WAIANAE, HAWAII—AP News reports that ocean swells and shifting coastal sands exposed ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs on a beach in Oahu. The carvings were first seen almost a decade ago near a U.S. Army base in Waianae, an hour outside Honolulu, but were quickly swallowed back up again by the sand. Although sections of the artwork have occasionally become visible, said U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii archaeologist Laura Gilda, this is the first time the entire panel has been exposed. The scene consists of 26 petroglyphs—18 of which depict anthropomorphic stick figures—carved across a 115-foot stretch of sandstone. Experts believe that they appear to tell a ceremonial story, and that the largest figure, which is shown with one arm raised and the other lowered, may represent the rising and setting sun. The petroglyphs may have been created 600 years ago, just a few centuries after the first Hawaiians likely arrived from Polynesia. To read about the previous period in July 2016 during which some of these petroglyphs were visible, go to "Shifting Sands."
