NZ's oldest burial site risks being swallowed by the sea

One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s earliest archaeological sites is at risk of being inundated by rising sea levels from climate change. About 20% of the heritage land at Te Pokohiwi o Kupe | Wairau Bar in the Marlborough region is currently at risk of being flooded by a 100-year storm-wave. However that fraction rises to 75% with the predicted sea level rise of the next 50-100 years. The site at Te Pokohiwi o Kupe | Wairau Bar dates back to the early 1300s, containing the earliest known graves in the country, some belonging to first-generation Polynesian settlers.