Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Hawaiian Petroglyphs Emerge From the Sand for the First Time in Nine Years

Discovered in 2016, the sandstone carvings on the western shore of Oahu depict human-like figures and extend across more than 100 feet

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

August 1, 2025

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Centuries ago, Native Hawaiians carved large human stick figures into the ground on Oahu’s western shore.

Most of the time, the sandstone etchings are hidden beneath a blanket of sand and sediment. But recently, the lapping waves of the Pacific Ocean cleared away the sand to reveal the petroglyphs once again, reports Mahealani Richardson for Hawaii News Now.

The carvings are located on Oahu’s Waianae Coast in Pōkaʻī Bay in front of a cabin at a United States Army recreation center. They were first discovered in 2016 but hadn’t been fully exposed again until now.

Experts say it’s difficult to determine exactly when the petroglyphs, known as kiʻi pōhaku, were carved. But they suspect the etchings are at least 500 years old, reports Jennifer Sinco Kelleher for the Associated Press.

The entire panel measures roughly 115 feet long, with some of the individual figures measuring more than eight feet tall and nearly eight feet wide, according to SFGate’s Christine Hitt.

Archaeologists have recorded 26 petroglyphs, including 18 human-like stick figures. Of those, eight appear to be male. Two of the figures have fingers, which experts say is unusual.

“The ones with the fingers, for me, are pretty unique,” said Alton Exzabe, an archaeologist with the U.S. Army, in a statement after the petroglyphs were documented for the first time in 2016. “I believe there are some elsewhere with fingers, but fingers and hands are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them.”

Glen Kila, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner who is working with the Army to protect the petroglyphs, thinks the figures are part of some sort of religious or ceremonial story, he tells the AP. To him, the largest figure in the panel is meant to symbolize the rising and setting sun.

Kila believes that the petroglyphs’ reappearance means his ancestors are trying to communicate something. “It’s telling the community that the ocean is rising,” he says to the AP.

Nohea Stevens, who lives nearby, thinks the figures have some connection to agriculture. “They tend to tell a moʻolelo, or story of the place,” she tells Hawaii News Now.

In 2016, the panel was exposed after a series of late spring and early summer storms, which produced powerful waves that washed away the sand. This time, experts say the petroglyphs were likely exposed by seasonal changes to the beach caused by low-pressure weather systems coming from the eastern Pacific, per the AP.

“This is a natural process that uncovers, and eventually recovers, these glyphs and others located around the island,” Nathan Wilkes, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, tells SFGate in an email.

Members of the public are allowed to walk on the beach to see the petroglyphs, but they need to show a military ID if they want to park at the Army recreation center, according to Hawaii News Now. In the meantime, Army officials are grappling with how to keep the carvings accessible while also preserving them for future generations.

“How much attention do you want to bring to this area? You don’t really want people to go digging for them when they’re not exposed,” says Laura Gilda, an archaeologist with U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, to the AP. “But they’re certainly awesome to come and see on the public beachscape.”

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.