-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.parascope.com/index.htm <A HREF="http://www.parascope.com/index.htm">ParaScope: Something Strange is Happening! </A> ----- Inside The Miami Circle D Trull, Enimga Editor, Parascope [EMAIL PROTECTED] I n l a t e 1 9 9 8 , a r o u t i n e e x c a v a t i o n a t a M i a m i c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e t u r n e d u p a r e m a r k a b l e d i s c o v e r y . O n a p a r c e l o f w a t e r f r o n t d o w n t o w n p r o p e r t y a t t h e m o u t h o f t h e M i a m i R i v e r , i n t e n d e d f o r a $ 1 0 0 m i l l i o n r e s i d e n t i a l a n d c o m m e r c i a l c o m p l e x, a 3 8 - f o o t - w i d e c i r c l e o f a p p a r e n t l y a n c i e n t o r i g i n w a s f o u n d . T h e u n e a r t h i n g o f t h e " M i a m i C i r c l e " p r o v o k e d a n o u t c r y o f s u p p o r t f o r p r e s e r v i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l l y i n v a l u a b l e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l f i n d a n d s p a r k e d a n i n t e n s e p o l i t i c a l f u s i l l a d e o f l a n d v a l u e s a n d t a x d o l l a r s , a n d u l t i m a t e l y , c i t y o f f i c i a l s c h o s e t o b l o c k c o n s t ru c t i o n o n t h e s i t e . F o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , t h e c i r c l e w i l l b e u n b r o k e n . Although its history remains undetermined, the primitive carved structure is widely believed to have been created by the Tequesta tribe between 500 and 2,000 years ago. Initial carbon-dating tests have found charcoal fragments from the site to be about 2,000 years old, but those results do not necessarily reflect the age of the circle. Some have speculated that the Miami Circle may have been used as a celestial calendar of some sort, like a Native American version of Stonehenge, or that it may possess deep mystical and spiritual significance. But des pite all the hoopla, there is little evidence yet to support any of the rampant theories surrounding the Miami Circle, cosmic or otherwise. Interestingly, the Miami Circle is not situated on virginal territory that has never been touched by modern development. Previously an apartment complex was built on top of it and stood there for decades until being recently demolished. The circle managed to survive all that activity intact, lying unidentified until preparations for a new round of construction began. Developer Michael Baumann acquired the land and planned to erect a massive twin-tower development to be called Brickell Pointe. But then the curious rock formation was discovered on the site. Cut into limestone rock, the large circle contains patterns of holes and basins of various sizes. One series of holes appears to delineate an east-west line, and other markings point roughly to north and south. Archeologists have judged the circle to be of exceptional note primarily because nothing like it has ever been found in this part of the country before. The most popular supposition is that it was carved centuries ago by indigenous peoples of the Tequesta tribe, who once occupied southeast Florida. This possibility brings considerable significance to the Miami Circle, because the Tequestas were wiped out by war and disease following the arrival of European colonists. The tribe has been extinct for nearly 300 years, and today very little is known about them, and few of their artifacts remain intact. [Click to view enlargement ^] ABOVE, BELOW: Two views of the Miami Circle. [Click to view enlargement ^] Almost immediately, a movement began in support of saving the Miami Circle from being plowed over to make way for a new development. Baumann had already secured all the necessary permits and clearances to move forward with building Brickell Pointe, but he volunteered to change his plans in an effort to preserve the historical find. "I was born and raised in Miami and I'm raising my family here," Baumann said. "I care about this city. The way I see it, the money I spend helping preserve these artifacts is an investment in my family's and my hometown's future." But not everyone was pleased with Baumann's supposedly generous gesture. The problem was that he had not canceled his plans to build on the site -- he was proposing to pay for the removal and relocation of the rock formation to another place, so that his development could proceed as scheduled. This idea outraged Native American groups and archaeologists, who argued that slicing up the Miami Circle like "a pizza pie" or "a jigsaw puzzle" to be reassembled elsewhere would be a desecration, and could possibly damage the artifact irreparably. Alex Penelas, mayor of Miami-Dade County, came to the defense of the Miami Circle and spearheaded the fight to leave it intact in its proper place. "I simply cannot stand by and allow an important piece of this community's history to be destroyed," Penelas said. "I just cannot allow that to happen in good conscience." Stonemason Joshua Billig, who was hired to cut up and remove the circle, caused a stir when he dramatically refused to carry out the job on moral grounds. Billig said he first accepted the job because it seemed like an interesting technical challenge, but after learning about the artifact's possible cultural and spiritual import, he decided it would be morally wrong to tamper with it. Billig hoped his quitting would cause enough of a delay for a court to step in and save the circle, and as it turned out, his wishes came true. Penelas convinced the Miami-Dade County Commission to confiscate the Miami Circle site and block construction plans under the power of eminent domain. By proving that there is a public purpose or necessity for seizing the land, the county can take possession of the land. Baumann will be paid compensation for the property in an amount to be decided by a jury, which will surely fall far short of the profits he stood to make from his development. But the party most infuriated by the decision is the city government of Miami. Miami city mayor Joe Carollo sided with Baumann and fought Penelas tooth and nail, insisting that the proposed development represented too massive an infusion of revenue to be abandoned, despite the Miami Circle's possible significance. Carollo's concerns reach beyond the solitary case of Brickell Pointe, as he worries that the decision will scare investors away from surrounding real estate where more archaeological finds might be uncovered. He particularly fears that a planned $1 billion project on the Miami bayfront -- just across the river from the circle -- could be jeopardized. "We're going to be losing one development after another," Carollo said. "The city of Miami won't be able to survive without these." But it appears that the Miami Circle will survive, and now that all the politics and money struggles have been pushed aside, there remains the question of what the circle was built for and what it might mean. New Age fanatics and credulous commentators like Art Bell and others have declared the Miami Circle a genuine mystical artifact with links to the supernatural world. Some have suggested that it was created as a calendar circle used to track the movement of heavenly bodies, like Stonehenge, and also that the circle may have a common origin with the pyramids of the Egyptians, Incas and Mayans, perhaps through the intervention of extraterrestrials, Atlanteans and the rest of the usual suspects. Predictably, there is little substantiation for any such colorful theories. Early reports of the circle's star calendar properties appear to have been premature. Those observations originated from an archaeologist who placed sight-posts into a number of the many holes in the circle's surface, which supposedly lined up with certain astronomical points to within one-tenth of a degree. But since the selection of holes, post lengths and targets in the sky were apparently arbitrary, this discovery is of little value. There is no record of the ancient people of this region making complex astronomical calculations, so it's very unlikely for one isolated artifact to possess such properties. Furthermore, we don't even know for sure yet if the circle is a real Tequesta tribe artifact. The most prevalent theory is that the circle formed the base of a Tequesta dwelling, possibly a chief's house. But this is far from certain. Commenting on the Miami controversy, James Randi recalled the embarrassments of Piltdown Man and other archeological follies that seemed like major historical treasures but turned out to be hoaxes or misidentifications. "I have no doubt that the scientists in charge at the Circle are dedicated and honest. I am open to seeing evidence that this is a prehistoric artifact," Randi noted. "But the alarm bells are still ringing away in my skull. That's what skeptics are all about, but they can be wrong." Randi mused that the Miami Circle could be the remnants of a circular septic field built to contain a septic tank for the apartments that formerly stood on the site. Reports have confirmed that a 5,000-gallon septic tank was sunk into the center of the circle, and it was going to be dug out in order to move the circle before the declaration of eminent domain. Still, the circle itself could have been there hundreds of years before construction workers stuck a sewer system into the middle of it. We'll just have to wait and see. And since it takes time to get these questions sorted out, the city made the right call in giving the circle a stay of execution -- even if the decision did cost them a lot of money, and even if the circle does turn out to be not much of anything at all. In an editorial for the Miami Herald, novelist Carl Hiassen celebrated the rather surprising political decision to save the circle, supposing that somewhere a Tequesta chieftain must be smiling. "Maybe it was a temple. Maybe it was a market. Maybe it was a time-telling astronomical station," Hiassen wrote. "Or maybe it was just a very elaborate latrine, in which case that old Tequesta chief isn't just smiling. He's howling with laughter." Sources: Miami Herald web site; Miami River Circle Archaeological Site; the Randi Hotline email newsletter; Reuters; Associated Press; USA Today. © Copyright 1999 ParaScope, Inc. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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