Friday August 24, 2001 |

MIAMI - An ancient Indian burial ground that managed to survive decades of urban buildup has been discovered amid Miami's office towers on a prime piece of real estate, stopping a development deal dead in its tracks.

The 2,000-year-old Tequesta Indian cemetery sits in a shady little bayfront park in the city's financial district on one of the last undeveloped spots along Brickell Avenue. Archaeologists believe that the Indians buried there were the same ones who built the Miami Circle, the mysterious stone ring discovered nearby two years ago.

"With modernization, it's really a miracle that any part of it survived," said Bob Carr, one of the archaeologists who made the find.

The graves were discovered this spring as Miami sought to sell the park to developers who planned to put up a high-rise.

The Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, a private organization that was hired to do an archaeological assessment of the property before the deal was closed, dug 41 test holes and found human remains in 17 of them. Carr said the remains of perhaps 50 to 100 Indians are in the park and date from about 500 B.C. to A.D. 500.

After the consultants' report came out in June, Gotham Partners of New York, the development firm that had conditionally agreed to buy the site for $18 million, bowed out. The firm has refused to comment.

As it is today for developers, Brickell Point was prime real estate for American Indians for centuries.

"We have known for some time that the capital village of the Tequesta was at the mouth of the Miami River and that it was occupied for centuries if not thousands of years" before the Tequesta died out, said State Archaeologist Jim Miller.

But much of the Tequesta's history has been lost as Miami grew. In the days before society was more sensitive to preserving ancient graves, an Indian burial mound was destroyed to make way for Miami's first hotel, the Royal Palm, in 1896. About 50 to 60 skeletons were removed and then reburied in the foundation fill of another building.

State laws now protect ancient graves. That, combined with the potential for public and Indian outcry, could keep the 21/2-acre park intact.

"It would be extremely challenging to build a large building, especially on that small piece of property" without disturbing the graves, said Ryan Wheeler, an archaeologist with the state Division of Historic Resources.

The Miccosukee Tribe, one of Florida's major Indian tribes, has come out against plans to build on the park.

Fred Dayhoff, a non-Indian who speaks for tribal members on the subject because their culture avoids talking about the dead, said: "It is the official opinion of any Native American that if you disturb a burial site, the soul or spirit will forever be at unrest. These people will wander forever trying to find their belongings or their remains."

Public pressure also helped preserve the Miami Circle, which is separated from the gravesites by the 18-story Sheraton Biscayne Bay hotel.

The state and Miami-Dade County bought the two-acre Miami Circle tract for $26.7 million after the 38-foot limestone ring was discovered when one apartment complex was torn down to make room for a bigger, high-rise one. Archaeologists believe the 2,000-year-old ring was the base of a large building, but are not sure what its purpose was.

"I guess now we have the circle sequel. It's going to be very difficult to sell the property," said City Commissioner Tomas Regalado. "If we try to sell it, it will be another public relations nightmare."

Between the circle property and Brickell park, the city is losing as much as $2.5 million a year in taxes, Regalado said.

"That kind of money really helps, but what can we do?" he said. "We're not going to defy history."