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Archeological Zone

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Miami Circle Archeological Zone

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© Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Division

 

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::  Miami Circle Archeological Zone
401 Brickell Avenue
Date of Site: 500 B.C. to 900 A.D.
Date Designated: Pending

a. Aerial photograph of the Miami Circle.

The Miami Circle, also known as the Brickell Point site, is believed to be the southern part of the pre-Columbian village of Tequesta that used to exist on both the north and south banks of the Miami River. It is thought that the circular formation of holes that have been cut out of the oolitic limestone bedrock represents the footprint of a structure such as a council house, a chief 's house, or a temple. There are also various unique features at this site. There is an intended marking of the cardinal points. A series of holes forms an east-west line with a carving of a human-like eye at the circle's eastern point that might have some association with the equinox and solstice. Other directions were indicated with distinctive cuts or rocks set in the holes. Artifacts recovered, including the remains of a fully articulated shark, a complete sea turtle carapace, and non-local basaltic axes, indicate the site may have had ceremonial importance to the Tequesta. The Miami Circle is the only complete cut-in-rock prehistoric structural footprint discovered in eastern North America. Due to the importance of this discovery, the State purchased the property in 1999. The Miami Circle was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

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