The first human remains to be discovered in the path of the Honolulu rail project have been unearthed in Kakaako by a crew conducting an archaeological survey for the project.
State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Pua Aiu said Thursday the bone fragment, believed to be Hawaiian remains dating to pre-contact times, was discovered Wednesday in a "nonburial site context" along with shell fragments and fire-cracked rocks.
The excavation appeared to have penetrated an old building site, revealing brick from a building foundation on each side of the trench, she said.
The bone was discovered at a depth of about 4 feet, she said. SHPD instructed the archaeologists working on the trench to leave the bone in place and continue excavating around it.
Daniel Grabauskas, executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, joined Hallett H. Hammatt of Cultural Surveys Hawaii on Thursday morning at the site at Cooke and Halekauwila streets to discuss the find.
Also visiting the site to inspect the survey trench were Aiu, Oahu Island Burial Council Chairwoman Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu and OIBC Vice Chairman Jonathan Likeke Scheuer.
The ongoing archaeological survey and the possibility that burials may be found have become critical issues for the $5.26 billion rail project.
The city has been surveying the 20-mile rail route in sections and has not completed surveying portions of the route in urban Honolulu where experts agree that burials are most likely to be found.
The first two sections of the survey, from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, are finished. Work is under way in the third section from Aloha Stadium to Middle Street and in the last section known as the City Center segment from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center.
Grabauskas said 20 of the 40 required trenches in the Middle Street section of the project are completed, and 68 of 232 trenches are finished in the City Center portion of the project. By the end of September, HART expects to have 104 of the City Center trenches completed, he said.
Depending on the nature of the find in Kakaako this week, the discovery of human remains could trigger a three- to six-month process involving SHPD and the burial council to determine the proper way to handle the remains.
The find in Kakaako was "not unexpected," and the city has a protocol in place that was developed through months of collaboration with all of the concerned parties, Grabauskas said.
"We are working closely with the State Historic Preservation Division, the Oahu Island Burial Council and other stakeholders to ensure that iwi kupuna are treated respectfully, with great sensitivity and in accordance with state burial laws," he said in a written statement.
How SHPD will proceed will depend on what else is found when the excavation crew digs to the required depth of 6 feet, Aiu said.
