Archaeologist Michael Taylor (right) and Whanganui District Council heritage adviser Scott Flutey are hoping to find intact evidence of housing over the next two years of the project. Photo / Bevan Conley
Archaeologist Michael Taylor (right) and Whanganui District Council heritage adviser Scott Flutey are hoping to find intact evidence of housing over the next two years of the project. Photo / Bevan Conley
Only a few months into the Sarjeant Gallery extension excavation, plans are already being made to exhibit all of the items and ornaments found at the site.
With two years left on the redevelopment, archaeologist Michael Taylor expects to find many more intriguing items that will help give a pictureof what life was like 150 years ago.
Items found range from everyday household goods like china cups, clothing beads and buttons, combs and tobacco pipes, to military equipment like musket bullets and a cannonball.
The vast majority of items have been dated back to the 1850s and 1860s. The site on Pukenamu Queen's Park was occupied by the British military from about 1847 to 1870.
The cannonball was one of the items that has stumped the excavation crew. After being taken to Wellington to be checked whether it was active, it was returned to the Sarjeant Gallery.
Taylor said five 24-pound guns were brought in by General Duncan Cameron in 1865 for use in the invasion of South Taranaki.
"They were taken to the invasion base at Kai Iwi but were left there when the 2000 troops moved into South Taranaki.
Taylor told the Chronicle it was a mystery why the cannonball remained on site, and he suspected the equipment was simply to heavy for the long journey.
A cannonball was found during the excavation. Photo / Bevan Conley
While fascinated by the findings of military equipment and items in the area, Taylor said he was more interested in finding items from a different environment.
"We were trying to look at the feminine and family side of things rather than the masculine or military side."
Taylor said beads, buttons and pins were among the most common items found so far, suggesting a strong emphasis on sewing by the wives of British soldiers.
Whanganui District Council heritage adviser Scott Flutey has been on the excavation site for the last week.
"I found a doll's arm in one of the areas and at the end of the week I found the leg of the doll. It's funny finding fragments days apart that are obviously together.
"It's those little objects that are actually so unusual to come across, the everyday common items that you would just chuck away that have become quite rare."
Flutey spent a lot of his post-graduate studies learning about life in 19th century New Zealand and says finding domestic, household items and military equipment in such proximity shows how integrated the two lives were.
Archaeologist Annetta Sutton said the household items found suggest a "quite wealthy living" and British soldiers had to be in the military for seven years before they could be assessed to be married.
"They'll be the best paid of those, a radically affluent lifestyle for the time. They obviously had nice coats and duty jackets," Taylor said.
Flutey said the historically-rich site can help educate people about the time period and provides tangible evidence about what life was like.
"Everyone's clamouring and calling about wanting to learn more about New Zealand in the 19th century, this is totally an opportunity to help that goal."
Taylor said it gave detail "you can't get from books".
Sutton and Taylor hope to find intact features of houses, whether that be chimneys or flooring, to help provide extra context around living conditions.
Sarjeant Gallery relationships officer Jaki Arthur said an exhibition of everything found is planned once the excavations are over, with a few special items having a permanent home in the gallery.
"There is a lot of earth that will be removed that has to be looked through, this is only the beginning.
"A few of the choice items will be in the gallery permanently in a display case."
