Iwi discovered at Old Airport Park

KAILUA-KONA — A cultural impact assessment for the Kailua Park master plan from 2010 indicated that ancient, undiscovered burial sites likely still existed in multiple areas within Old Airport Park.

On Wednesday, the assessment was proven correct yet again.

Deborah Ward, spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, confirmed via email Thursday that the department had received a report of iwi that had been unearthed in the park.

A Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer and a state park archaeologist responded to the notification Wednesday and found it accurate.

“Numerous iwi have eroded there over the years,” Ward wrote. “They appear to have been exposed by the recent King tides. With authorization from State Historic Preservation Division, (the responders) gathered the remains found on the surface and placed them in the care of a caretaker ohana. The remains will eventually be repatriated to a location approved and secured by the SHPD island burial specialist.”

This is the first iwi discovery in the park since last July, when an unnamed man reported coming across unearthed skeletal remains on the shoreline.

In that case, the man reported the find to police who handed it off to the DLNR. Maj. Robert Wagner of the Hawaii Police Department said police typically try to determine how long the remains have been there.

“If it is old, we pretty much leave it there,” he wrote in an email to WHT Thursday. “Of course if it is new, we treat it accordingly. Usually stuff like teeth fillings clue us in in regards to how long remains have been at a location.”

Wagner said he hadn’t heard about police involvement with the newest find at Old Airport Park, but based on DLNR findings the remains proved to be iwi, at which point police hand over proceedings to other state agencies.

WHT does not specify the precise location of such finds in order to protect their archaeological integrity and out of respect for descendants.