OUR SO-CALLED EXPERTS FAIL TO DO THEIR DUTY TO THE PUBLIC ONCE AGAIN!
It takes 4-million years or more to form a concretion boulder and these huge round stones are a wonder of nature. In the Silverdale case, the few found atop the highest local hill between Silverdale and Orewa are also artefacts, as ancient New Zealanders chose some of the unique, locally available boulders as the component parts of an important overland alignment structure. If our experts had done their duty to the New Zealand public in 1971, it would have been realised that the huge concretion boulders were somewhat "out of place" on that high hill where they were found in one solitary, concentrated cluster.
Although the concretions are located, quite naturally in bands of inland substrata around the district or in the estuaries, it is only a particular kind of mudstone material that could provide the kind of environment in which concretion boulders would occur.
Left: Neglect of this important concretion artefact, which took aeons of time to form in nature, renders it badly cracked and broken. Right: The heart region where the concretion began to form a few million years ago in the primordial mud.
The era when the concretion boulders were unearthed on Silverdale hill was one dominated by "political correctness" and "political expediency". At about this time it was found necessary to place a 75-year embargo on the archaeological report about the Waipoua forest dig. It was also the time frame when it was decided that the meticulously careful and scientific archaeological work, carried out by Russell Price and his team at Poukawa, Hawkes Bay (which conclusively proved human occupation of Poukawa before the Waimihia volcanic ash fall of 1320 BC), needed to be torpedoed and discredited. Appropriate "rent-a-prick" experts were, therefore, sent in to proffer untenable and ridiculous explanations and throw cold water over Price's undeniable findings, which findings had been upheld by leading New Zealand volcanologists, including tephrochronologist and pedologist (expert in identifying volcanic ash sources) Alan Pullar. This was the era of "tailor made" or "sanitised" archaeological results, with huge omissions and the non-mention of anything "inconvenient". During this unfortunate period, extending to the present, archaeological or historical "truth & fact" were considered to be very secondary elements, which, oftimes needed to be muzzled, fudged, distorted or outrightly suppressed to serve "the greater good", as envisioned by our social engineers.
The author sits on a yellow-clay excavation that is within a "stone's throw" of where all the concretion boulders were found in a single cluster. This is exactly the type of material that the Silverdale Hill and surrounding terrain is made up of for a considerable distance in every direction. The questions requiring very detailed answers from our geologists are:
It is freely acknowledged that concretion boulders occur in parts of the Orewa district and will continue to be found in isolated areas, on occasions, when deep excavations for subdivisions and the like are being made. However, a satisfactory explanation has to be given for the occurrence of one sizeable cluster of these boulders at the top of the highest local hill. Moreover, the fact that some of them show incised etching and faint, weatherworn geometric designs, tells us they were once above ground on the hill and objects attracting considerable human attention. The evidence shows that ancient surveyors used a few of the locally available boulders for a major and very important trig marker, then drew map lines on some of boulders in the cluster to aid the bypasser and traveller.
Auckland Associate Professor of Archaeology, Harry Allen, has reaffirmed, recently, the "official" position that there is no evidence of anyone having been in New Zealand prior to the year 1200 AD*. He has also dismissed as 'politically motivated' any claims that a "Celtic" or pre-Celtic (a term used simply to describe people of European ethnicity) civilisation ever occupied this country before Maori. He says that 'such claims are unsupported by any scientific evidence'. Obviously, Harry Allen has never read or believed the many oral tradition accounts of the learned Maori kaumatuas and tohungas, who spoke volumes on this subject. He appears to have never seen what's in the caves or all over the New Zealand landscape.
*Footnote: At the time of this writing, Maori in Wellington are attempting to preserve inner city archaeological sites, which they claim could date to 600 AD (http://www.nzarchaeology.org/netsubnews.htm)
Footnote 2. The plaque that sits at the gateway of Koru PA in Taranaki states that the huge stone lined embankment and stone walled structure was built in the year 1000 AD, which, according to Associate Professor Harry Allen, is about 200-years before there were any people in New Zealand. There are also several more huge PA or highly modified hill structures close to Koru PA, contemporary to its age, all built for and by a large population which, "officially" didn't exist. In actual design style, Koru PA, with its souterain tunnel system, is the same as an Irish Rath/Cashel defensive enclosure for circa 3000-2000 BC.
Footnote 3: If the tephra ash band that covered the incised obelisks or hewn bullaun bowls found at Bombay hills in 1992 proves to be from the Taupo explosion of 186 AD, then that means these human-made items are over 1800-years old.
Within a stones' throw of the concretion boulders at Stanley Street sits the Archaeological Research Centre of Auckland University. No-one in here, including Harry Allen, seems to have noticed that only 2-minutes walking distance away there awaits a long overdue opportunity to do some real, valid archaeology, by deciphering the meaning of the incising on the concretion boulders. Paper rubbings need to be done over their surfaces and the many variable lines or arrow pointers, etc., identified then tested in a computer landscape model or "on-the-ground" at Silverdale to see if the markings point to significant locations.
Being a seasoned archaeologist, Associate Professor Harry Allen must have seen a huge amount of this "directional incising" around the country, but in case he hasn't noticed any, here are a few examples of the hundreds I've seen. The stone to the left has matrix incising on it, composed of 64-squares (8 X 8) with diagonal incising bisecting the matrix. The centre boulder has straight line and arrow incising circumnavigating it's all-round surface and appears to have functioned as a trail map. On one side it has a bored cup, which might have represented a lake or pond landmark. The basalt boulder to the right has a lot of crossing geometry all over its surface...now where have I seen that before? ... oh yes... of course... now I remember!
One of the concretion boulders situated (for the past 35-years) about two minutes walk down the hill from where Ass. Prof., Harry Allen does his in-depth archaeological research. No-one at the office seems to have noticed the incising, although they probably have "lunch at the park" beside the concretions from time to time.
This is but a small example of what needs to be stringently tested, using clinical scientific methods coupled with computer analysis. Is this a part of an ancient map, pointing to locations in the environs of Silverdale and further afield?
This researcher has owned and operated both bulldozers and diggers for years, so knows the kinds of marks those machines would leave on boulders in the course of shunting, gouging or sling-lifting them on a construction site. Our mainstream archaeologists are, therefore, requested to "please do not insult our intelligence" by blaming these (often) long, straight, regular and continuous marks (sometimes circumnavigating an entire boulder) on modern machinery or lifting methods, etc. Very weathered boulders, hand-marked in a similar vein to this are found all over our landscape, often in very remote and rugged terrain. They were put there by ancient humans to serve some purpose very important to them. That purpose appears to have been for the navigation of the wayfarer or orientation of the surveyor.
THE CONCRETION BOULDER SOLAR OBSERVATORY AT WAIWERA
A couple of hills and valleys north of the Silverdale concretion boulders is another dual set on the farm of Colin Weck of Waiwera. These boulders were, undoubtedly, procured from the estuary nearby at some ancient epoch and laboriously hauled far up the side of a hill, then carefully positioned to serve an essential solar-related function. When Mr. Weck first showed me the boulders on January 23rd 2006, I determined that they were probably marking an "Equinox" observation position. The entrance to the Waiwera Estuary lay almost due east of the dual boulders, with the declining end of the Wenderholm reserve on the northern side, as well as a nearer-in hill's declining edge on the southern side providing a "V" in which the equinox sun would rise. Also, to the west of the dual concretion boulders was a very nice "V" pocket situated in the top of the hill range, into which the sun could be made to set...provided that these purpose-placed hillside markers were precisely positioned in line with the naturally occurring and exploitable geological features.
To the right is seen the largest of the dual boulder set. To the left can be seen the concretion boulders lying side by side and lit by the early morning rays of the equinoctial sunrise. Some distance, almost due east of the boulders, is the harbour entrance to the Waiwera Estuary, where the equinoctial sun rises in a "V" notch. To the west is another "V" notch in the hill range, where the sun sets on that day.
The "V" in this picture is formed by the declining edge of Wenderholm reserve on the left and the declining edge of a nearer in hillside on the right. The position of the "V" also represents the entrance into the Waiwera Estuary from the sea. Were it not for some tall pines to the right of the "V", it's probable that the sugar-loaf island at the estuary entrance would be seen.
Although early morning cloud obscured the "first glint" rise of the sun, it would have emerged from the "V". The red arrow shows the sun's angle of rise. This magnified picture was taken from atop the largest of the two concretion boulders.
Early morning mist hovers over the Waiwera tidal estuary and river as it wends its way between the hill country and the sea. This would have been an ideal living and foraging area in ancient times, offering plenty of marine life and fertile valleys for agriculture. In the background is the hill range onto which the sun sets at the equinox. The "V" notch in the range, marking the location of equinoctial sunset is not shown, but would be further to the right. This picture is taken on a hillside flat, very close to where the concretion boulders were hauled and carefully positioned in ancient times to act as markers of a solar observatory.
On the range to the west is a very nice "V" notch into which the sun settles perfectly, when viewed from the concretion boulders on Collin Weck's farm hillside. This photo was taken from atop the largest of the two concretions, which, incidentally, has deep incising marks in its top surface. One of these incised channel lines seems to indicate north. On exactly the same day (equinox), the sun is seen to settle into East Auckland City's Mt. Wellington "V" trench from the formerly marked vantage point atop Stockade Hill in Howick The ancient Patu-paiarehe solar observatories, found all over New Zealand, still function perfectly.
In seeming similitude of the ancient Patu-paiarehe people who built these observatories, the equinoctial sun is gone, but the afterglow remains. The next time the sun sets in this Waiwera hill-range notch, as observed from the concretion boulder solar observatory, will be in six months, marking New Zealand's debut of Spring.
Once again, these concretion boulders are "out of place" way up the hillside and sitting amidst yellow clay. They have obviously been hauled there from the incubation sediments in which they formed down in the estuary. They, like their counterparts nearby at Silverdale, have been purpose placed to fulfil calendar and surveying functions. By taking periodic fixes on the sun, one could determine with accuracy the day of equinoctial occurrence. It was then known that the next equinox would occur in 182.6-days. One could also count the days to the Summer and Winter Solstices and keep an accurate calendar, ensuring that planting or harvesting occurred on time such that agrarian abundance was enjoyed and the concept of "civilisation" maintained.
As stated repeatedly, these simple and very ancient solar observatories, or more sophisticated ones that dealt with star rises and sets or navigation, are all over New Zealand. All one needs is the ability to see them and the will to test them, such that these ancient wonders of our long-term history can be brought back to life and gain the archaeological recognition they deserve. This, sadly, will never occur if left to the PC devices of wannabe "tall poppy'" archaeologists / historians of the New Zealand academic mainstream, who blaze onto the scene to assume the momentary role of "Defender of the Faith", then fade away.
The Harry Allen's and Kerry Howe's or other hopeful's trying to make a name for themselves, come and go periodically, never once offering a rational explanation for the copious assortment of archaeological anomalies that are found throughout New Zealand and Oceania. Perhaps they could try something called the "scientific approach", for the first time in their lives, coupled with unbiased, clinically pure scholarship that reports only facts. The "real stuff" isn't found in the ivory towers where these PC pontificators languish, but is out on the landscape, awaiting detection by honest scientists.
So, what are you Harry, an archaeologist or just another attention seeking "social engineer" posing as one?