Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall
Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall North Annex · Port Site
Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)·Bronze Age–Classical·🇯🇲 Surrey, Port Royal, Jamaica
Official Navy Page from United States of America MC1 PASTORIC/U.S. Navy · Public domain
About
About Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall
Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall in Surrey, Port Royal, Jamaica is a Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE) submerged city attributed to Bronze Age–Classical. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal submerged area 450 × 280 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 17.9360N -76.8420E controls access to Surrey resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey submerged city for Surrey, Port Royal, illustrating Bronze Age–Classical construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Harbour drowned by co-seismic subsidence vs eustatic rise
- 02Continuity of anchorage location
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1500 BCE–200 CE
- Period
- Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)
- Culture
- Bronze Age–Classical
- Purpose
- Coastal settlement and harbour now submerged by sea-level change/subsidence
- Rediscovered
- 1962 survey
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 1500 BCE–200 CE
Initial construction of Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall main structure
c. 1942
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
2002–2017
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
17.9360° N · 76.8420° W · -4 m · 4 mapped features
- Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall — Main StructurestructurePrincipal submerged city — Submerged area 450 × 280 m with diagnostic masonry/panel17.9368° N · 76.8411° W
- Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall — Ancillary ComplexharbourAncillary harbour mole and anchorage surrounding main feature17.9350° N · 76.8427° W
- Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall — Peripheral FeatureoutlierPeripheral feature with outlier deposit and burial17.9375° N · 76.8408° W
- Port Royal Submerged 1692 Earthquake Fort James Wall — Hydraulic/CisternhydraulicHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir or rock-cut channel associated with site17.9344° N · 76.8431° W
Gallery