Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 1, 1 January 1988 — Reconstruction of Ancient Shrine at Waimea Park in Full Swing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Reconstruction of Ancient Shrine at Waimea Park in Full Swing

Visitors to Waimea Falls Park during the month of December witnessed the excavation and reconstruction of what is believed to be an ancient Hawaiian shrine. The site, located in the parking lot of the park's restaurant, was first discovered in 1974 by members of the Bishop Museum. After investigatingthesitein 1978, Rudolph Leikaimana Mitchell, Waimea Falls Park archaeologist and historian, described the shrine in an archaeological survey report to the Department of Land and Natural Resources as:

"Lying immediately north of the present restaurant parking !ot, this site consists of a contiguous assemblage of two earthen terraces, a boulder-faced slope, and a cobblefaced platform with piecesof branch coral scattered over its surface. The platform is thought to be a Hawaiian shrine because of the coral on its surface. Although the site ean be broken up into features, interfaces between features are indistinct because of homogeneity of the rock construction material and the slumped character of many of the remaining wails. There are, however, enough remaining wall facings to allow an accurate reconstruction of the structure".

Cultural materials collected from the vicirAy of the site, including charcoal flecks, marine shells and glass and pottery fragments, indicate that a historic habitation onee existed close to the site and that further excavations could be quite valuable, providing information regarding the age, function and extent of the stone structure or Hawaiian shrine. That reconstruction started in December when Mitchell began the tedious task of removing overburden material from the site including boulders and runoff sediment 32 em deep. The project is expected to take several months to complete. Whenfinished, visitors will

be able to view a reconstructed Hawaiian shrine. For now, guests may witness the excavation of this archaeologically significant site daily, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., in the parking lot of Waimea Falls Park. Mitchell's findings will be announced in an addendum to his original report on the site. Mitchell, widely known as Rudy, has worked as ar chaeologist at Waimea Falls Park investigating the historical significance of Waimea Vailey for the past 11 years. During his time with the Park, Mitchell has dis-

covered, excavated and restored numerous Hawaiian historical sites within the area including a housinganda temple site. As an archaeologist, Mitchell's focus is on ancient history with specialties in petroglyphs, astronomieal observations and Hawaiian medicine.

A graduate of the University of Hawaii, Mitchell, whose ancestry is a mixture of native Hawaiian and Irish, is a member of theSociety of Archaeology; the New Zealand Archaeological Association; the committee for revision of the cultural draft plan of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a director of the State Makahiki. He is responsible for instituting the annual Makahiki Festival at Waimea Falls Park, an ancient Hawaiian celebration whieh features music, dance and games competitions and has served as a consultant for makahiki(s) on Molokai, Kauai, Kahoolawe and Maui. He has written several manuscripts on the Hawaiian religion and serves as a genealogical consultant for the family of the high priest "Hewahewa."

Rudy Mitchell, Waimea Falls Park historian and archaeologist, examines pieces ot coral discovered at the site of what is believed to be an ancient Hawaiian shrine.

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