Jamaica - The Underwater City of Port Royal

Port Royal, Jamaica, commonly referred to as "the wickedest city on earth" conjures images of marauding pirates, daring naval conquests, looting, riches, destruction and devastation. It boats an intriguing and turbulent history as it rapidly grew to become the most important trading post in the New World. At the height of its glittering wealth, on June 7, 1692, Port Royal was consumed by an earthquake and two thirds of the town sank into the sea. A series of fires and hurricanes followed and the town was never restored to its former glory. Port Royal lived out its days as a British naval station and remains as a small fishing village today. Port Royal falls into the category of "catastrophic sites," places that are devastated by some natural disaster and in the act of destruction, preserved in situ. The universal significance of Port Royal stems from the fact that it is distinctly different from most archaeological locations. Generally archaeological excavations represent a long period of time where buildings were constructed, renovated, added, fell into disrepair, were abandoned, collapsed and perhaps built over. In contrast, after just 37 years of existence, the bustling city of Port Royal literall sank into the harbour in a matter of minutes, remaining perfectly preserved as it was on the day of the earthquake.