The state Historic Preservation Commission has recommended $210,000 in fines, the highest possible under law, against Akihiko Sinoto, of Aki Sinoto Consulting, and other archaeologists involved in the Wal-Mart site for allegedly failing to notify "proper authorities" in a timely fashion when a burial site was inadvertently found during construction that began in 2003.

Sinoto said yesterday that he and the other archaeologists "intend to vigorously defend ourselves" in a state administrative process that could begin next month.

It will be at least several months before two archaeological firms and their employees learn if they will need to pay a $210,000 fine as a result of actions on the construction site of the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club complex on Ke'eaumoku Street.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday deferred a decision on the fine after an attorney for Aki Sinoto Consulting, the International Archaeological Research Institute and individuals involved with the two companies filed for a contested case hearing, a quasi-judicial proceeding that allows opposing sides in an issue to present more facts and arguments than under normal circumstances.

The state Historic Preservation Division is recommending that the board fine the archaeologists for tampering with human remains, or iwi, on the site. Among the infractions cited by the agency were "writing on a child's skull with indelible red ink, taping a child's teeth to an index card, using duct tape and modeling clay to hold remains together and writing the words 'Handbag Louis Vuitton' on a paper sack that contained a human hand."