Related Group High-Rise Leads to Tequesta Discoveries

More than two decades after the Miami Circle prehistoric site was discovered at the mouth of the Miami River, the surrounding Brickell neighborhood is once again bustling with teams of archaeologists.

As residents stroll past a banner that reads “Where Life Forever Sparkles” – promoting condo sales for the Related Group’s new 75-story glass tower, private marina and waterfront restaurant – artifacts are being extracted nearby from ancient layers of dark, rich soil.

Prehistoric human remains, including what is believed to be the sacred burial of a human skull six-feet deep, bone artifacts used for fishing, hunting and woodworking; ancient jewelry; shell tools; seeds; fossils of extinct animals; and evidence of more mysterious circles carved into the limestone have already been found on the four-acre site.

A notice of discovery was filed with the city of Miami in April 2021, alerting officials of the findings. Since then, archaeologists hired by the developer have issued various reports documenting the fascinating findings. In October, a notice of significant discovery stated post-hole features cut into the limestone bedrock had been discovered that could be the southern arc of a circle, signaling evidence of prehistoric structures on the site.

In 1998, the Miami Circle prehistoric Tequesta site was uncovered at the mouth of the Miami River. That parcel is believed to be a 2,000-year-old Tequesta ceremonial site that was part of a larger village – Tequesta Town – that once spanned both sides of the river and was occupied by Miami’s earliest inhabitants for thousands of years. After public outcry, worldwide political pressure and an eminent domain trial that led to the purchase of the land from a developer, the Miami Circle site, now a National Historic Landmark, was preserved.

The Related Group’s development site is just across the Brickell Bridge from the Miami Circle. The area was once part of a vast tropical hammock that bordered both sides of the river. The land was settled in the early 19th century and was once owned by Miami pioneers William and Mary Brickell, who purchased 3,000 acres on the south side of the river, including this parcel. A prehistoric midden – a refuse heap containing evidence of human occupation – had been identified on the site as far back as 1981.

“Faunal bone and teeth are common across the site and represent the refuse of dietary and subsistence activities,” states one of the cultural resource assessment reports. Remains of fish, reptiles, mammals and even the tooth of an extinct monk seal were discovered, giving clues to the culinary lifestyles of the ancient dwellers.

The tooth fossil of a prehistoric megalodon, an extinct shark that is believed to be the largest fish that ever lived, was found at the site. Megalodons date back to the early Miocene Epoch, which began 23.03 million years ago. Today, megalodon fossils have been found in shallow tropical and temperate seas along coastlines. How and why the tooth discovered at the Miami Circle got here is a mystery, but archaeologists speculate it was a prized possession, received in trade from another region.

The archaeologists have yet to interpret the site, but there are already clues that will help them better understand settlement patterns, exchange networks for trading of goods, development of pottery and mortuary practices of the Tequesta civilization.

Additional artifacts uncovered provide evidence of 17th- and 18th-century activities and include glass bottles, beads and a lead pendant. A 19th-century plain pewter button was found dating from circa 1830-1850, the report states.

The most intriguing and delicate findings concern human remains discovered, many fragmentary and “disarticulated.” Archaeologists believe these are “secondary burials,” which may hold clues to the spiritual life of the Tequesta as well as the sacred nature of the site. More human remains could be found as the excavations proceed. Human remains are reinterred, in accordance with state and federal laws.

The site is “eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places,” one of the archaeological reports released concludes, as it “provides important data documenting prehistoric culture, subsistence, and settlement patterns in south Florida, and specifically the Tequesta culture of the Miami River.” The report recommends intact portions of the site be avoided and asks the developer to preserve intact midden areas, something that has been done at other nearby developments that were redesigned to respect burial sites, for example.

The Biscayne Times reached out to the Related Group for comment, and received the following written statement after press time of the print edition:  "We have made significant progress and worked in close collaboration with archeological experts and local government officials to carefully excavate the site and appropriately preserve archaeological finds. We are delighted that the Baccarat Residences project is proceeding on time and as planned."

In a written statement reported by the Wall Street Journal in March, the developer said it is “collaborating with local officials to carefully excavate sites and preserve archaeological finds according to current laws and practices.”

The discoveries are neither surprising nor by accident – the lot is within an official Archaeological Conservation Area. Land on the north and south sides of the Miami River was continually occupied for several thousand years by the Tequesta, Miami’s ancestral people, and remnants of the ancient civilization, including burial sites, lie deep beneath the roadways, parking garages and buildings of modern Miami.

Robert Carr, a former Miami-Dade County archaeologist, now works for the developer overseeing the site excavation. Carr is the executive director of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy. Though this excavation and cultural assessment represents a new opportunity to uncover more artifacts and evidence that helps piece together the Tequesta story, it will yield just a fraction of the whole that was this ancient civilization.

“This particular project is one of 15 or more discovered since 1988,” Carr said. “Not all of them have yielded important finds, but it’s part of a continuum that teaches us a lot about archaeology and prehistory.”

The Brickell Homeowners Association, which held a community meeting with city officials in March to learn more about the archaeological survey, has asked if the land could become a park or museum to commemorate the Tequesta. They need the green space, they said, but also want to honor the city’s human ancestors.

In his 2012 book on the Tequesta and Miami’s prehistory, “Digging Miami,” Carr laments the loss of the Tequesta presence with the wholesale development of the land that was once the footprint of Tequesta Town.

“Thousands of artifacts have been found by archaeologists, but lost forever was the fabric of an entire Native

American group that had reigned over a water world of estuaries and creeks for thousands of years,” he wrote. “Understanding the robustness of Tequesta culture meant seeing the broader patterns of settlement across the area.”

Without context, the isolated artifacts of the Tequesta lose that expansive connection to the land and the sea that

defines Miami. It’s a connection that will play an even greater role as climate change impacts exacerbate the existing sea-level rise that already floods the city.

Said Chris Rupp, executive director of Dade Heritage Trust, “In a perfect world, you would have had the city issue a proclamation that these sites around the Miami River were sacred and we have to figure something out and they shouldn’t be developed.”

Dade Heritage Trust is the historic preservation group that was instrumental in promoting preservation of the Miami Circle.

“Everything is now after the fact. And everyone is scrambling on both sides,” Rupp added.

The trust is still trying to get proper interpretive exhibits at a second Tequesta site it has characterized as “one of the most historically significant sites in the city of Miami.” That site, which sits under the MET square development, “includes three layers of the most substantial times in our history – Tequesta Natives, the Fort Dallas Civil War site and Henry Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel, as well as the historic bank of the Miami River.”

“It’s very upsetting,” Rupp said. “One site was saved, one was developed. Now we have this third site along the Miami River. What is the position of the city of Miami going to be? Does this site meet the requirements for historic designation?”