What they have uncovered has stunned Miami and reverberated well beyond: Hundreds of thousands of artifacts, whole or in pieces, fragmentary animal and human remains, and hundreds of postholes carved into the uneven limestone bedrock that once supported structures in a populous Tequesta town.
All of it, archaeologists say, adds up to surprisingly abundant and well preserved evidence of extensive indigenous occupation at the mouth of the Miami River stretching back 2,500 years, and very possibly even as long as 7,000 years ago.
And it’s meant a whole lot of controversy as well, as the Related Group, the developers who own the property and have been required by law to cover the high cost of the excavation, press ahead with plans to build the first two of three planned towers on the site.
This week, the city’s historic preservation board, acting under mounting public pressure after independent archaeologists put a bright spotlight on the findings, voted to consider designating a portion of the Related property as protected landmark, while allowing development to proceed on the other while also requiring the developer to submit a plan detailing how the archaeological findings will be preserved, exhibited and highlighted.
The property and the excavation can be plainly seen from adjacent buildings. In late January, Miami Herald photographer Matias Ocner photographed the ongoing work from two adjacent towers at the invitation of residents.
The images tell a story of an extraordinary historic site, the precise location of Miami’s prehistoric founding, buried in layers of development but revealed to the light and salvaged after long centuries by the assiduous and methodical work of archaeological researchers.
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