February 2023 – Brandon Gagne, Ready to Work

Florida is a very special place. These are just five of my favorite Floridan wonders.

1. The Giant Trees of Florida

The Senator, 11’ diameter, 17’ circumference, estimated at 3500 years, ca. 1920s.(1)
The bald cypress called Lady Liberty is 2,000 years old and 40 feet tall.(14)
13′ diameter at base, 38′ circumference, estimated at 3,150 years, ca. 1946.(2)
The champion Kapok at The Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach.(3)
This log house in St. Augustine was made from a single tree.(4)
“Tree of Life” in Disney World.(5)

It is a bit ironic that we Floridians will pay money to go and see a giant artificial tree in Orlando when in fact our state was once freely covered in these natural marvels.

2. The Miami Circle points to Nazca, Peru?

Florida has a rich and fascinating history, and has been inhabited since ancient times by different groups of people. In 1998, a truly amazing discovery was made in Downtown Miami: a large circle carved into stone.(10) It is currently held that the Tequesta built a structure on the circle, and that it was their capital.

This discovery is amazing on its own, but I do take interest in amateur theories. I think that they can often add color and draw attention to ancient sites that would otherwise pass unnoticed by the general public. Andis Kaulins, German lawyer and writer, believes that the Miami Circle points to Nazca, Peru.(11)

Using data gathered by anthropologists at the University of Florida, Kaulins interpreted the holes in the stone, which appear to have been deliberately drilled, as a star chart, and began to look for some analog in the night sky that would fit this idea. He believes that he has found the exact arrangement, but it is not in Florida. In fact, it is not even in the Northern Hemisphere. Kaulins believes that the Miami Circle depicts the sky over Nazca, Peru 2000 years ago.(12)

3. Mayan Settlement in Florida?

The Crystal River Archaeological State Park was first opened in 1965.(6) Here, mounds and artifacts indicating earlier settlement have been found. It is currently held that the Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture occupied the territory, but researcher Gary Daniels has put forward an interesting interpretation of the site.(7) He believes that it was the Mayans who occupied the area. He bases his claim on certain symbols found on shards of pottery, and certain alignments between stelae and mounds.

In 2021, Quest TV visited Gary Daniels in Crystal River to investigate his claims. Using a drone equipped with lidar, they scanned the area to the west, hoping to find evidence of a step pyramid. Have they found definitive proof of Mayan settlement in Florida?

4. Atlantis Found in Tampa?

In his colorful book, “Atlantis Was America: Tampa Was The Royal City,” author Dennis Brooks illustrates his hypothesis using Plato’s and Solon’s descriptions of the geography of the mythic city.(8)

There is another researcher who goes by the name of “John Saxer” who associates the mysterious giant stones of Tarpon Springs, which appear to have drilled holes, with ancient anchors.(9) Could it be that Saxer’s anchors are from ships that were docked in the Atlantean harbors of Tampa Bay?

5. The Ancient Spanish Monastery: An Anomaly

It is said that this beautiful building once sat in Sacramenia, Spain. It remained there from its completion in 1141 until 1925, when the monastery was purchased and transported, brick by brick, to the New World, where it was not reassembled until 1953. At the time, Time magazine called it, “the biggest jigsaw puzzle in history.” (13)

Sources:

Brandon Gagne, Ready to Work

Monthly Archives: February 2023

Mysterious Florida