A Call To Protect Sinkhole's Treasures

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 2, 2007

HUDSON - Sinkholes aren't usually a source of pride for Floridians.

Caused by fissures in the limestone aquifer, these geological phenomena are known mostly for swallowing homes and livelihoods and causing a crisis for the insured and the insurer.

But a sinkhole behind the gates of Heritage Pines, a sprawling retirement community on the Pasco and Hernando county line, could become the exception.

After yielding thousands of important archeological finds over the past decade, the sinkhole has been recommended for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The discoveries span the course of early human history in Florida; from the Paleo-Indian period, more than 12,000 years ago, to the Archaic and Weedon Island periods.

Louis D. Tesar, of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, wrote in a recent report that the sinkhole and surrounding area is an important Paleo-Indian site and recommended that it be placed on the national registry for future preservation.

Stone tools and other artifacts found at the site provide a wealth of information, he wrote.

"They can further our understanding of Native American stone quarrying and tool manufacture, use and maintenance," Tesar wrote. "Their study also can further our understanding of the geographic area exploited by prehistoric Florida people."

Most of the artifacts wouldn't have been discovered if it weren't for Herb Elliott.

In the late 1990s, the Heritage Pines resident stumbled across a small coral spearhead sticking out of the ground. It was the first of thousands of objects he would find.

Elliott, 75, cataloged his rare collection and donated it to the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee.

Most notably, he found several limestone and coral Clovis points: rare fluted spearheads used to hunt mammoths and other prey during the Paleo-Indian period.

The bulk of the artifacts were scattered near the sinkhole, offering what archaeologists say is the strongest evidence yet of prehistoric settlements at the location.

Elliott said he doesn't dig for artifacts and doesn't sell what he finds.

"I'm a protector, not a collector," he said. "These are pieces of the prehistoric puzzle."

Digging Deep For Rare Treasures

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge between ice caps to Canada or along the Alaskan coastal route to the New World near the end of the last Ice Age.

Thousands of years ago, most of west Pasco County was upland forest, well-drained. Sinkholes would have provided water for these early inhabitants and the animals they hunted.

The area also had an ample supply of chert, formed when silica fills the pores of limestone and converts it into a glassy, flint-like rock easily chipped to make tools.

Two previous archaeological surveys failed to find anything of importance on the site.

The property had been a citrus grove, and farmers told stories about finding stone tools, arrowheads, pottery and other objects next to and around the sinkhole.

Members of the Suncoast Archaeological Society found pottery shards there in the early 1980s, but researchers concluded the area wasn't worthy of state protection.

A team from Archaeological Consultants Inc. revisited the sinkhole in early 1997 as part of a required survey for the future Heritage Pines subdivision.

They, too, deemed the area to be of little archaeological significance.

But workers building Heritage Pines burrowed deep into the aquifer for drinking water and irrigation wells. They excavated huge retention ponds and foundations for the homes, piling the sandy dirt in huge mounds.

Then the rains came, uncovering what the earth had hidden for thousands of years.

That's when Elliott, one of the community's first residents, began unearthing his finds.

"In those early archaeological surveys, they just didn't dig deep enough," he said.

Protecting And Preserving

Still, the earth beneath Heritage Pines likely will never reveal its full archaeological bounty.

Most of the 650-acre property is occupied by villas, houses and an 18-hole golf course. The homeowners association has ruled out archaeological digs.

Because Paleo-Indian sites are buried deep, uncovering them is uncommon.

Only a handful of sites have been unearthed across the state, including one near State Road 50 in Hernando County and one dubbed Haney Flats along the Hillsborough River.

"Paleo-Indian sites are incredibly rare," said Richard Estabrook, director of the University of South Florida's Public Archaeology Network. "When they're found, they need to be protected."

That's because looters often pillage precious cultural artifacts before archaeologists have a chance to study them, he said.

The Heritage Pines site, for example, has been looted numerous times, Elliott said. The sinkhole now is surrounded only by a 4-foot, chain-link fence with a padlock.

Designation as a national historical site, which could take years, would protect the site from further development. But it would do little to safeguard the area from plunderers.

That was a point Tesar raised in his report:

"It is recommended that greater diligence be given to prevent site looting and prosecute persistent looters," he wrote. "Looted artifacts in every instance should be confiscated."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.