Cook's Cove

History

Cook's Cove is named after the English explorer, Captain James Cook who arrived in the Tolaga Bay area in 1769. Cook and his crew were circumnavigating New Zealand in their vessel, the Endeavour, and spent some time in Cooks Cove (Opoutama). They dug a well and records kept indicate they were impressed with the Hole-in-the-Wall rock formation, near the cove.

The Tolaga Bay area had already been inhabited by Māori for many centuries. The main iwi (tribe) that lived at the Bay and used Cooks Cove for fishing and gathering other seafood was Te Aitanga a Hauiti.

Location of Cook's Cove Excavation

Cooks Cove is situated at the southern end of Tolaga Bay, 52 kilometers north of Gisborne and 2 kilometers south of Tolaga Bay township.

<googlemap lat="-38.281313" lon="178.033447" zoom="7"> -38.377757, 178.338881, Cook's Cove, New Zealand </googlemap>

Background of Cook's Cove Excavation

The archaeological excavation at Cook's Cove will salvage information from a site that is threatened by coastal erosion. The site is located on the southern bank of the river mouth at Cook's Cove.

It is an early site, probably dating to the 14th or early 15th century AD, based on the types of artefacts and midden material visible along the exposed edge. The age can also be assumed due to the presence of Loisels Pumice, and this site was one of Harold Wellman's type sites for his 1962 publication Holocene of the North Island of New Zealand.

Such sites are rare and because this site is currently being actively eroded by the sea a decision was made to carry out an excavation to retrieve valuable information prior to the total destruction of the site - an event that is not far off.

The work is being funded by the NZHPT, The University of Otago and the Gisborne Branch Committee of the NZHPT. It is being carried out in partnership with Te Aitanga a Hauiti. [1]

Goals of the Excavation

Targeted excavations on the site aim to retrieve midden (prehistoric food remains), material culture and radiocarbon samples.

The midden will be used to reconstruct subsistence activities and some environmental information. The material culture will assist in defining site function and relationships with other early New Zealand sites. The radiocarbon samples will provide information on the exact age of the site.

Cook's Cove Excavation in Detail

The project took a total of eighteen days to complete, beginning on November 5, 2007 and ending on November 22, 2007.

Day 1

Cook's Cove is surrounded by farmland, so the surface of the archaeological site was covered with pasture and brush-like flora. The thistles were chopped out, and the turf was removed from the two areas to be excavated. The turf was cut out in squares, and was stacked at the edge of the site so that it can be replaced at the end of the excavation.

Immediately beneath the turf, archaeological soils were visible as a dark layer. About 20 cm below the surface, a layer of crushed shell with some whole Cook's Turban shells (Cookia sulcata) was encountered. Archaeologists excavate according to the stratigraphy of the site; here, the shell represents a distinct layer in the soil profile. The site directors decided that to begin with, the area should be excavated to the top of this layer. By the end of the first day of the excavation, the surface of the shell layer had been partially exposed.

Day 2

The areas were excavated in 1 x 1 m squares. As the squares were excavated, artefacts or bone were removed and placed into trays. Animal, bird and fish bones were recovered in addition to a quantity of artefacts.

Towards the end of the day a 50 cm wide trench was opened across the north end of one of the areas to determine the depth of the next layer of cultural material. From this trench it became apparent that there was approximately 50 cm of a sterile mixed soil and clay layer between the crushed shell layer.