MIAMI, (Reuters) – The unearthing of the remains of a 2,000-year-old Native American village where downtown Miami meets Biscayne Bay has thrown a wrench into a multibillion-dollar development project that survived the city’s real estate and financial meltdown.
Archaeologists first discovered the Tequesta Indian site in 2005, when developers began excavation at what had been a parking lot. Since then they have uncovered eight circles of holes in the limestone bedrock where supports for huts may once have stood.
“We’re getting a glimpse of what might be one of the earliest town plans in eastern North America,” said archaeologist Robert Carr, who was hired to survey the site by the developer, Miami-based MDM Development Group.
The ancient site sits in the heart of Miami’s latest real estate boom, surrounded by luxury condo towers with names like Icon and Epic.
Across the street is a luxury JW Marriott Marquis hotel, where professional basketball players stay when in town to play the Miami Heat, as well as some of Miami’s newest high-end restaurants, where celebrities are spotted nightly.
