Data collected from the Ward Villages construction site in Kaka'ako suggest there may be 335 individuals buried there, a calculation that should have been included in archaeological reports accepted by the state, according to a review by a panel of outside archaeologists.

The three-member panel of members of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology said the state Historic Preservation Division demonstrated "serious instances of nonfeasance" in failing to demand further investigation of the site, and also failed to demand information necessary to determine how widespread the burials were within the area to be affected by construction.

Tim Lee, administrative assistant to state Historic Preservation Division Administrator Melanie Chinen, said the archeological site survey done last year by Cultural Surveys Hawai'i Inc. met all requirements under state law, and said his agency will not be demanding additional survey work.

"Construction has already started, so the survey is done. We cannot have concurrent survey and construction. That would be very difficult," Lee said.

"Anyone can critique in hindsight. It's a matter of opinion."

The Society for Hawaiian Archaeology is a professional group of more than 200 archaeologists and others from across the state. Its members include contract archaeologist who survey sites for artifacts before construction begins on major Hawai'i developments.

Reports of the dozens of burials found at the site of the $100 million Ward Villages project have stirred concerns among some Native Hawaiians and archaeologists.

The finished project will include a Whole Foods Market, a 17-story condominium building, retail shops and a parking garage at the diamondhead end of Auahi Street.

Jan Yokota, vice president of developer General Growth, declined comment on the society report in an e-mail, saying she had not read it.

The Historic Preservation Division operates under the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and is responsible for preserving and maintaining cultural sites including management of burial sites more than 50 years old.

MORE REMAINS FOUND

Eleven sets of remains were noted during a 2006 archaeological survey of the site, with most of those found in the 'ewa-makai and diamondhead-makai sections of the six-acre property.

Work was halted for a time, but resumed after the O'ahu Island Burial Council voted in September 2006 to allow the developer to move those 11 remains.

When archaeologists working for the developer went to remove some of the initial 11 sets of remains, or iwi, earlier this year, another 29 burials were discovered.

More burials were found later in June and reported to the state, and still more burials found later this year, bringing the count of burials found to 64. Some of those may include more than one individual set of remains, and it isn't clear how many individuals' bones have been found.

In June, Historic Preservation Division Administrator Chinen told General Growth to leave 30 sets of remains in place, and to redesign the 17-story tower planned for the 'ewa-makai portion of the property to avoid the burials. Historic Preservation authorized the developer to remove another 27 sets of remains found on the Whole Foods portion of the project and hold them for reinterment later.

The society's panel contends that the O'ahu Island Burial Council should be allowed to decide what to do with burials found at the diamondhead end of the project, which includes the Whole Foods Market now under construction.

Media accounts of the discoveries prompted the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology to review the site survey report and the state response to that survey, said Tom Dye, president of the society and one of the three panel members who reviewed the archeological site survey.

The society panel review found that the survey did not identify the dimensions of a burial site discovered beneath a cultural deposit, and faulted the state for failing to demand that information be included in the original survey.

The society report found that the archaeological survey tested 3.28 percent of the land with beach sand under it, which are areas where burials might reasonably be expected.

Since 11 burials were found in that sample, extrapolating to the rest of the site suggests that there are likely 335 individuals buried on the property, according to the society report.

SURVEY WORK COMPLETE

There was enough information in the inventory survey report to be reasonably confident that many more sets of human remains were buried on the property, and this information should have been clearly communicated to the O'ahu Island Burial Council before it voted to move the first 11 sets, according to the Sept. 28 letter outlining the society archaeologists' review.

Burials "might reasonably be expected" in any part of 2.6 acres of the property with beach sand below it, and archaeological excavations should be done in any area where construction will disturb the buried beach sand, according to the panel.

Lee said the preservation division will not require additional survey work.

"We're not going to withdraw the fact that it's an accepted inventory," he said. "It's an accepted inventory. It's done."

Hallett Hammatt, principal investigator for Cultural Surveys Hawai'i, did not respond to a request for an interview on the society's report.

For the past year the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology has been publicly critical of the historic preservation division, warning that staff turnover, vacancies in critical archaeological and cultural positions and other problems have undermined the functioning of the agency.

Chinen has alleged that the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology is trying to discredit and weaken her program. Chinen was not available for comment on this story.

On Oct. 20 at the society's annual conference in Keauhou, members voted unanimously to endorse a letter from former preservation division archaeology branch chief Ross Cordy blaming Chinen for many of the agency's problems and calling for her removal. Three of about 60 members present at the meeting abstained from the vote.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.