Pyramid Valley
Encyclopedia
Pyramid Valley is a limestone rock formation near Waikari
in the North Canterbury
region of New Zealand
. It lies 80 km north-west of Christchurch
. On the foot of the valley is a swamp which became notable in 1939 as New Zealand's largest paleontological site for moa fossils. In 1938 the landowners Joseph and Rob Hodgen found three large bones of Dinornis giganteus while they buried a dead horse in the swamp. They opened this area for excavations and in the early 1940s fossil hunters like Robert Alexander Falla
, Roger Duff, Robert Cushman Murphy
, Jim Eyles
, Ron Scarlett
and many others began their research work at this site and unearthed the remains of long extinct birds including more than 183 complete moa
skeletons and tens of thousands of fossil bone fragments from about 46 species of Modern birds
. The swamp was formed around 18,000 BC and became drained c. 2,000 years ago. It provided a lush vegetation which attracted five different moa species. Pyramid Valley is also well-known for its vineyard
s where Riesling
is produced.
Waikari
Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the Waiau Branch railway from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978...
in the North Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It lies 80 km north-west of Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
. On the foot of the valley is a swamp which became notable in 1939 as New Zealand's largest paleontological site for moa fossils. In 1938 the landowners Joseph and Rob Hodgen found three large bones of Dinornis giganteus while they buried a dead horse in the swamp. They opened this area for excavations and in the early 1940s fossil hunters like Robert Alexander Falla
Robert Alexander Falla
Sir Robert Alexander Falla was a New Zealand museum administrator and ornithologist.He was assistant zoologist with the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition under Sir Douglas Mawson 1929-1931. He was the founding President of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand...
, Roger Duff, Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy
Robert Cushman Murphy was an American ornithologist and former Lamont curator of birds for the American Museum of Natural History....
, Jim Eyles
Jim Eyles
James Roy Eyles OBE was a New Zealand archaeologist.Born in 1926, Jim spent his early years living with his family at the Wairau Bar near Blenheim where, in 1939 as a schoolboy, he discovered early human skeletons and associated artefacts including necklaces, stone tools and moa egg...
, Ron Scarlett
Ron Scarlett
Ronald Jack Scarlett MBE better known as Ron Scarlett was a paleozoologist from New Zealand.Scarlett was born at Stoke, near Nelson on March 22, 1911 to Walter Andrew Scarlett and Lilian Elsie . He was the oldest child of four brothers and four sisters...
and many others began their research work at this site and unearthed the remains of long extinct birds including more than 183 complete moa
Moa
The moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
skeletons and tens of thousands of fossil bone fragments from about 46 species of Modern birds
Modern birds
Modern birds are the most recent common ancestor of all living birds and all its descendants.Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth , the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton...
. The swamp was formed around 18,000 BC and became drained c. 2,000 years ago. It provided a lush vegetation which attracted five different moa species. Pyramid Valley is also well-known for its vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s where Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
is produced.
Further reading
- Duff, Roger: Pyramid Valley, Waikari, North Canterbury: The Story of New Zealand's Greatest Moa Swamp Christchurch, Canterbury Museum, 1949
- T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway: The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand, 2002 ISBN 0253340349