The archaeologists, under the direction of veteran South Florida archaeologist Bob Carr, have so far painstakingly dug up eight large circles comprised of uniformly carved holes in the native limestone that they believe to be foundation holes for Tequesta Indian dwellings dating as far back as 2,000 years. They have also discovered linear, parallel arrangements of hundreds of such postholes stretching across the site that Carr hypothesizes mark the foundation for other structures, possibly boardwalks connecting the dwellings. "This is probably the earliest prehistoric town plan ever found in eastern North America," says Carr, who oversaw the discovery of the Miami Circle. The Tequesta village site covers roughly half of a long-vacant, two-acre city block on the north side of the river where the developer, MDM Development Group, plans to build movie theaters, restaurants and a 34-story hotel. But that would require the developer to redesign the final phase of a billion-dollar project and consider a question: How much is history worth? In recent weeks, MDM officials have discussed doing more in meetings with city and county planners and preservation officials, but have made no promises or commitments. The dilemma echoes the battle to save the Miami Circle, a set of postholes discovered by Carr in 1998 on the south bank of the river, opposite the recently uncovered Tequesta village site. Archaeologists concluded the circle marked the site of Tequesta council house or ceremonial structure dating back as far as 2,000 years. The circles are smaller versions of the Miami Circle, a similar site found 15 years ago and now preserved as a National Historic Landmark. If they gave it a name, its the birthplace of Miami. 
 
 Early finds on the site had been previously announced, including a circle Carr discovered in 2005 and dubbed the Royal Palm Circle after the Flagler Hotel. It was not until Miami-Dades county archaeologist, Jeff Ransom, got wind of the recent finds in the fall that word began getting out, however.
– Archeologists say they have unearthed what is probably one of the most important prehistoric sites in America—on land in downtown Miami earmarked for a huge entertainment complex. The researchers confirm that after months of work they have found evidence of an extensive Tequesta Indian village dating back up to 2,000 years on what they believe was part of the city's original shoreline. The site where a developer plans to build movie theaters, restaurants, and a 34-story hotel has also produced thousands of artifacts. NPR in November spoke to chief archeologist Bob Carr, who gave a brief history of the Tequesta. "They probably encountered Ponce de Leon," he said, along with the founder of St. Augustine. Those meetings would have kicked off their demise; Carr believes the thousands-strong population was whittled to fewer than 300 within 200 years of encountering Europeans. But the site they left behind is "one of the earliest urban plans in eastern North America," Carr tells the Miami Herald. "You can actually see this extraordinary configuration of these buildings and structures." And it has yielded more bits of history: "Sandwiched over" the site were artifacts from Fort Dallas, which factored into two of the Seminole Indian wars of the 1800s, and from Henry Flagler’s 1897 Royal Palm Hotel, which the Herald describes as having "prompted the founding of the city of Miami." Preservation officials have called for a major redesign of the entertainment complex project to save as much of the site as possible. They note that while MDM Development Group could be out a lot of money, it was well aware of the risk it was taking when it bought the land, which falls inside a designated archeological zone. Though the true significance of the site only became clear after the last six months of work, Carr has been making discoveries there since 2005. (Click to read about another recent discovery in the heart of a major city.)