NEWS-PRESS.COM
June 4, 2007
Drought
bares
A statewide
drought that has bared portions of
Thousands of pieces of pottery, five boats and scores of human bone fragments
have been discovered as the lake — the second-largest freshwater one in the
continental
“Right now, it’s just a rush to identify things before they go back under
water,” said Chris Davenport, the archaeologist for
More than 17 sites have been identified in
The bone fragments range from a couple inches long to about 6 or 8 inches,
“It looks like it’s part of one of the American Indian
settlements that were there — people that were intentionally interred at some
point,” said State Archaeologist Ryan Wheeler.
The state has alerted the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes
of the bones, but no decision has been made on their fate. No studies have been
done on the human remains, but Wheeler said they likely were 500 to 1,000 years
old, or possibly older.
The boats uncovered, however are relatively intact. They include a
steam-powered dredge believed to have been used to dig a canal, a steam ship
whose remains are scattered across a mile and a half, a wooden motorized canoe,
an early 1900s catfishing boat with a large
one-cylinder engine and a fifth boat so badly decayed it is hard to determine
its purpose.
Wheeler said one of the vessels is 50 to 60 feet long.
Archaeologists have left most of their finds where they were found, though an
anchor, bottles, tools and some pottery have been excavated from the massive
lake, which is at its lowest level since officials began keeping track in 1932.
On Monday, it was about 8.96 feet deep, about 4 to 5 feet below normal. The
drought has bared a rim around the lake, up to a mile and a half wide at some
points.
“I’m hoping that the rains come back,” he said. “Once it’s covered it’s
protected.”