136 THE FLORIDA ANTHROPOLOGIST plain (STP). The first investigation was conducted jointly by the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Division (MDC) and the Archaeological & Historical Conservancy (AHC) from August 1998 to January 1999. The second investigation was a systematic phase 1 assessment conducted across the parcel by Florida’s Bureau of Archaeological Research (FBAR) from October to November 1999. The third investigation was conducted by the University of Houston during June and August 2000 (Widmer 2004). The University of Houston projects were funded by the Archaeological & Historical Conservancy. MDC/AHC This initial investigation was the most intensive of the three, resulting in the excavation of about 175 square meters of sediments (Figure 2). Excavations were conducted in only three areas, Blocks 1, 2, and 3. Block 1 encompasses the Miami Circle feature. Block 2 is located about 10 meters © northwest of Block 1 on top of the historic bank of the Miami River, an area now covered with fill and about 10 meters south of the modern riverbank. Block 3 comprises a single unit dug to the west of Blocks 1 and 2 that was never expanded. Excavations were confined to Blocks 1 and 2 by order of the developer, who did not want any expanded investigations that could lead to additional discoveries, which could further complicate the proposed development. Excavations directed by the Miami-Dade County Archaeol- ogist yielded 21,275 pottery sherds, of which 170 were deco- rated. Pottery was always collected during the excavations, including sherds found on the surface, and during monitoring of the removal of the foundations of the Brickell Apartments. FBAR Phase I testing across the parcel was conducted by FBAR using shovel and auger testing augmented by some block excavations between October 20 through November 24, 1999 (Wheeler 2000). The FBAR investigation is important because, to date, it is the only systematic survey of the site, thus provid- ing a generally representative sample of materials from across the site. A total of 3,318 ceramic sherds was recovered, of which 25 were decorated. Ceramic types were diverse, ranging in chronology from the Late Archaic to the Glades II periods. Decorated types include Fort Drum, Opa Locka Incised, St. Johns simple stamped, and unclassified incised types. Non- local wares include sherds tempered with shell, mica, and grog. Operation 3 Investigations by Randolph Widmer of the University of Houston focused on one block measuring 8 by 8 meters located in the northeast corner of the parcel about 30 meters northeast of the Circle (Figure 1). Here, fill covered a thin mantle of midden soils. Upper levels of sediment were highly disturbed or had been removed, probably during the construction of the Brickell Apartments in 1949. The Operation 3 excavations 2006 VOL. 59(3-4) documented over 500 cut post holes. Of the 1,688 sherds recovered from the Operation 3 excavation, 16 are described as temporally diagnostic by Widmer (2004:30). Decorated sherds all date from Late Glades I through Glades H Early periods and include the following: four Fort Drum Punctate, six Opa Locka Incised, and one Gordons Pass Incised. The four Fort Drum Punctate sherds are associated with Features 87 and 93, and the Opa Locka Incised sherd with Feature 4. Widmer’s work was pivotal in determining the age of the site. With a total of 19 radiocarbon dates secured from Lucina shell, most from within cut postholes, a range of from 760 B.C. to A.D. 200 was determined for the occupation of the structures from that part of the site. Widmer hypothesized that the overall site, and the Circle in particular, were a similar age (Widmer 2004). Field Collections Methodology Although field excavation techniques varied between the three investigations conducted at Brickell Point, collecting strategies were similar for all. Investigations by MDC and AHC focused on two blocks. Excavations were conducted in 5 foot squares and collections also were made from demolition trenches and spoil piles across the parcel. All unit excavations were subject to wet-screening through 1/4 and 1/8 inch mesh. Instructions to excavators were to collect all ceramic sherds. Thus, it is likely that only a small percentage of pottery was missed. A similar comprehensive recovery of ceramic sherds was catried out during the FBAR and Operation 3 phases. Local Ceramic Types Fort Drum Incised This type is characterized by vertical or diagonal incisions on and just below the lip. The incisions vary from gracile, light incisions to bold, deep notches on the lip (sometimes errone- ously classified as Glades Tooled). Other variants include incisions on the rim only. Goggin (1944) was first to classify this type. This design appears on sand- tempered plain wares and was assigned by Goggin to the Late Glades I Period (1944). Griffin notes that the use of the type name, Fort Drum Ticked Rim, by some scholars is probably a subset of Fort Drum Incised (Griffin 2002-84). A total of seven Fort Drum Incised sherds was recovered from the three work phases at the site (see Figures 3 and 4). One sherd is from the FBAR survey and six are from the MDC excavations. During the MDC investigation two sherds were found in Block 1 and one from Block 2. At least one of the Circle specimens (FS 559) was uncovered from what appeared to be an undisturbed context in Unit 36 from Level 2 at 6.12 feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929. The others were found in a spoil pile. Fort Drum Punctate Fort Drum Punctate was recovered from all Brickell Point