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tdmes. As the air-lift sucked its way down, it exposed first Coke 

 and beer bottles, then nineteenth-century bottles of many shapes, 

 then eighteenth-century hand-blown rum bottles, and finally, among 

 the shattered brick walls, the onion-shaped rum bottles which were 

 contemporary with the earthquake. 



All of the ferrous objects were heavily encrusted with coral, 

 and in most instances the metal beneath had corroded away. An 

 iron beam balance was found, as well as a swivel gun of the type 

 made in Spain during the fifteenth century. What this gun was 

 doing in Port Royal is still a mystery. 



The most bizarre find of all was made by Al Barnesky, one of 

 the navy divers. It was a brass watch, complete except for the glass 

 and hands. When the calcareous growth covering the face was 

 X-rayed to reveal the original position of the hands, it was found 

 that the watch had stopped at seventeen minutes to twelve, the 

 time of the earthquake. The name of the maker, Paul Blondel, was 

 inscribed inside, and researchers at the Science Museum in London 

 later confirmed that the watch had been made in Amsterdam 

 about 1686. 



All of the findings at Port Royal have yet to be analyzed in detail. 

 The excavation has shown that an awkward and unpromising site 

 can be worked successfully, provided that a wide range of resources 

 of science, modern engineering and salvage techniques are all used 

 to maximum advantage. 



Ai the left is a map of ttie West Indies 

 drawn in 1685 by Anthony Williams. It shows 

 Jamaica (center) with the town Port Royal. 

 The plan (above) shows Port Royal after the 

 earthquake of 1692, the dark areas indicating 

 the streets and docks that still remained 

 above water after the earthquake. The 

 dotted line shows the area that had 

 risen above sea level by 1 749. 



149 



