Niku IIII (2001)

Fieldwork 2001

Fieldwork in 2001 was focused on three locations, at opposite ends of the island.

The Seven Site

The "bones" files found by Peter MacQuarie in the Kiribati National Archives in 1997, and the detailed documentation of the 1940 bones discovery subsequently located in the Western Pacific High Commission archives in England, had led us to take another look at the site cursorily examined in 1996 at the southeast end of the island. Now called the "Seven Site" because of its association with a natural seven-shaped clearing in the scaevola, it had several things to recommend it as the site of the 1940 discovery.

1. It was near the southeast end of the island, as Gallagher had specified. 2. It had clearly been the scene of some kind of activity during the colonial period -- perhaps the "detailed search" that Gallagher was directed to make, or whatever activities had led to discovery of the bones. 3. A 1941 U.S. Navy airphoto of the island showed evidence that vegetation had been cleared there -- again perhaps reflective of the search or some other colonial land-use activity. 4. There was a hole in the ground on the site, which conceivably could be where the cranium was buried and then excavated.

So a major purpose of the 2001 expedition was to clear scaevola from the vicinity of the hole and then re-excavate it and its backdirt pile, in case teeth had been lost from the cranium and wound up there.

The Triangle Site

In examining the satellite image obtained before fieldwork began (See below), we noticed a roughly triangular area of high-canopy forest in an area that otherwise appeared to have been cleared and overgrown in scaevola. This site was directly across the lagoon from the Seven Site, and therefore, like the Seven Site, could be said to be at the southeast end of the island. We speculated that perhaps this was actually where the bones were found, and that it had been left alone while nearby areas were bulldozed (presumably during the Coast Guard's stay on the island) because of its association with the bones. It was even possible to imagine the discussions leading to its not being bulldozed as the source of Floyd Kilts' story. So a survey of what we came to call the "Triangle Site" was scheduled.

The Nutiran "Grave"

During the 1999 fieldwork, a standing coral slab resembling a traditional I Kiribati gravestone had been recorded on the Nutiran shore, not far from the Norwich City. Thinking that this might represent the skeleton reported by Emily Sikuli to have been found in the vicinity, we proposed to excavate this location; permission to examine any human remains found there was granted by the government of Kiribati.

The Lagoon and Reef

Seeking the kinds of airplane parts reported by Tapania Taiki and her father, further underwater surveys were planned along the Nutiran-Ritiati reef face, and in the north end of the lagoon -- the latter involving both diving and wading metal-detecting.

The Satellite Photo

Leading up to the 2001 expedition, TIGHAR was able to obtain a high resolution satellite photo of Nikumaroro that proved to be an excellent research tool for locating specific areas of the island, particularly the 7 site. Upon examination of the area North of the wreck of the Norwich City, a particularly unusual rusty colored area revealed itself, and became a focus of attention and excitement leading up to the expedition.

http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/5/51/Nikucolor.jpg

GPS Data and the Start of the NIku GIS Project

NIKU IIII was the the first year during which multiple Expedition Team Members brought with them handheld personal GPS units (was it?) . Many waypoints were logged during the trip and collated after the expedition. The data has been overlaid by James Thompson of Select GIS Services onto a copy of the second 2001 Sat photo (post expedition) as you will see below.

http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/d/d1/GIS_Niku_GPS_Mstr-1.png

And also overlaid onto this outline of the satellite photo.

Results

The results of fieldwork at the Seven Site are detailed at (LINK). Results of the Triangle Site survey are given at (LINK).

A 2x2 meter square was excavated at the Nutiran "grave" site to a depth of two meters, and exposed only natural stratigraphy resulting from repeated overflooding events. We concluded that the standing stone was in fact a property boundary marker. The excavation was backfilled.

Divers excamined the reef face from above the Norwich City down to the vicinity of the landing channel, including the shelf that extends through part of this area, to a depth of about ___ meters. Results were negative.

Divers and waders examined and metal-detected the shallows of the northern lagoon, also with generally negative results. A truck wheel and tire were recorded, and the ________ of a B-24 was recovered. Both are interpreted as trash from the later colonial village period; the Loran Station was equipped with a truck, and we have found other B-24 parts in the village, probably from a crash site on Canton Island, where some of the Nikumaroro colonists were employed in the 1940s and 50s.

Links

http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/NikuIIIIsumm.html

http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Bulletins/38_SecretsKnob/knob1.html