GRANT-VALKARIA, Fla. -- More Native American mounds were found during some land clearing in Brevard County.
- Native American mounds found in Grant-Valkaria
- The mounds were found after a land clearing
- Officials are trying to determine how to preserve history
Not surprising since, similar sites have been found over the years on property primed for development.
Now officials are trying to determine what to do next to make sure they preserve history.
"This had been overgrown the entire time we've lived here, and we drive by three to four times a day," said David Greenidge, who has lived in the Grant-Valkaria area for more than 30 years.
He's retired and drives by this property at the intersection of U-S 1 and Shell Pit Road often. Recently, the land began to be cleared.
"With the proximity to the other mound, it was likely it was another mound," he said.
The 'other' mound is a documented site where the Ays people once lived.
Now, hidden among the trees and over-grown brush, was what appeared to also be an ancient Native American mound. Greenidge snapped pics, and sent them to the Florida Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee, who referred him to a Flagler College expert.
It was then confirmed there were not only mounds there, but "middens" -- essentially a site the Native Americans used to dump waste, like animal bones and old shells.
The find is fascinating to Greenidge, whose father-in-law lived in the area for many years and studied the native culture. He says the Native Americans would help the Spanish recover treasure from sunken ships.
And it's possible some of it may be buried in these mounds!
"A lot of the missing treasure, could actually be somewhere up and down the coast where nobody knows about it," Greenidge said.
Which may explain why Greenidge has seen people using metal detectors on the cleared land.
He doesn't want the potential history to be disturbed.
"As long as somebody knows about it, it will keep people from taking advantage of it," he says. "It will preserve it."
We contacted the town of Grant-Valkaria about the find. We're told they will do whatever the state officials deem necessary to document and preserve the site.