Archaeologists who for months have been uncovering mounting evidence of an ancient and extensive Native American village in the middle of downtown Miami have concluded its likely one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the United States. 
 
 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. The village site borders a rocky outcropping that his team has concluded was the original natural shoreline at the confluence of Biscayne Bay and the Miami River, a spot long ago occluded by fill. 
 
 Whats unusual and unique about the site is that its this huge chunk of land where a major part of this ancient Tequesta village site is preserved, Carr said in an interview. Its one of the earliest urban plans in eastern North America. You can actually see this extraordinary configuration of these buildings and structures. 
 
 The finds, which have not been widely publicized, have placed public officials and a big downtown developer in a major quandary. 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. The project would cover most of the block, including the full archaeological site. 
 
 The city of Miami granted MDM zoning and development approvals for the Met Square project, though not a final building permit, before the full scope of the archaeological finds was known or understood. The site has also yielded thousands of Tequesta artifacts, including bone and shell tools, as well as newly uncovered remnants of industrialist Henry Flaglers 1897 Royal Palm Hotel, which gave rise to the city of Miami. 
 
 State of Florida and Miami-Dade County historic-preservation officials are pressing the city to revisit the Met Square plans to consider possible alternatives that would salvage a portion of or even the full archaeological site. That could require a major, costly redesign of the Met Square project. 
 
 MDM, which already has leases, agreements and timetables for the theaters, restaurants and hotel, says it could be out a substantial amount of money if that happens. The developer has offered to carve out the limestone holding one or two of the larger circles on the site and display those in a planned public plaza. 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. 
 
 We will do our utmost, MDM director Ian Swanson said Monday in an interview at the site. There is no easy answer to this at all. 
 
 While recognizing the sites importance, Swanson said there are still ambiguities over precisely what it was. He said the store of artifacts taken from the site and stored at the HistoryMiami museum will provide specialists and historians years worth of study and analysis. 
 
 Carr, who works for MDM, which by law must pay for the archaeological survey, said he has also recommended to his client that as much as possible of the site be preserved in place. 
 
 If you have a necklace filled with pearls, what makes it valuable is its entirety, not four or five pearls, Carr said. 
 
 Preservationists note that MDM took a chance when it purchased the property a decade ago because it knew the site was inside a designated archaeological zone. Though the site was covered by an asphalt parking lot for 70 years, Carr and other archaeologists long suspected it was once part of a Tequesta village given previous finds of burial grounds and middens in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 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. 
 
 After an international uproar, and facing a suit by preservationists, a developer who planned a condo on the site sold the property to the state for $27 million. It has since been turned into a park, though the circle was buried as a protective measure because the state lacked money to exhibit it properly. 
 
 The citys historic preservation board, which has legal authority over archaeological sites, is scheduled to receive a monthly update on the newest finds  including the discovery of an eighth circle in the past several days  at its regular meeting Tuesday. The board is also expected to set a special meeting within the next two weeks to debate what to do about the Tequesta site. 
 
 Preservationists and city board members say there is strong and growing support for measures to save and create a major exhibit around at least some of the archaeological site. State officials say it would likely earn National Historic Landmark status, like the Statue of Liberty and Miamis Freedom Tower. Some local officials and preservationists believe it might also qualify for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
 
 Making the site even more significant, they say, is the fact that Carrs team has also uncovered artifacts and other elements from two later historic structures sandwiched over the Tequesta village at the site  a well and artifacts from Fort Dallas, a mid-19th Century military fortification used during two of the Seminole Indian wars, and brick column bases and other traces of Flaglers hotel, which prompted the founding of the city of Miami. 
 
 Its extremely important, said city preservation board member Gerald Marston of the site. 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. But the rest of the ensemble was discovered only in the past six months. 
 
 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. Carr acknowledges he had not notified the county and city of major finds as required, an oversight he said he has corrected. 
 
 Met Square is the fourth phase of MDMs massive Met Miami development, which takes up four adjacent city blocks. Two other phases, a condo and a tower housing a Marriot Marquis hotel and offices, have been completed. 
 
 Carr found the remains of scores of Tequesta people in a burial ground under the third phase, a Whole Foods with a parking garage and residential tower, now under construction. The remains were reburied in an undisclosed location following Florida law. ||||| Once An Ancient Village, Soon An Entertainment Complex? 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Joe Raedle/Getty Images 
 
 As work began on one of the last pieces of undeveloped ground in Miami's fast-changing downtown, archaeologists uncovered the site of an American Indian village. It was already centuries old by the time Columbus arrived in the New World. 
 
 The question now for the city and the developer of the planned entertainment complex is how much of the site will be preserved. 
 
 To the untutored eye, the site doesn't make much of an impression at first. It's a series of six circles outlined by postholes cut in the bedrock. The circles are smaller versions of the Miami Circle, a similar site found 15 years ago and now preserved as a National Historic Landmark. 
 
 The Miami Circle is believed to be a ceremonial site built by the Tequesta tribe. This new site is something different. Archaeologist Bob Carr says it appears to be the remains of a Tequesta village. 
 
 "This is probably the earliest prehistoric town plan ever found in eastern North America," says Carr, who oversaw the discovery of the Miami Circle. 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Greg Allen/NPR Greg Allen/NPR 
 
 Carr was called in to survey this site, a 2-acre lot surrounded by high-rises. Nearby, one of Miami's electric rail cars passes overhead on elevated tracks. 
 
 On the ground, the soil has been scraped down to expose the limestone bedrock. Carr walks to the first of the six circles he found, one he calls the Royal Palm Circle. It's 36 feet in diameter with a double set of holes curving into a circle. 
 
 The postholes, Carr believes, anchored pine poles that formed the sides of structures, probably with thatched roofs, where the Tequesta lived, ate and slept. 
 
 The Tequesta structures were elevated, Carr says. And he's found signs they were all connected with walkways — the equivalent of village streets. 
 
 "We suspect that what these probably represent are a series of boardwalks or elevated structures connecting these circular structures," Carr says, indicating a series of postholes lined up in straight lines. 
 
 Carbon testing dates the site to 600 A.D. Carr says the Tequesta were still living in the area when the Spaniards arrived hundreds of years later. 
 
 "They probably encountered Ponce de Leon, who apparently did land somewhere near the Miami River," says Carr. "Menendez, who was the founder of St. Augustine, also encountered them and set up the first European mission and fort at this same location." 
 
 After first contact with Europeans, the Tequesta demise happened quickly, Carr explains. Within 200 years, a population of thousands dwindled to less than 300. 
 
 Carr found this first circle several years ago when he began working at the site. But then, with the real estate bust, the developer put the project on hold. 
 
 Carr had been talking to the developer about possibly lifting and moving the Royal Palm Circle so it could be preserved and displayed. But when Carr resumed work here recently, he discovered the site contained more than another Miami Circle — it held an entire village. 
 
 "It wasn't really until probably September that we began to get an idea of the significance of the find there," says William Hopper, chairman of Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, the body that will decide how much — if any — of the Tequesta village should be preserved. 
 
 Hopper says the board is just starting to explore its options. And, he notes, whatever action it takes may be appealed to Miami's City Commission. 
 
 "But we want to see what we can do to preserve as much of that as we can, so that people in future generations can have an understanding of what happened there at the mouth of the river," Hopper says. 
 
 The developer that owns the site, the MDM Group, says it's pleased with the discoveries there. But it's still moving ahead with plans to build an upscale shopping complex. The company has said it has signed leases with tenants and plans to have it finished late next year. 
 
 MDM is in discussions with city and county officials about the site, and scenarios for preserving all or part of it. 
 
 Jeff Ransom, the Miami-Dade County archaeologist, has been in those meetings, and he's optimistic the site will be preserved. 
 
 "It needs to be preserved," he says. "Development and cultural heritage can coexist in this case." 
 
 Ransom says the Tequesta village takes up just about half of the 2-acre site. It's possible the site can still be developed and the six prehistoric circles preserved — perhaps even featured in the project's lobby. 
 
 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?
– 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.)