Current Projects
Since 1985, the AHC has been investigating, documenting, and assessing
over 1000 sites throughout Florida. In so doing we have gotten to know
Florida and its history intimately, and we have developed expertise from
prehistoric Florida two millenia ago, to Seminole War sites of the
last century.
The following projects remain ongoing at this time:
One Miami
An ancient solution hole at One Miami near
a wing of the foundation of the Royal Palm Hotel
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Excavations at the One Miami site, DA 11, were initiated by the AHC in April, 2003. The parcel will be the location of a new high rise complex of shops, parking, and apartments. Located at the north bank of the Miami River, opposite the site of the Miami Circle on Brickell Point, the project parcel has been excavated by AHC archaeologists through the asphalt of existing parking lots. These excavations reveal a heavily damaged site with little intact sediments except in deeper solution holes and solution features within the limestone bedrock.
Thus far, the site has revealed traces of the Native American Tequesta and their ancestors who inhabited this site as early as an estimated 700 B.C. Historic artifacts and features include objects lost or discarded during the Ft. Dallas occupation between 1837-1858. Among the most fascinating discoveries was the uncovering of the foundations of the Royal Palm Hotel (see more information under Royal Palm Hotel link).
Royal Palm Hotel
The Royal Palm Hotel in its heyday
at the turn of the Century
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The foundations of Miami's first hotel, the Royal Palm, was uncovered at the One Miami site in 2004. Two feet below a parking lot, the yellow and red brick foundations of the hotel have survived. Built in 1897, the hotel was Miami's largest and most luxuriant, drawing visitors from the Northeast and Midwest. The hotel was built by Henry Flagler, president of the Florida East Coast Railroad, who built the hotel to host the many visitors using his new railroad extension into Southern Florida. Eventually the railroad would be extended to Key West.
Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel and Biscayne Bay
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The hotel was heavily damaged in the 1926 hurricane, and eventually demolished in 1930. Measuring over 600 feet in length, the hotel site was never rebuilt and eventually was paved with roads and parking lots.
In April, 2004 the staff of Mnemotrix (http://www.mnemotrix.com) conducted a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey revealing the extent of the west wing walls of the hotel to aid the archaeologists in their search.
Okeechobee Battlefield
Annual Re-enactment of the
Battle of Okeechobee
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The Okeechobee Battlefield was voted as one of America's most endangered National Landmarks. The site’s location near the outskirts of the city of Okeechobee is rapidly been overtaken by development. The Archaeological and Historical Conservancy is leading the effort to get the battlefield preserved as part as America's cultural heritage.
See the Battle of Okeechobee!
The fifth annual Battle of Okeechobee will be re-enacted on February (2005) near the location of the battlefield just off U.S. 441. There will be vendors, food and a re-enactment of the battle on both Saturday and Sunday.
Aerial Map of the General Vicinity
of the Battlefield (UDA-SCS Soil Survey Map)
(click map for closeup)
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Directions: Take US 441 East from the town of Okeechobee, past the Taylor Creek Bridge. There will be signs and the entrance is on the north side of the road.
Any re-enactors who would like to participate, or any visitors with questions may contact one of the following event coordinators for information:
Shawn Henderson, Friends of the Okeechobee Battlefield
(863) 634-2126 and at
sam@okeechobee.com
Brian Zapeda, Seminole Tribe of Florida, (863) 902-1113
Bill Steele, (954) 523-5195 and at
wsteele@semtribe.com
Ortona Canal
Map of Two Ancient Ortona Canals
on Caloosahatchee River
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In 1839 surveyors recorded a group of unusual earthworks near the Caloosahatchee River. They believed that these were fortifications built by Europeans. But in fact, they had discovered one of the largest groups of mounds and the longest system of transportation canals created by Native Americans. The AHC has recently radio-carbon dated the canal system to about A.D. 300, the same age as the Miami Circle. The significance of the Ortona Earthworks is that it demonstrates that the South Florida Indians were more advanced on a cultural/societal level at an earlier date than many scholars had suspected, and were capable of large engineering projects which require organization and a stratified society. An analysis of the artifacts recovered from the site indicates that the Ortona Indians may have been related to the Calusa.
This illustration is the 1871 Tannerhill map showing the two Ortona canals running southwest to northeast. Ortona Mound Park is located nearby, with its entrance near State Road 78. The park is open for picnicking from sunrise to sunset, with a barbeque pit and several pavilions. An exhibit and trail interpret the site.
In April, 2004 the staff of Mnemotrix (http://www.mnemotrix.com) conducted a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey to try to establish a GPR signature of this ancient canal.
Miami Circle
Miami Circle Ancient Tequesta Habitation
click for closeup of post holes in circular pattern
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The Archaeological and Historical Conservancy has played a major role in the discovery and preservation of the Miami Circle. The AHC provided archaeologists and archaeological technicians during the uncovering of the Circle, donating over $40,000 to the project cost. We also directed the analysis of over 143,000 objects that were recovered from the Circle, many now featured at an exhibition at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida in Miami.
The Miami Circle was discovered in September of 1998 during routine archaeological monitoring on a proposed condominium site at the mouth of the Miami River.
The Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Director, Robert Carr, supervised the excavation of several test units which revealed squared basins cut in the bedrock, each filled with black dirt midden. Surveyor Ted Riggs recognized that the basins formed part of an arc, and speculated that it might be part of a circle. In September,1998, a 40 foot diameter area was excavated, revealing that the basins do form a circle.
A section of the holes
that make up the Miami Circle
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The area within and around the circle was excavated, with the field work being directed by then County Archaeologist John Ricisak. Archaeologists from the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy and dedicated volunteers worked hard to finish this task. While the developer was having permit delays, the archaeologists continued to excavate the site and make important discoveries. Rare stone celts were found as well as animal burials; a sea turtle shell, a dolphin skull, and an articulated shark skeleton. These appear to be offerings. Radio carbon dates suggest the shark dated to around 1600 A.D. while charcoal found directly on top of the bedrock dated to 200 A.D.
As the importance and antiquity of the site was being revealed, public attention heightened. A campaign began to save the circle from development. Native Americans visited the site, school children signed petitions, and international media gave it coverage. This campaign culminated with an eminent domain law suit being filed by Miami-Dade County. This meant that the government felt the land had too much value to the public as a cultural heritage site to allow it to be destroyed by a high rise. The lawsuit was successful and the circle is now a park where the public eventually will be able to see and learn about Miami's history.
Summary of Field Work done at the Miami Circle
A mold taken of a prehistoric posthole
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The site was discovered and excavated by archaeologists with the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Division. Archaeologist Robert Carr supervised this activity, and former Country Archaeologist John Ricisak directed the field work. Archaeologists from the AHC and volunteers from the community helped excavate the circle and some small areas immediately around it.
- State of Florida archaeologist, Dr. Ryan Wheeler, excavated other areas of the two acre parcel and verified the age and authenticity of the site. This work was important to the County in their decision to go ahead with the Eminent Domain lawsuit.
- Dr. Dolph Widmer of the University of Houston conducted a field school (training school for archaeology students) there, examining an area closer to the mouth of the river.
- Archaeologists from the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy catalogued the mass of artifacts and information gathered from the Miami Circle, using a grant provided by the State of Florida's Division of Historic Resources, jointly given to the Conservancy and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida. The collection now reposes at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.
- During 2004 the staff of Mnemotrix (http://www.mnemotrix.com) conducted a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey as a reverse ground truth study to catalogue the excavated features in a 3D GPR visualization.
Interpretation
The 'Eye'
Part of the Circle that marks due East
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The current interpretation of the circle by most Florida archaeologists is that it represents a structure. Due to its careful construction and size (38 feet in diameter), it would most likely have a sacred and/or public function. The remains of sacrificed animals found in the site suggest a ritual ceremonialism at the site. A more detailed discussion of the site can be found in the December 2000 issue of The Florida Anthropologist (Vol 53 Number 4).
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Archaeological and Historical Conservancy
Click here for summary and figures from GPR study.