A Māori ceremonial comb has been discovered in Huntly roadworks

A pre-European ceremonial wooden comb has been found during earthworks on the Waikato Expressway.

The teeth of the heru were discovered on the Huntly section when the topsoil was being moved to construct the new intersection of Evans, Kimihia and McVie Roads.

A machine operator uncovered an old midden site with an excavator. He realised the significance of the find and stopped work immediately to allow time for Kaiarahi Kawe Nikora to contact the site archaeologist, Warren Gumbley.

The area was declared an archaeological site by Gumbley who searched the topsoil and unearthed the heru teeth.

“The heru teeth are a rare find as virtually all wooden artefacts decay over a relatively short time. In this case we were fortunate because the high resin content in the Rimu wood meant the Heru had not decayed,” Gumbley said. Read more.