On September 10, 2016, I wrote about a group of ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs discovered on Wainae Beach, Hawaii. They had been first noticed by tourists from Texas. Now, a new report of the petroglyphs on Wainae Beach has come out, apparently the same group that had been reported previously. As weather shifts the beach sand it appears that they are periodically exposed and then covered again.
An Associated Press report, written by Jennifer Kalleher stated that “Hawaiian petroglyphs dating back at least a half-millennium are visible on Oahu for the first time in years, thanks to seasonal ocean swells that peel away sand covering a panel of more than two dozen images of mostly human-looking stick figures.The petroglyphs are easy to spot during low tide when gentle waves ebb and flow over slippery, neon-green algae growing on a stretch of sandstone. This is the first time the entire panel of petroglyphs are visible since they were first spotted nine years ago by two guests staying at a bayside U.S. Army recreation center in Waianae, about an hour’s drive from Honolulu.” (Kalleher 2025)
“This reemergence is connected to patterns of seasonal weather. From May to November, Pacific storms churn the waters, scouring sand from beaches and occasionally bringing archaeological features that were obscured by sediment into view. Over time, the sand will eventually return, burying the carvings until they reappear during a shift in coastal dynamics once again. Specialists monitor the petroglyphs site, which lies within the grounds of a U.S. Army recreation area. The shoreline itself is open to the public, but complete access to the adjacent property requires military identification. This has created an ongoing controversy about how to preserve this part of Hawaii’s cultural heritage and make it more widely available.” (Radley 2025) From the reports it appears to me that nature and the U.S. Army are already doing a pretty good job of preserving the petroglyphs, and I really don’t go along with the part about “make it more widely available.”
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Kalleher, Jennifer Sinco, 2025, Early Hawaiian petroglyphs on a beach are visible again with changing tides, 24 July 2025, AP News. Accessed online 26 July 2025.
Radley, Dario, 2025, Ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs reemerge on Oahu’s shores after years of
being hidden, https://archaeologymag.com
(online). Accessed online 26 July 2025.
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