ABSTRACT
Development of a research design and proposal preparation, begun in 1982, was brought to fruition in 1984 when the Florida Legislature appropriated funds to begin investigation at Windover. Windover Farms, Inc. absorbed all of the 1984 costs for heavy equipment, construction, and dewatering, which were necessary for controlled excavations to begin. Windover is the only site of the nature where circumstances allowed controlled excavation and the development of a multidisciplinary research program. Investigations of spring sites require sophisticated diving technology, which results in short excavation periods and modification of excavation strategies. A conservative estimate for the total dewatering and heavy equipment costs for the three years of excavation is $120,000. Smaller systems have been effectively employed in other archaeological contexts. Preliminary analysis of trace elements of human bone indicates that some diagenetic changes have occurred in the Windover materials.
