1918.] The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
213 
man as in wild surmises as to which of the foreign lands in sight was the 
England of which he had heard some vague rumours. 
There are two old village-sites at Titahi which tradition claims date from 
long-past centuries, apart from other signs of occupation at Koangaumu 
and Te Pa-o-Kapo, the south and north heads of the bay. One of these is 
situated on the level terrace-like formation overlooking the middle area of 
the bay, and the other on a small terrace at the southern side. 
Commencing with the first-mentioned of these sites, we find that the 
shell-refuse about the village-site is composed principally of Mesodesma 
australe, Chione stutchburyi, and Amphibola crenata. The first two were 
possibly obtained from the sandy beach immediately below the old 
village-site, but the third must have been brought from the shores of the 
inner harbour, where this air-loving creature is still abundant at Onepoto 
and on the opposite shore north of Papa-kowhai. It certainly was not 
obtained from the outer coast-line, which is never frequented by this 
mollusc. As an illustration of the singular distribution of shells in middens 
of a restricted area, it is interesting to note that the old village-site near 
the edge of the terrace shows principally Chione and Mesodesma, with 
but few Amphibola, whereas but a few chains away is a midden of consider¬ 
able size composed principally of Amphibola. The matter is a somewhat 
puzzling one. It is quite possible that the two lots of refuse belong to 
different periods, which might assist in an explanation. Were the two 
species of bivalves scarce here when the Amphibola was so largely used ? 
Or was this univalve brought hither by members of a clan possessing no 
rights to the foreshore or to local food-supplies ? This latter theory is quite 
a feasible one, inasmuch as it was not infrequently the case that a numerically 
weak clan or family group made arrangements to reside with another 
clan or village community simply for the purpose of security. In such a 
case the guest group would invariably occupy a certain area of the village, 
and not live among the original occupants. Also, they would obtain supplies 
of food from their own lands, though they might be allotted the use of land 
near the village for cultivation purposes. 
The shells found at this place are: Chione stutchburyi, Mesodesma 
australe, and Amphibola crenata , numerous; and also Haliotis iris,, 
H. australis, Cominella sp., Thais haustrum, T. succincta, Astraea sulcata, 
Turbo smaragdus, Phalium (? labiatum), Helcioniscus spp., and fragments 
of Mytilus sp. and Echinus. 
This list shows, without further proof, that the folk of this village had 
access to both sandy beach and rocky coast-line, as well as the shores of 
the harbour. The great bulk of the refuse, however, is composed of the 
first three species in the list, two sand-frequenting bivalves and a univalve 
that seeks brackish water where a creek disembogues on to an area of 
mingled sand and mud. 
Astraea sulcata is evidently numerous in this region, for great quantities 
of this shell are seen lying at and just above high-water mark on the eastern 
side of Mana Island. Glycymeris laticostata was not found at the Titahi 
middens, but many of these shells are seen just above high-water mark at 
the Bridge Pa, or Komanga-rautawhiri, one mile and a half south of Titahi. 
Most of these shells, which are exceedingly strong, have been riddled with 
borings of some marine creature. 
A part of the old village-site has been covered by the drifting sand, 
but on the exposed area of the original surface are great numbers of stones 
that have been brought up from the beach. The majority of these doubtless 
