Hidden for Centuries: Ancient Hawaiian Petroglyphs Emerge from Shifting Sands, Unlocking Mysteries of the Past
So here’s a wild thought: what if the ocean’s been playing hide-and-seek with ancient Hawaiian art for a thousand years? Yeah, you heard that right. Waves recently stripped away the top layer of sand on an Oahu beach, revealing a staggering 26 petroglyphs—some possibly carved a millennium ago. These aren’t your average doodles; we’re talking gigantic humanoid figures, some flaunting fingers (a rare thing in Hawaiian rock art), etched across 115 feet of shoreline. Found once before in 2016 and then promptly buried again by the tides, these carvings seem to have their own schedule, surfacing only when the universe (or the ocean) decides it’s time to remind us of Hawaii’s Indigenous roots—and maybe even hint at rising seas ahead. Ever wonder what stories these ancient symbols tell, or what secrets they’re just waiting to whisper before disappearing beneath the sand once more? Let’s dive in. LEARN MORE
Waves recently washed away the top layer of sand on a beach in Oahu and revealed 26 petroglyphs that could date as far back as 1,000 years.
U.S. Army Garrison HawaiiThese centuries-old petroglyphs stretch across 115 feet of beach in Waianae.
In 2016, two tourists staying on the Hawaiian island of Oahu were walking along the beach at Waianae when they noticed something curious in the surf: a row of carvings in the sand. Only revealed when the island’s shifting tides are just right, these petroglyphs had gone unnoticed for centuries, and they vanished again shortly after they were spotted. But now, these astonishing carvings have emerged once more.
Estimated to be at least 500 years old and perhaps as much as 1,000, these petroglyphs are a stunning remnant of Hawaii’s Indigenous past — and some native Hawaiians believe that there’s a reason they’ve reemerged now.
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