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| The City of Miami revised its historic preservation ordinance
to include a map of archaeological conservation areas identified
by the County Archaeologist. Development within these areas required
archaeological survey, monitoring, and mitigation, as appropriate,
based on recommendations from the county. |
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| Miami-Dade County Archaeologist Bob Carr notifies
the City of Miami that development plan for Brickell Point is within
a city archaeological conservation area. |
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| Demolition of the Brickell Point Apartment buildings by Brickell
Pointe Ltd., in preparation for construction two high-rise buildings. |
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| Monitoring of demolition and pre-construction work
by Historic Preservation Services, Inc., pursuant to City of Miami
and Miami-Dade County historic preservation ordinances. |
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| Discovery of intact black earth midden deposits at
the site during demolition and pre-construction activities. |
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| Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Division
assumes responsibility for salvage archaeological excavations at
the site, initially planned for 4 to 6 weeks. County Archaeologist
John Ricisak serves as the field director, with field crew provided
by the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc. |
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| Excavation within three areas at the Brickell Point
property reveals additional black earth midden, and numerous midden-filled
holes in the Miami Oolite limestone. |
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| Discovery of the “Miami Circle.” |
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| Increased media attention to the discovery of the “Miami
Circle.” |
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| Dade Heritage Trust files suit against developer Michael Baumann
in an attempt to prevent building permits to be issued. The suit
is dismissed, but Baumann agrees to allow excavations to continue
until early March, and then have the Miami Circle removed by
a stonemason. |
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| Miami-Dade County task force considers alternatives for preservation
of the Miami Circle—including acquisition of the property. |
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| Increasing public opinion in favor of preservation of the Circle—a
considerable amount of information is disseminated via the internet,
radio talkshows, and other media. The plan to cut the Circle
out and move it is abandoned. |
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| Miami-Dade County files suit to gain the right to acquire the
2.2 acre Brickell Point property. Fieldwork suspended by the
court. |
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| At this time various theories on the origin of the Circle include
Mayan, Druid, Atlantean, and Extraterrestrial explanations, as
well as the assertion by paranormal debunker James “Amazing” Randi,
that the Circle is a 20th century feature related to the Brickell
Point Apartment’s septic tank. This view is adopted by Jerald
Milanich, a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who
visits the site in April. |
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| State of Florida Conservation and Recreation Lands
program staff visit the site, in response to acquisition application
for state funds. |
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| An independent assessment of the site’s origin
and significance is conducted by archaeologist Brent Weisman (Univ.
of South Florida), archaeologist George Luer, and preservation
architect Herschel Shepard (Univ. of Florida). They conclude that
the site probably represents the footprint of an important structure,
built by the Tequesta or their ancestors. |
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| Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet, sitting
as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund,
give acquisition priority to the Miami Circle in the ranking
of Conservation and Recreation Lands properties. |
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| Miami-Dade County wins the right to acquire the property through
eminent domain. A trial to determine the value of the property
is set for October, 1999. |
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| The September-October issue of Archaeology magazine contains
archaeologist Jerald Milanich’s article “Much Ado
about a Circle,” which contends that the Miami Circle feature
may not be an ancient site. |
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| University of Miami geologist Jackie Dixon concludes
that the stone axes found at the Miami Circle are probably from
the Macon, Georgia area, and not from Central America or the Caribbean. |
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| The County and developer reach a settlement agreement, concluding
that the County will pay 26.7 million dollars for the property.
The Florida Governor and Cabinet agree to contribute state funds
to the acquisition, pending an archaeological investigation by
the Bureau of Archaeological Research. |
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| U.S. Senate passes a bill supporting a feasibility study of
adding the Brickell Point property to Biscayne National Park.
While this bill failed to pass the House, Florida Senator Bob
Graham persisted and ultimately introduced a successful Senate
Bill in 2002. |
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| Assessment of the property by the Bureau of Archaeological
Research concludes that the Miami Circle is ancient and of human
origin. Intact deposits are found across 70% of the 2.2. acre property,
including many other holes cut into the limestone. |
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| Miami-Dade County assembles monies for the purchase, including
the $15 million from the state, and a bridge loan from the Trust
for Public Land. |
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| The State of Florida receives title to the property. |
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| John S. and James L. Knight Foundation donation of $1 million
to Miami-Dade County to aid in repaying the bridge loan for the
Circle acquisition. Another $1 million is obtained from the federal
transportation enhancement monies by the Metropolitan Planning
Organization. |
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| Cooperative project between Miami-Dade County and
Florida Division of Historical Resources to back-fill open demolition
trenches, remove trash and construction debris, and re-contour
surface of the site. |
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| Randolph Widmer of the University of Houston, under a Chapter
1A-32 Archaeological Research Permit from the Bureau of Archaeological
Research, conducts two 3-week field schools at the site. The
results are similar to those of previous investigations. |
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| Publication of archaeologist Ryan Wheeler’s report Cultural
Resource Assessment of Brickell Point and the Miami Circle, as
Florida Archaeological Reports No. 10. |
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| Monies from a Division of Historical Resources Special Category
Grant become available. This grant, totaling almost $500,000,
was awarded to the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, and
is to develop a permanent exhibit on the archaeology of southern
Florida, including the Miami Circle, and for additional excavation
and analysis of materials from the Brickell Point site. |
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| Florida Secretary of State appoints the Miami Circle Planning
Group. |
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| Meeting of the Miami Circle Planning Group. |
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| Meeting of the Miami Circle Planning Group. |
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| Meeting of the Miami Circle Planning Group. |
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| The Historical Museum of Southern Florida opens First
Arrivals, a permanent exhibit on the prehistory of southern Florida
and the Miami Circle. |
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| The Florida Division of Historical Resources signs a long-term
lease for the Miami Circle property with the Board of Trustees
of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. |
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| Meeting of the Miami Circle Planning Group. |
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| Reburial of the Miami Circle. |
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| President Bush signs Public Law 108-93 directing
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a Special Resource Study
to determine the national significance of the Miami Circle site
in the State of Florida as well as the suitability and feasibility
of its inclusion in the National Park System as part of Biscayne
National Park. |
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| The Division of Historical Resources enters into a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) with the National Park Service to fund the
Special Resource Study authorized by Congress and the President. |
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| The Miami Circle Planning Group is discontinued as
the National Park Service Special Resource Study begins. |
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