Miami Stone Circle was discovered in downtown Miami, Florida in 1998. It’s a series of 24 loaf-shaped holes or basins cut into the limestone bedrock on a coastal spit of land, surrounded by a large number of other ‘minor’ holes (See images.)

At first thought, it’s easy to expect any archaeological site found in Florida would perhaps date back to a few hundred years. Miami, after all, isn’t that old and America isn’t known to be a land filled with thousand year old pre-existing structures.

But that’s exactly what was found. To be more precise, the site dates back to around 2,000 years ago, likely built by the Teguesta Indians and is the only one known in America.

Almost as interesting, an apartment house was built over the top of it; a sewage line just missed the edge of it and a septic tank was placed in the center. The site survived.

Then, a few years back, it almost met a real death fate when a development project was set to build on top of it. It was spared with the help of taxpayers who spent $27.6 million to purchase and then preserve it for the creation of an archaeological park.

To keep the site safe, sand and gravel were tossed on top of it in 2003. Step forward to 2008, and Miami Stone Circle is till buried. Why? For a fascinating insight into this and more, read the following MCT News article, Secrets of Miami Circle, known as America’s Stonehenge, lie buried.