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Kawatiri, Westport - Day 2 Preparations

19 February 2008

The plan today was to excavate through the overlying natural soil layer in four of the five excavation areas to reach the top of the cultural layer (Layer 2).

Two excavation areas, located in the south of the site, were found to have heavy concentrations of small rocks. This meant that progress was slow and small trowels had to be used to remove the soils to expose the stone.

To check the stratigraphy four small test pits about 500 mm x 500 mm were dug in each corner of the excavation areas. Once the stratigraphy was clarified, the rest of the areas could be excavated at a somewhat faster and more accurate pace.

Top left: Nephrite (greenstone) adze fragment Top right: Stone drill point Below: Stone minnow lure. Photo: Otago University

In the three squares located in the north part of the site the soil had far fewer stones and towelling could proceed a lot quicker. Artefacts were present in low densities in Layer 1 in all areas, but these were probably displaced from the cultural layer below. This was confirmed by the fact that the quantity of artefacts increased as excavation proceeded deeper towards Layer 2.

Over 150 artefacts were found on the first day of excavation, in Layer 1. Those of note include: a partial nephrite (greenstone) adze, a drill point made of pahutane flint (a local stone) and a stone minnow lure (see above photo). It is likely that this type of drill point would have been used to shape bone hooks, or to drill holes in artefacts such as those found in stone lures.

All material excavated after turfing is collected and sieved through a measured mesh. This mesh varies in size depending on local soil conditions. At this site a 6.4 mm mesh is generally used. This size is considered sufficient to recover all the stone flakes and other artefacts. Often a finer mesh is used for the recovery of faunal material, such as fishbone or shell fragments. But the soils on the Kawatiri site are so acidic that virtually no fauna is likely to be recovered.

Excavated soil from layer 1 being passed through a 6.4 mm sieve. Photo: Otago University

Marked differences were noted between the north and south areas. In the south the soils were heavily stained by charcoal, presumably from cooking fires and ovens. There were also many stones in the Layer 1 matrix and most of these showed signs of heating. In the 2007 excavations a large oven was partially exposed immediately to the south and it is possible that the rest of this feature lies within the newly excavated areas.

In the north areas there was no significant charcoal staining and very few rocks were found in the soil matrix. These excavation areas were located in places where previous remote sensing work had indicated high likelihoods of exposing features such as post holes, which might indicate building foundations. The contrast between the soil content in the north and south areas certainly suggests that they were used for different purposes. This is very promising since one of the aims of the 2008 season is to define different types of work area on the site.

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GLOSSARY   Archaeological terminology Like any profession, archaeology comes with its own "language". This glossary helps with less familiar terms, particularly those used on this site. >> Read more

For questions about the Kawatiri excavation, contact archaeology@historic.org.nz