This cache of three adzes was a joy to find—a truly breathtaking moment! Somewhere between Mapua and Motueka, a small residential project produced these amazing artefacts and a number of other occupational evidence, such as umu (oven) and charcoal-stained sand layers.

One of the adzes is especially beautiful. It is perfectly crafted and polished and appears to be in pristine condition, never used for work. Due to its large size – 39 cm and weight of 3.3 kg, it is not really a practical tool but more of an item with ceremonial purposes.

The three adzes are Type 1A (with lugs), Type 1A (standard) and Type 4A (hog-backed) according to Duff typology.

All three adzes have their exact parallels in Moa hunter sites like Wairau Bar, Hurunui and Rakaia. The large adze Type 1A (with lugs) has exact parallels in the Polynesian material culture around the Pacific Ocean, namely in French Polynesia, Pitcairn Island and Rarotonga. This adze is made from local stone sourced from the Nelson area, but while making it, the people still vividly remember their connections with islands far away in the Pacific and the way adzes were produced there. These people were probably the first or second-generation Polynesian settlers. After this, the shape and type of the adzes changes. Based on this, we can set the production date of the large adze around 1300-1350 AD. The other two adzes are from the same Moa-Hunter era, proven with many parallels across Te Waipounamu.

This finding created a positive buzz amongst Tangata Whenua tribes in Te Tau Ihu (The Top of the South) region, and it was an absolute privilege for me to find, handle and research these amazing artefacts!

Top left: Angel Trendafilov and John Katene (iwi monitor from Ārewa) with the artefacts. Bottom left: On site after the find. Right: The three artefacts. Photo scales – red and white 100 mm increments.