By RNZ
The Department of Conservation believes people have illegally dug holes at a historically significant pā.
Staff found four unusual spade holes near the entrance of Pukerangiora Pā - situated near the Waitara River in Taranaki - prior to the current Covid-19 outbreak.
DoC believes they were dug by people using metal detectors to fossick for colonial items due to the site's history.
The pā was the site of multiple battles during the Musket Wars of the early 1800s, and was twice besieged by colonial forces during the New Zealand Wars.