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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XX, January 1966 
FIG. 5. Pu’u Ehu at low tide, November, 1963. This is the beginning of the ancient route through water to 
the refuge. The cups and basins still hold water left by the last high tide. (City of Refuge negative 1011.) 
Their purposes at Honaunau Bay were described 
by Stokes (1957:199-200): 
"Some are oval, about the size and shape of 
a baby’s bath tub, and were used for tanning 
nets; others of smaller size are circular, and were 
mortars for pounding the tasty seaweeds; smaller 
ones yet were for pounding salt; while on the 
edge of the lava and overlooking the sea may be 
seen others, still smaller, for pounding crabs 
and sea-urchins as bauna , or chum to attract 
fish. . . . Some large single mortars further down 
the coast were also used for dyeing tapa. ... We 
must not get the idea, however, that a mortar 
was only used for one purpose. As it grew in 
size by use it would undoubtedly serve the pur- 
pose for which its size adapted it. . . . The tan- 
ning tanks above ordinary high tide are still in 
operation.” 
In the Honaunau area some of the artificial 
concavities also held sticks which marked taboo 
areas or held wooden religious images. Their 
steep sides and depth held the sticks or images 
upright, and both were perhaps also lodged in 
upright positions by stones. Some of the image 
holes are now under water (Stokes, 1957:212). 
At Pu’u Ehu, the northern end of the ancient 
route to the refuge shown in Figure 2, there are 
more than 40 man-made concavities, all under 
water except at low tide. Some of them are pic- 
tured in Figure 5. At Ilio Point (Fig. 2) there 
are more than 14 similar holes, also usually 
under water. On an underwater lava shelf west 
of Ilio Point, a shelf covered with marine growth 
and which does not show in Figure 2, an addi- 
tional 29 were located during an extremely low 
tide in June, 1964. 
