner. For example, if you’re on a European-era site in Auckland dating from the 1860s or 1870s, you may use a trowel to find glass, ceramics, animal bones or other remnants that people were eating.”
Other tools include sieves for sorting very small remnants, measurement tools for mapping out a site and a “good old fashioned spade and shovel”, Chris adds.
While traditional excavation tools are still part of the work of an archaeologist, there have been a number of digital advances that make this work a little easier. Auckland Council’s archaeologists have access to LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data. This technology uses laser light pulses emitted from a drone or plane to create three-dimensional maps of the environment.
“LiDAR uncovers things that were previously hidden by the landscape. For example, on farmland, LiDAR has uncovered pits hidden by long grass which were later revealed to be kūmara pits (rua),” says Chris.
Another modern tool is photogrammetry, a process of creating a 3D model of an artefact or structure using a series of overlapping photographs.
Chris uses photographic scales to measure the site.
“Photogrammetry is a great tool and allows our communities to see artefacts and heritage sites really easily,” says Chris. “Even if you can’t physically gain access to the artefacts – they may be a museum, for example, or you may not be able to travel to these sites – having photogrammetry allows anyone to look at them. It’s a really good tool for the future.”
There have been a number of notable archaeological discoveries in Auckland, but one that sticks out to Chris is the Sunde Site on Motutapu Island. In 1958, archaeologist Rudy Sunde discovered what has since been spoken of as ‘New Zealand’s Pompeii’ when he found artefacts from a pre-European kainga (village).
Later, in 1981, University of Auckland archaeologist Reg Nicol uncovered footprints of eight people and one dog beneath a layer of ash from Rangitoto Island. This is evidence that mana whenua living on or near Motutapu witnessed the eruption of Rangitoto in around 1400 CE.
“What I find fascinating about this site is you have evidence of somebody going about everyday life and then you’ve got a volcanic eruption happening, and we can only wonder what that experience was like,” says Chris. “There’s a clear timeline of the eruption and you can see the people adapting to the changing climate because of the natural disaster.”
Through archaeology, we can learn from the past and see how people adapted to change and use this to understand how we adapt to change in the future.”
“Recent damage to an Auckland park by treasure hunters highlights why our heritage needs protecting”, says Chris.
Mary Barrett Glade near Ngataringa Park in Devonport is a scheduled heritage place on Department of Conservation (DOC) land, and was unfortunately recently targeted by vandals looking to dig up vintage bottles. Auckland Council archaeologists are supporting DOC in the protection and restoration of the area.
The site is the former location of Duder’s Brickworks, which operated between 1875 and 1942. The factory used clay from Ngataringa Bay to make ordinary and decorative bricks as well as sanitary pipes and chimney heads, and employed many Devonport locals up until the 1920s. The factory supplied clay bricks for many of the Edwardian buildings in Devonport including the pumphouse (now the PumpHouse Theatre).
The PumpHouse Theatre is built with bricks from Duder’s Brickworks.
Following a fire on Victoria Road in 1888, the Devonport Borough Council made a rule that buildings in the main shopping area were to be constructed from bricks only, and the bricks are part of the suburb’s its distinctive look.
“The brickworks are part of Devonport’s industrial heritage and character. You never know what’s around the corner, so we do need to be vigilant in protecting our history. As archaeologists, we are the kaitiaki (guardians) of our heritage sites, preserving them for our future generations.”
For more information about Archaeology Week and to see what events are on, head to the New Zealand Archaeological Association website.
