Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 9, 1 September 2016 — Rarely seen petroglyphs discovered in Waiʻanae [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Rarely seen petroglyphs discovered in Waiʻanae

By Ka Wai Ola staff Shifting sands on a 60-foot stretch of heaeh in Wai'anae have revealed a previously unrecorded archaeological find: at least 17 Hawaiian petroglyphs believed to be more than 400 years old. Located on the shoreline, the petroglyph field is usually hidden by sand and surf. But one evening in July, as frequent visitors from Ft. Worth, Texas, waited on the heaeh for sunset, something else caught their eye. "For some reason there was a beam of light . . ,j ust a beam. . . it landed right on one of them. For some reason I just turned my head," said Lonnie Watson. "I said, 'Look!' It was just a stroke of luek. Two guys from Texas being this blessed and honored, really?" At first Watson, Mark Louviere and their wives weren't sure whether to notify anyone about the discovery out of respect for the Hawaiian culture. However, worried that construction plans in the area would destroy the petroglyphs, Louviere made the eall to report the find. Army archaeologist Alton Exzabe, who grew up in Wai'anae, was one of the first to examine the petroglyphs. "What's interesting is the Army in Hawai'i manages several thousand archaeological sites but this is the first one with

petroglyphs directly on the shoreline. What's exciting for me is I grew up coming to this heaeh and now as an archaeologist in the Army, helping to manage this site, we discovered these petroglyphs that have never been recorded. Some people said they've seen them before but this is quite a significant find." The Army and the State Historic Preservation Division are now working together to record and document the petroglyphs, as well as eome up with a plan to preserve and protect the site. Exzabe points out that these petroglyphs are unique. "The ones with fingers, for me, are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them. We find a lot of petroglyphs that are a foot or so tall, but this one measures 4-5 feet from head to toe. It's pretty impressive." It didn't take long for the petroglyphs to be hidden by sand onee again but now that the Army and SHPD are aware of them, both agencies are committed to protecting the archaeological site. That includes asking visitors to look but not touch, as trying to scrape or brush away the sand ean damage the figures. As a lineal descendant of the first aboriginal families to settle in Nene'u, Glen Kila's family home is close to the petroglyph field but until

now he'd been unaware of their existence. Now he hopes to learn from them. "They record our genealogy and religion. It's very important to know about these lineal descendants of the area and their understanding of these petroglyphs. The interpretation of these petroglyphs ean only be interpreted by the lineal descendants who are familiar with its history and culture," he said. "When you see certain symbols it's very important to know what those symbols mean to our culture here in Wai'anae." ■

Generally hidden by sand and surf, 1 7 petroglyphs believed to be more than 400 years old briefly revealed themselves on the Wai'anae shoreline. - Photo: CourtesyDepartmentof tand and Hatural Resources