by Peter de Graaf
Whangarei Heads' mystical Mt Manaia has offered up a human skull.
The skull was collected by police on Monday and is now being examined by experts in Auckland, who will try to determine its age and sex.
The man who handed it over, Peter Harding of McLeod Bay, said it was found on a reserve on the flanks of Mt Manaia.
Mr Harding runs a Landcare group battling weeds at Whangarei Heads and said the skull was first spotted three weeks ago by one of his workers.
"It had been sitting upright on a rock, half smothered in debris and wandering jew. It looks very old and is close to crumbling ... I thought we shouldn't be interfering with these things, so I put it back."
But then Mr Harding heard a forestry crew was due to start work in the area, so he went back to retrieve the skull before it was damaged. He then contacted an archaeologist who put him on to Ngatiwai and the Historic Places Trust.
"I also called the police and, within an hour-and-a-half, a constable came out here and picked it up. I was quite happy to hand it over."
Ngatiwai Trust Board chairman Laly Haddon said anyone finding human remains should treat them with respect and care.
"The first thing to do is to report it to police. They have liaison officers who know the right way to travel."
Ngatiwai resource management co-ordinator Clive Stone said once police had decided the remains were archaeological rather than a crime scene, usually by examining the state of the bones and teeth, the Historic Places Trust and iwi would get involved.
Depending on the site the remains would be taken to a burial area, or returned to where they were found and covered up again. The latest find was the seventh in the area in the past two years, he said.
Whangarei archaeologist Jonathan Carpenter said remains were treated in a low-key, sensitive way, and generally left in place. "It's someone's ancestor," he said.
Experts examine mystery skull found on Mt Manaia
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