MAORI TOMB. 331 
a large house they must be of even older date than the tomb, and 
the circumstance of there having being protected within a house 
(the carvings being inside the houses, in the nature of panels) would 
account for their good state of preservation, the lower portion 
excepted. 
The carvings were placed on three sides of the tomb only, 
namely one end forming a gable and two sides. Mr. Hamilton 
speaks of the carved gable end as the back of the house, but in the 
present popular account it will be more convenient to write of it as 
the front, as indeed all laymen would. 
There may have been no roof originally or the structure may 
have been thatched with toetoe (Arunda consficua). If so, how- 
ever, sawn planks had been substituted at a later date, as shown - 
on plate LXIV., from which it will be seen that the whole was sur- 
rounded with a modern fence and outlying posts. 
The slabs as originally hewn would be from 18 inches to 2 feet 
longer than at present for they have completely rotted off at ground 
level ; some of the lower scroll work has also suffered. The central 
slab of the gable end has rotted less, a considerable portion of the 
lower part still remaining. It is evident that, in the course of time, 
the slabs must have fallen and been erected with portion of the 
carving sunk below the level of the ground, hence the loss of this 
part by decay. It would also appear that some structural alteration 
was made at that time, for rebates have been cut in the edges of some 
of the slabs, to receive battens of wood which concealed the juncture 
as may be seen in two of the pictures (plates LNVI. and LNVIII.). 
It is, however, unlikely that anything of the kind formed part of 
the original design as the rebatting process has destroyed part of 
the carving itself. 
The Fou-Pou as re-erected in the Museum occupies a space about 
84 feet by 5 feet while the height to the eaves is 5 feet 5 inches the 
pitch of the roof being 2 feet 3 inches higher. 
The gable end (plate LXV.) is formed of three slabs, the central 
one being carved to represent the figure as seen from the front, and 
the ortes on each side as in profile looking outwards. The two 
sides of the structure are each formed of four slabs, all of which are 
illustrated (plates LAN VI.-LNIX.?. 
We do not know it the bones of the Ancestor were buried within 
the Pou-Pou or if they were hidden elsewhere as described by Mr. 
Hamilton in case of the chief Te Heu Heu. 
The following description of the carvings has been very kindly 
supplied by Mr. Hamilton, who is a recognised authority on Maori 
Art, but as his descriptions were compiled from photographs, I have 
supplied (within brackets) minor details such as size and condition 
which could only be ascertained from an examination of the carved 
slabs themselves. With the exceptions noted, all the slabs are 
approximately 5ft. 4in. in height. 
