KAILUA-KONA — Skeletal remains unearthed last week at Old Kona Airport Park have been deemed an “inadvertent burial find.” ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Skeletal remains unearthed last week at Old Kona Airport Park have been deemed an “inadvertent burial find.” A
KAILUA-KONA — Skeletal remains unearthed last week at Old Kona Airport Park have been deemed an “inadvertent burial find.”
A man, who asked not to be identified, said he came across the skeletal remains about 1:30 p.m. July 6 along the shoreline at the park. The man, who walks to the shoreline almost every day, said it appeared inclement weather the night before unearthed the remains, which appeared to have been, at some point, placed with care within a circular rock pattern.
West Hawaii Today is not providing any additional details about the find, including its exact location, to protect the remains and out of respect for descendants.
The man said he immediately contacted police, who took the report and forwarded it to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division, which is handling the find, according to DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward.
She said a Hawaii Island burial sites specialist and the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement responded to the site. They are now in “consultation with descendants of the area.” No additional information was immediately available.
Old Kona Airport Park is situated on land and shoreline rich with cultural history. According to a cultural impact assessment completed in August 2010 for the Kailua Park master plan, documented sites within the park include habitation sites, multiple burial and re-interment sites, numerous agriculture and activity areas, lava tube shelters and petroglyphs and papamu, which is where the checkers-like game of konane was played.
Makaeo is the name of the coastline between Kukailimoku Point and Pawai Bay and a fishing village that occupied the area until the airport’s construction in 1948. A radiocarbon date of 1410-1665 AD was obtained from an agricultural feature in an adjacent parcel indicating use of the area during the pre-contact period.
“Based upon numerous previous exposures of burials in the beach sands, the Project area is likely to contain substantial additional burials — as yet undiscovered and undocumented — located in the sand dunes and beach areas makai (seaward) of the existing runway,” the assessment reads.
Any skeletal remains accidentally discovered must be reported to the state Historic Preservation Division, as well as local police, according to the division. If remains are estimated at less than 50 years old, they fall under the jurisdiction of local police.
If a person discovers a burial site, they should stop activity in the immediate area and leave the remains in place before contacting the preservation division at 692-8015 and police. For nonemergencies, Hawaii Island police can be reached at 935-3311.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.
