CAP preserves, shares and researches Christchurch’s archaeological heritage for everyone to explore and use.
Highlighting Kaiapoi and Rangiora is a project developed in collaboration with Waimakariri Libraries.
CAP also holds a lot of data about sites in Christchurch’s hinterland, including Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
Christchurch has a rich archaeological archive, owing to the incredible amount of archaeological work that took place following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
CAP holds a significant amount of the archaeological data - and the artefacts - from that work.
The archive holds the story of how Christchurch and the surrounding townships were built.
CAP and Museum of Archaeology Otautahi director Katharine Watson said the archive includes data from archaeological sites in both Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
‘‘CAP wants to make this data more accessible to the people. As such, we have recently taken on an intern through the University of Canterbury's PACE programme.
‘‘Rosa Opie, our intern, is studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Heritage, and she’s very passionate about researching and writing about Aotearoa's past.’’
Opie's project for CAP involves carrying out detailed historical research about some of the more significant archaeological sites of European origin in the Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
She writes up this information to appear on the Waimakariri Heritage website.
Opie says she has had a love for reading and research ever since she was little and over time, this has translated into a passion for exploring the connections between people, place, and culture, and understanding what can be done to keep these stories alive.
As part of the project, CAP also be curating an exhibition to be held at the Kaiapoi library in the second half of 2025, showcasing some of the artefacts found during this archaeological work and highlighting the stories they've revealed. They will also be conducting a public talk.
