THE EARTHQUAKE DISASTERS OF CHRISTCHURCH AND THEIR IMPACT ON LOCAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 20/01/2021

Archaeology about modern times covers round about the last 400 years. We think about European archaeology, of course, but also of Asian and American (North and South) archaeology. Sort of forgotten lies the Archaeology of Oceania – Australia and New Zealand, especially in regard of European settlement, since “modern” history of those countries is so very young. Nevertheless, there is archaeology of early European settlement as well as traces of Maori activity to find. Due to the recent earthquake catastrophes in 2010 and 2011, and again in 2016, the city of Christchurch on the Southern Island of New Zealand had to suffer collapsing buildings and mass demolitions. As a result, it is the archaeologists’ task to document demolitions of buildings built prior to 1900 and check underneath modern foundations what may have been hidden for a couple of centuries. There we find the remnants of European immigration to New Zealand in the 19th century, which in turn connects the present-day societies with a shared history. The paper shall present the work of the archaeologists in Christchurch after the Earthquakes where archaeological observation was part of the demolition programme. An insight shall be given to the background that led to the archaeological fieldwork in Christchurch which is still active to date.


Schwenzer, Gerit