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.

Jamaica - Seville Heritage Park

Seville Heritage Park is one of Jamaica's most significant cultural heritage sites and the area is regarded as the genesis of modern Jamaica. The site has been occupied since prehistoric times, and includes the archaeological remains of the indigenous Amerindian (Taino) village of Maima, the 16th century Spanish settlement of Sevilla la Nueva, the post-1655 British sugar plantation known as New Seville, and the distinct landscape and flora that emerged as a result of these interventions. The encounter, co-existence, and merging of Taino, Europeans and Africans at this site was the initiation of the racial and cultural diversity that characterizes the current Jamaican demography and gives credence to the National Mono, Out of Many, One People. During the 16th to 19th centuries, sugar emerged as one the most lavish and successful industries in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the Americas. Notably, Seville was one of the first sites in the region to have received a steady flow of African slaves working the sugar plantations under the Spaniards. The trend further increased under the British occupation. At a time when sugar was regarded as the jewel in the British Crown, the scale and grandeur of the New World plantations like Seville, defined the social and economic opulence associated with the industry.