Moa bones a significant find for roading project and Manawatū region
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
When ancient moa bones were unearthed by a digger working on a new highway in Manawatū, an observer immediately knew the significance of the discovery.
The moa bones were discovered on the western side of the Ruahine Range in March, the site of Te Ahu a Tūranga, the new Manawatū Hawke’s Bay highway, which will replace the closed Manawatū Gorge road.
Cory Skipper is a kaitiaki for the project and he and an operator noticed the bones when a gully on the Ashhurst side of the range was being excavated.
He said it was a deep and spiritual moment.
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“I already knew how significant it was. I didn't really need anybody to tell me.
“I had already heard and felt it. The maunga only reveals itself to its own.”
Having previously worked as a butcher, when Skipper saw the bones in the bucket of the digger he knew immediately they were not from farm animals.
The bones were taken from the site to be handed over to the Te Manawa museum in Palmerston North in a pōwhiri on Wednesday morning by iwi Rangitāne o Manawatū.
The bones will undergo testing while at the museum to determine how old they are and where they came from.
More bones may be found, according to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency project spokesman Lonnie Dalzell.
“It is the joys of an earthworks project, it is the unexpected of what is beneath the surface.”
Discovery protocols are in place for during the dig but this find was still unexpected.
Dalzell said it was a significant find for the project, the region and the country.
“Moa bones have never been found in the region before. They are significantly old.”
The discovery has not stopped construction, with work resuming around the area that was protected.
Site archaeologist Patrick Harsveldt said that as they kept digging they started finding larger bones but not a complete animal.
“We were finding lower leg bones, the pelvis, some toe bones and vertebrae across about 4 metres of the gully.”
They will test the bones and samples of the hillside to determine their age. Moa became extinct in the 15th century.
He found no signs of any human activity at the site and no signs of the birds being butchered.
“We are dealing with a natural deposit in all likelihood, which would explain why there is at least two moa in the assemblage.”
Rangitāne o Manawatū spokesperson Terry Hapi said it was significant to have found moa on the maunga from hundreds of years ago.
“It is really ancient, and I think the significance for Rangitāne o Manawatū is great because we have joined a very small but elite group from around the world that have become guardians to these ancient, prehistoric birds and bones.
“It is really significant and it is really important how we look after them.”
He said that after the testing and discussions with all stakeholders, the bones might be returned to the maunga.
The Manawatū Gorge road has been closed since 2017 due to slips. The replacement road is expected to be completed in late 2024.