Part one of a three-part series By Anthony R.D. Porter, Contributor
Aerial view of Port Royal taken in March 2001. Note the shape of the coastline, the lagoon (in which a part of Fort Rupert lies submerged), the main road and other features. - Contributed
MY FASCINATION with the town of Port Royal, at the western end of the Palisadoes spit, dates back some 50 years ago, and seems to know no limits. Perhaps, it was the tales I heard about events associated with the great earthquake of 1692, or maybe it was the spectacle of seeing tilted buildings in 1952, on the harbour side, caused by another severe earthquake in 1907.
Whatever the real reason, I have remained magnetically attracted ever since. In fact, so much so, that notwithstanding the previous official excavations of Edwin Link (1959), Robert Marx (1966-68), Phillip Mayes (1969-70), Anthony Priddy (1971-74), and Professor Hamilton of Texas A & M (1981-1990), I have attempted, in a private capacity, to find the answers to some puzzling questions not covered by any of these previous submarine and land surface investigations.
As many readers know, the history of Port Royal (described as being the 'richest' and 'wickedest' city) has been the subject of numerous books, television documentaries, journal papers and newspaper articles, but very little has been published about the types of material used in the construction of the town. In some institutions of higher learning this field of research comes under "Industrial Archaeology" but, because of the uniqueness of Port Royal, such a study might also be included in the emerging field of "Heritage Geology". No matter what you choose to call it, the fact is that the full story about Port Royal's built history has not yet been told.
The question is 'why'? I would venture to say that, up to now, the study of Port Royal has been undertaken largely by naval explorers, marine archaeologists, land-based archaeologists, and historians, with little input from specialists in the field of Earth Science or Geology.
GEOLOGIC SETTING
By definition a spit is a finger-like extension of land composed of sand and\or gravel from the shore into a body of water. Geologically speaking the origin of the Palisadoes spit is quite complex, but research carried out by various workers suggest that it goes back to a time during the Pleistocene epoch when sea level was some 130 feet (or 40 meters) lower than today. At that time huge volumes of rocks were eroded by the Hope River and other streams, and laid down in fan-shaped deposits at the foot of the mountains giving rise to, what we call today, the Liguanea Plains.
Subsequent changes in geological conditions resulted in a diversion of the Hope River to its present course past August Town to Harbour View. With this shift, a new delta was formed at Harbour View, and much of the smaller silt-, sand-, and gravel-sized fragments were carried out into the sea where they were then re-transported in a westerly direction by currents and wave action.
Thus, the present Palisadoes spit is the product of a long period of erosion and deposition (of chiefly sand and gravel) on the surface of a number of former banks, cays and coral reefs. As it grew westwards, incorporating several other pre-existing islands, it acted to some extent as a barrier to the silt brought down by the Rio Cobre, Fresh River and gullies draining the Liguanea Plains.
In 1655, when the British captured Jamaica from the Spanish, Port Royal was an island, which they called Cagway Point. In 1960, a bore hole sunk at Port Royal, passed through gravel, sand and silt deposits before encountering coralline limestone at 140 feet, thereby proving that the town was built on poorly consolidated sediments. Yet, despite the absence of clay and outcrops of rock, there is no other place, of comparable size in Jamaica, where can one find the diversity of building stones, such as exists at Port Royal. For, in addition, to the three major classes of rocks - igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic - there are a variety of man-made bricks and mortar.
This mix of material in such a small area has never ceased to amaze and fascinate the many visitors (both local and overseas) that I have personally toured around Port Royal - the most asked question being: Where did all these stones come from? You see, except for the sand and gravel, every other building material has been imported - including the lime and white limestone blocks - but, from where ?
From the outset lime was carried to the Point from Spanish Town (where it was made), and it is presumed (for the time being as research is still in progress) that limestone came from Port Henderson Hills. Bricks, too, were also at that time made at Spanish Town. Interestingly, a preliminary investigation of the fossil content, of some of the blocks, suggests that Hellshire - also referred to as Healthshire on early maps - might be another source.
In the early 19th century there is also mention of Port Antonio being another source. In any event, the limestone from these two parishes is quite different, both lithologically and palaeontologically, so it should not be too difficult to determine the geological formations, their ages and then try to establish the likely source or sources.
- Anthony R.D. Porter, former
chief geologist, Alcan Jamaica and
WINDALCO & Gleaner Honour
Awardee for Science
& Technology (2001).
