During a dredging operation in 1973 on the island of Huahine, worked whalebone was discovered which was later identified as a Maori <i>patu.</i> From 1973 to 1981, excavations uncovered significant artifacts in support of Maori migration from Opoa. Environmental survey and analysis were carried out in full before the excavation of the sites. In 1977 the planks and canoe-related objects that had been uncovered in a rescue archaeology operation were reburied at a safe location to preserve the items until appropriate conservation treatment could be initiated; in 1981, the pit was reopened and the materials were sent to the Musée de Tahiti et des Îles, where they were placed in water tanks for treatment. Additional items found in this deposit could not be removed safely by trowel; water spray was used to dislodge items from the accumulated debris. Examination of the canoe planks had assisted in reconstructing the canoe building technique used 1000 years ago at Fa'ahia. The high ambient temperatures in Tahiti have posed problems in storing the wooden artifacts; polyethylene glycol treatments cannot proceed until wood identification has been completed. -- AATA