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Archaeologists exploring the early history of Auckland, have condemned an audacious theft from an old inner city well.
Thieves, possibly a group calling itself the "Bottle Gang" removed the contents of an old well in a Pitt Street building, taking archaeological treasures dating back to the late 1800s.
Archeologist Bev Parslow, from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, said four thieves were believed to have used buckets and hand tools to excavate the eight-metre deep well.
Ms Parslow said the gang was thought to have removed old bottles, some of which could be worth thousands of dollars.
She said the well in the central city site was dug about 1860 but filled in with debris and other household rubbish after 1890 when water was reticulated to the area.
Ms Parslow said the thieves had also destroyed many other archaeological treasures, including some rare George Boyd pottery, during their crude excavations.
Boyd began Newton Pottery in 1860 and Ms Parslow said pieces by Boyd pottery, including fragments, were extremely rare.
Some Boyd pottery fragments, including some freshly broken pieces, were found in the spoils of the well excavation.
"By emptying the well in the way they did, they have stolen an important part of Auckland's early history from all of us," Ms Parslow said.
She said old wells were often used as rubbish dumps for household debris and often contained very valuable archaeological treasures, including delicate ceramics, tea sets, coal grates, brooms, irons, wood, scrap metal and leather goods.
Ms Parslow said the thieves knew what they were doing and were looking only for the valuable bottles.
- NZPA
