Raised-rim pits on a ridge near Patutahi, Gisborne Plains

The pits are large (up to 5 m square) and lie on one arm of a large pā, Hanganui a Tara. At the foot of the pā are the fertile, well drained soils of the fan created by the Whakaahu River {left, out of picture). Shell from a midden on the flats here has given a radiocarbon date of 1300. The view is to the north-east.