<< Our Photo Pages >> El Portal Burial Mound - Artificial Mound in United States in The South
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Pre-ColumbianSite Name: El Portal Burial Mound Alternative Name: Sherwood Forest Indian Mound, Little River Mound, Tequesta Indian MoundCountry: United States Region: The South Type: Artificial Mound
Nearest Town: Miami Nearest Village: El Portal
Latitude: 25.853700N Longitude: 80.1893W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
Artificial Mound in Miami-Dade County, Florida.A burial mound and accretionary midden identified with the Glades II period (approximately 200-700AD.) A grassy knoll in a residential neighborhood, roughly 2 meters high and 20 meters in diameter.
Details and sources follow:United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Southern Florida Sites Associated with the Tequesta and their Ancestors
Site Name / Site Type / Periods Represented / Site No. / Register Status / NRHP Level of Significance*
Little River/El Portal Burial Mound & Midden / Accretionary midden; burial mound / Glades II / 8DA20 / Not evaluated / local, regional
* NRHP level of significance based on review of sites made during this study.
[Source: Southern Florida Sites associated with the Tequesta and their Ancestors: National Historic Landmark/National Register of Historic Places Theme Study FI07010301.pdf (application/pdf Object)]
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida Recreation and Parks Facility Inventory / Last Update: 07-06-2010
Unit Name: SHERWOOD FOREST INDIAN MOUND / Unit County(ies): MIAMI-DADE Category: MUNICIPAL
Primary Agency: EL PORTAL
Primary Agency Mailing Address: 500 NE 87TH ST EL PORTAL, FL 33138 Site City: EL PORTAL
Physical Location: NE 86TH ST AND 2ND AVE EL PORTAL Site County: MIAMI-DADE
Resource Class: ARCHAEOLOGICAL/HISTORIC SITE
Acres(#) / Current
Land / 0.1
Total / 0.1
Cultural Resources / Current
Sites/Structures / 1
[Source: Florida Recreation and Parks Facility Inventory Untitled Page]
"El Portal also boasts links to prehistoric Indian life at the Little River Mound, a four-foot-high, innocuous grassy knoll that is actually an ancient burial ground. The Little River Mound, located in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood, is the first archaeological site to be publicly recognized and preserved in Miami-Dade County." [Source: El Portal, Florida - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]
"On the quiet and residential 85th Street is a site of ancient significance. An elevated circle there is thought to be a burial mound for seventh-century Tequesta Indians. This Miami-Dade County Historic Site is a monument to their civilization. On a bench under the moss-covered trees, bikers can pause and contemplate an area that [historian, professor, and author Seth] Bramson tells me was a center of Tequesta life. Declared an historic site in the 1920s, the mound was the first such archeological discovery in the area to be protected with that designation." [Source: 2 Wheels Are Better Than 4]
"The Mound is known for the cave. It is debatable as to who built the cave. Some say the French Huguenots, some say the Tequesta Indians and others say a natural phenomenon. The cave had many uses during the years, including providing a cool place to sit during the summer days. The Indian Mound is one of the highest points in Miami-Dade and its history dates back to the year 600 when ancient Tequesta Indians migrated and settled at the Mound while passing by on the Little River. The Mound was one of the few areas above Water. It was actually six to eight feet higher than it is presently. Miami-Dade County declared the Indian Mound a historic landmark in the 1920s. It was the first such archeological site to carry this honor in the County." [Source: Village Archives — El Portal Village]
Please see National Geographic Traveler Miami ... - Google Books for a brief description of the Little River Mound.
Please see History of the Tekesta Indians of South Florida for a six-part summary of Tequesta culture.
I visited this site several times during the 1950s and '60s. What I saw there was a large grass-covered mound, approximately 20 m in diameter and 2 m in height. There was an entrance to a cave or tunnel on the south side of the mound, but that entrance was blocked by a locked door or gate.
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