Navatanitawake ceremonial mound, Bau, Fiji: some results of 1970 investigations

This paper records results from the archaeological investigations of a major ceremonial mound in Fiji, on the island of Bau. Discoveries included the human skeletal remains of at least 17 individuals, showing a variety of mortuary practices, three hearths, and associated sherds of elaborately decorated pottery and other artefacts. Excavation indicated that the double‐platform mound had been constructed in two phases. These discoveries can be correlated with early written accounts and current oral traditions relating to the rise to power of the Vunivalu or secular war chief of the confederacy of Bau and particularly to the battle of Kaba in 1855 and the burial on Bau of Tongan warriors killed during the battle.