Rua kūmara (storage pits) were used to store kūmara for food and for planting the next season. They were sealed with a wooden door or lid. The pits were dug into the side of a slope (1), or dug out in a bell shape (2). They often had drainage channels (3 and 4). Some of the larger pits had a pitched roof and have been described as a ‘cellar’ (4 and 5). Bin pits (6) were small square or rectangular pits. They were sometimes dug in the open, and sometimes inside dwellings or larger pits.
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Source: Janet Davidson, Prehistory of New Zealand. Auckland: Longman Paul, 1987
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