Evidence of a trench that may contain the bodies of hundreds of people killed in an 1828 battle has been found at one of the proposed sites for Tauranga's museum.
The discovery was one of several historical finds made in an archaeological survey of the Cliff Rd site using Tauranga City Council's new ground penetrating radar.
The survey also revealed more information about the Otamataha Pa and Urupa, as well as what is thought to be the first cemetery established in Tauranga by European settlers.
The new data went some way towards confirming stories told in Maori oral histories and in records from early European settlers.
Tauranga's deputy mayor Kevin Clout and Ngai Tamarawaho kaumatua Peri Kohu announced the find to gathered media at midday today.