Miami Dig ‘One of the Earliest Urban Plans in Eastern North America’

MDM Development Group already has leases, agreements, and a development schedule for its two-acre development on a long vacant parcel on the north side of the river in Miami. But according to an article by Andres Viglucci, the project would cover an archaeological site that continues to reveals more history than were thought possible when the project was approved.

Archaeologists are continuing to find evidence of what South Florida archaeologist Bob Carr calls “one of the earliest urban plans in eastern North America.”

Here’s some of what archaeologists have discovered so far:

• “[Eight] large circles comprised of uniformly carved holes in the native limestone that they believe to be foundation holes for Tequesta Indian dwellings dating as far back as 2,000 years.”
• “[Linear], parallel arrangements of hundreds of such postholes stretching across the site that Carr hypothesizes mark the foundation for other structures, possibly boardwalks connecting the dwellings.”

As a result, the “State of Florida and Miami-Dade County historic-preservation officials are pressing the city to revisit the Met Square plans to consider possible alternatives that would salvage a portion of or even the full archaeological site. That could require a major, costly redesign of the Met Square project.”