Federal Judge David Ezra, in what seemed to be a passing remark, may have suggested an incremental step toward accord in the divisive case of 83 buried Hawaiian artifacts.

In the cacophony that erupted over yesterday's climactic hearing on the fate of the objects, this ray of hope seems thin indeed, but it's one worth exploring.

Admittedly, agreement seems elusive in a case that involves such difficult questions about correct cultural behavior. All the same, Ezra has proposed that a third party be found, one acceptable by all sides in this contentious dispute, to take custody of the artifacts in the case until their disposition is finally settled.

Otherwise the objects that the organization Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei reburied at Kawaihae five years ago will be passed back to the custody of the Bishop Museum, which is charged with overseeing the repatriation of the 83 items to the Native Hawaiian community.

This is not an ideal circumstance. The museum, after all, is a party to the case, and an enormous gulf of distrust exists between the hui and the Hawaiian groups that back the museum, believing the hui's action left others out in the cold.

Yesterday, the hui's leader, Edward Halealoha Ayau, went to prison rather than obey Ezra's order to disclose the precise location of the objects. The hui and its supporters may view that as a heroic act, but it's really the culmination of a tragic mistake.

Hui Malama assumed an authority it did not possess when it moved for the untimely reburial of the objects along with human remains; the whole case might have been settled, ultimately with less indignity to the burials, if the cultural question — should the objects go back to the cave? — had been fully resolved.

If this dispute is ever to resume that course, some kind of middle ground must be found.

It's difficult to imagine what third party would satisfy all combatants — even the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, traditionally a caretaker agency, has been a competing claimant for the artifacts.

But finding accommodation and moving toward resolution should be everyone's focus now, rather than continued and pointless demonstrations of civil disobedience. The hui's decision to withhold its guidance serves nobody's interests and cripples its future standing as an organization able to advocate for burial protection.

The court certainly can search for the objects without further details or maps, but the retrieval will be far less disruptive to burial caves if the hui provides the guidance Ezra has ordered.