Jungle Prada Site, Archaeological site in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Jungle Prada Site is an archaeological site on the eastern shore of Boca Ciega Bay in St. Petersburg, Florida, at Park Street North and Elbow Lane. It holds surviving Tocobaga mounds: a 12-foot plaza mound likely used for ceremonies and a 23-foot-tall, 900-foot-long, 300-foot-wide midden mound that runs from the Jungle Prada de Narvaez city park onto private land.
The Tocobaga inhabited the site from about 1000 to 1600 CE, and their village complex once had mounds running more than three miles along Boca Ciega Bay. Most were dismantled and used as fill for 20th-century urban development. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 2003.
The Diocese of St. Petersburg placed a marker at the site identifying it as the location of the first Catholic Mass in Florida, a claim tied to the 1528 Narváez expedition landing. The mounds themselves were ceremonial and burial earthworks of the Tocobaga, whose village stretched along Boca Ciega Bay.
Access is best arranged through guided tours led by experts who explain the findings on site. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes since the grounds are covered with vegetation in places.
The mounds on private property are described as "archeologically pristine" because they were never dug for fill, unlike most of the Tocobaga mounds along Boca Ciega Bay. A small archaeological museum stands on that private land and can be visited on a guided tour.
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