Archaeologists watch work near historic park

ST. PETERSBURG -- Even though the project is nearly complete, volunteer archaeologists will now be allowed to monitor the remaining excavation for a sewer pipeline near a historic park.

Drilling for the $715,000 pipeline began April 4 in the Jungle Prada Park area, site of ancient American Indian mounds, where a Spanish explorer is reputed to have landed in 1528.

While officials pondered what to do, the huge blue drilling machine rested idle next to a sign for Panfilo de Narvaez Park, with pipes scattered in piles of dirt. The city, which originally didn't expect the project to encroach in protected areas of the park, agrees an archaeologist should have been watching over the work.

Members of the Central Gulf Coast Archaeological Society and St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. discussed the situation at their respective monthly meetings last week.

"I have never seen so many indignant archaeologists in one room together," Elizabeth Neily, teacher at the Pinellas County Science Center, wrote in an e-mail. "The Narvaez site is their "baby,' and you couldn't have made a parent more upset than these folks."

Work at the site was unavoidable because city engineers had to replace old pipes, said Cliff Footlick, parks operation manager.

Footlick said he did not originally assign archaeological supervision because the work was nowhere near the burial mound. Since much of the land near Park Street is archaeologically sensitive, he said, there is no clear distinction concerning what properties are officially historic. Footlick said he also knew that there had been construction on the Narvaez land before, when irrigation pipes were installed, so he specifically told workers only to avoid the mound.

"This shows where there is a hole in the whole process when it comes to archaeological sites," said Bob Jeffrey, historic preservation manager.

About 40 advocates communicated through e-mail chains started by Alicia Addeo, immediate past president of St. Petersburg Preservation Inc., to see whether something could be done about the construction.

"They have a point that it really would have been nice to have somebody there," Footlick said.

Archaeologists have been present at past projects, including bench installations at Abercrombie Park in June of 1999. Here, 14 shell and rock tools were uncovered, now being held at the city parks department. Workers have not found any artifacts at the Narvaez site, said Herb Hayes, engineering project manager.

People have habitated the Narvaez property for the past 12,000 years. Besides ruins of a Tocobaga Indian city, archaeologists in the past have uncovered artifacts from Spanish conquistadores dating back to the 16th century. Seeking gold, the Europeans landed along the Boca Ciega Bay in 1528 and stayed a few weeks before moving on.

Although the pipe project at Jungle Prada is almost finished, the city will halt construction until archaeologists are present for the rest of the digging.

The archaeologists said the city's concessions and apologies regarding the Narvaez property are a good start, but they want rules on how to handle construction at any historic site.

"Just having somebody go out and monitor takes care of this problem but it doesn't take care of all the problems on all sites," said Robert Austin, president of the Florida Archaeological Council, Inc.

Very little is done to protect significant archaeological sites throughout the county, including four in St. Petersburg, from erosion or the impact of maintenance and construction, he said. Preservation standards or ordinances vary depending on who owns the property. Right now some of the archaeologists are also working on a project to locate a missing historical marker for the Tierra Verde burial mounds in unincorporated Pinellas county. Replacing the sign will cost about $1,500.

The Florida Archaeological Council would like to work with the city to develop a map of historic sites and standards for development or excavation of those sensitive areas, its president said.

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