Sydney: An archaeologist has discovered a mass grave in New Zealand containing the remains of 12 British soldiers who died at a trenched fort during a major battle against Maori tribes in 1846. After four years searching for the graves — last recorded being seen by locals in 1851 — Jonathan Carpenter found the site in a quiet field in the country’s far north. He used a radar to locate the graves after tracking them down using information passed on by locals who were descended from both the Maori and British fighters. Mr Carpenter and a team of diggers found the remains of two men, including one with a musket ball underneath his ribs. It was decided to leave the 10 other members of the communal grave in peace. “These men took the Queen’s shilling,” Mr Carpenter told TVNZ. “They came from halfway around the world and ended up dying here and now they’re bones. I hope that the British government takes an interest because we’ve found your boys and we’d like you to come down and help us take care of them as time goes on.” The soldiers have not been identified but were from a contingent made up of troops from the 58th Regiment of Foot, along with soldiers from the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and a Royal Navy detachment. The men had been buried according to Maori burial rites, along with objects that had been in their possession such as a clay smoking pipe. The New Zealand government and the local Maori community plan to erect a memorial. Carpenter said he hoped the British government would participate. “It’s important that the family and descendants of these soldiers can come here and identify the grave,” he said. The 12 soldiers died in New Zealand’s Northern War, in which Maori tribes staged a rebellion against colonial rule in 1845. The conflict ended with a major battle at Ruapekapeka, or “bat’s nest”, a fortified Maori settlement. The battle, which followed a siege by the British forces, effectively ended in a stalemate. It appears that British troops breached the fortress and finally entered on the morning of January 11, but discovered that most of the Maoris had left. Fighting subsequently briefly broke out in the bushland around the fortress, leaving 12 British dead and about 30 injured. A greater number of Maori are believed to have died.
The Telegraph Group Ltd. London 2017
