Built by the Tocobaga, this temple mound is the largest remaining mound in the Tampa Bay region and was made of alternating layers of shell and sand. Remains of posts show that at least one structure stood on top, possibly for ceremonies or as the chief’s dwelling, and archaeologists believe a ramp led to a town plaza at the base of the mound. The village extended south and west in an L-shaped pattern, and remains of it were discovered in the early 20th century. A trash mound, or kitchen midden, revealed clues about Tocobaga culture and social structure, including their reliance on coastal bays for food and their use of bone and shell for many tools and utensils. When the Spanish arrived, they described the Tocobaga as tall, strong, and agile, armed with powerful bows, stone-tipped arrows, and spears thrown with atlatls, and wearing little clothing but many tattoos that signified rank or status. This village was a center of political and cultural influence and was home to between 400 and 2500 people. Panfilo de Narvaez came here in 1528 with 400 men seeking gold and silver, and Cabeza de Vaca was one of only four survivors of that expedition; his journal, supported by archaeology, provides insight into both Native and Spanish cultures. Historians also agree that Pedro Menendez de Aviles came here in 1567 while seeking a direct waterway between Tampa Bay and St. Augustine and left 30 men to establish a mission, but when a Jesuit priest returned in January 1568, all 30 men had been killed and the village was abandoned. The Tocobaga’s decline was likely caused by European diseases, and any remnant of the people probably merged with Creek peoples moving into peninsular Florida during the 1700’s. The site is significant as the likely Tocobaga capital, a place occupied solely by the Tocobaga, the type site for the Safety Harbor Culture, a representative of the Safety Harbor Period, and a site of early Spanish contact and mission activity. Pottery and other artifacts found here defined the Safety Harbor Culture, and archaeologists believe the Tocobaga occupied the site as early as 900 AD until the late 1600’s, while Spanish records and artifacts confirm its importance and Spanish presence in the 1500’s. Originally rectangular, the mound lost about one-third of its mass in an 1848 hurricane, when Odet Philippe used it to save his family from the tidal surge, and stone retaining walls were completed in 1983 to prevent further erosion.