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Ngā Tohuwhenua Mai Te Rangi: A New Zealand Archeology in Aerial Photographs

Pā with many storage pits near Tirau, Waikato

Pā with many storage pits near Tirau, Waikato

Pā with many storage pits near Tirau, Waikato

The density and regularity of kūmara storage pit construction is remarkable. The defensive perimeter is defined by ditch and bank. At either end of the prominent row of pits on the narrowest part of the ridge, at a slightly lower level and on the wider levelled parts, are house floors—large, shallow rectangular depressions distinctly different from those of the pits. The group that lived in a pā such as this may have been a single hapū with as few as 50 people, adults and children. Each pit (a minimum of 30 is visible) is about 4 by 2 m in plan and may have supported one or two people through the winter and early summer. A generally frosty inland climate (necessitating underground storage of the crop), a very warm summer growing season and large crops may explain the numbers of pits. The view is to the north.