Taonga and Tupuna – part 2

Archaeologists were stunned  by what Jim Eyles and Roger Duff uncovered at the ancient Wairau Bar settlement when they began excavating in 1942. Nothing like it had been discovered in New Zealand before – and nothing has been found since.  It was obvious right from the beginning that this was a large, ancient settlement, as old as any found throughout the country, and that unlike many other “moa hunter” sites which were temporary or seasonal hunting camps, people had lived at Wairau Bar permanently enough to bury their dead here, with a range of taonga and burial offerings unmatched by any other burials ever recorded.