Huge petroglyphs covered for years unearthed again on the beach

HONOLULU (KHNL/Gray News) - Residents on the Waianae Coast in Hawaii said massive petroglyphs were uncovered at Pōkaʻī Bay last weekend.

Petroglyphs are a form of rock art made by removing parts of a rock through carving, engraving or abrading. They are usually associated with ancient peoples and cultures.

Nani Peterson said she has lived her whole life on the Waianae Coast and had never seen anything like the recent discovery.

“Our kupuna is definitely still here,” Peterson said, referring to her Hawaiian ancestors.

The petroglyphs, known locally as kiʻi pōhaku, are in the shoreline sandstone front cabin 11 at the Pililaʻau Army Recreation Center.

The biggest petroglyph measures more than 3 feet tall.

“These beautiful, beautiful images that they have laid for us to understand, and it’s time for us to understand,” Peterson said.

She noticed a big petroglyph with a little one on top of it resembling a parent and child.

The petroglyphs were exposed last week, and cultural experts believe they are more than 1,000 years old. They were first discovered in 2016 and residents said they haven’t been seen in years.

“You just never expect anything like that to be discovered, especially in our shoreline. I didn’t even know that was possible,” Nohea Stevens, a Waianae Coast resident, said.

U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii external communications chief Nathan Wilkes said the army has a cultural resources team that works to protect and preserve artifacts, including petroglyphs like the ones that were found.

“Littoral shifts that move the sand and sediment off of these petroglyphs happened over the weekend,” he said.

An Army report catalogued 26 petroglyphs spanning about 131 feet of beach. The report said the exact age of the petroglyphs is unknown, and eight of the figures in the beach rock appear to be male.

Experts said the wave deposited sand and algae suggest that unrecorded petroglyphs might still exist.

“They tend to tell a moʻolelo, or story of the place,” Stevens said. “We are just guessing that this one was more than likely for agriculture.”

According to the locals, the best time to see the petroglyphs is during low tide. When exactly the sand will cover them again remains a mystery.

The Army said visitors can walk to the beach site but must show a military ID to park at the camp.

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