A booming real estate and construction industry means that ancient burials and Hawaiian artifacts are coming up more frequently in backhoe buckets, leading to tension in the Hawaiian cultural community and a new determination by the state to address those issues.

State preservation officials and Hawaiian cultural experts are hoping that a new state law will increase awareness and halt possible abuse of native burial sites by imposing stiffer fines.

In addition, Melanie Chinen, administrator of the state Historic Preservation Division, said her office is proposing a series of other measures to promote compliance with the law, from charting regions where burials are likely to be found to fully staffing the state Burial Sites Program so construction delays are minimized.