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Human bones
dug up from under
Kalakaua Ave.

Ten sets of old skeletal
remains have been dug up
at a work site

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Workers at a Board of Water Supply construction site in Waikiki have uncovered 10 sets of skeletal remains since work began in November.

"The burials are significant, but nothing beyond what we already know," said Don Hibbard, administrator for the state Historic Preservation Division.

The sets of bones, found between 4 and 5 feet below the surface of Kalakaua Avenue, are each at least 50 years old and possibly more than 100 years old, Hibbard said.

It was common for Hawaiians in the 1800s to bury their dead in sandy areas because they were easier to dig up, he said, noting that bones have been found in Waikiki before.

The 10 skeletons have been exhumed and will be reburied when the water line project is completed, Hibbard said. It will be up to the Oahu Burial Council to determine where the remains will be buried. Typically, they are reinterred near where they were found, he said.

"Whenever bones are uncovered, they stop work and a decision is made to leave them in place or to move them," Hibbard said. "In this case, our thinking is it's a water line and chances are it's going to be dug up again in the future so rather than have the bones repeatedly disturbed we preferred to move them."

The $2.4 million Board of Water Supply project involves installing a 14-inch water pipe through Waikiki. City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the findings have not delayed the project's expected June completion date.

Hibbard also reminded Hawaii residents that "if bones are inadvertently discovered either in course of construction or on a beach eroding, the Historic Preservation Division needs to be notified as well as the police."

The Historic Preservation Division's number is 692-8015.