Raising Port Royal: A Geospatial Reconstruction of the Colonial City in 1692

Author(s): Chelsea M. Cohen

Year: 2017

Summary

When an earthquake struck in 1692, the shoreline of Port Royal, Jamaica, was interminably altered as the town fell to the sea. Using integrated GIS and 3D modeling, this project aims to reconstruct the pre-earthquake shoreline of Port Royal in elevated space. Historical maps and archival data are georeferenced to align the old shore with remaining features, allowing for an outline of the former area. From there, bathymetric data as well as archaeological excavations are used to extrude elevations and reimagine the grounds of the historical city. On this projection, five excavated buildings are modeled in 3D and georeferenced, simulating a portion of the city as it would have stood. Using historical, archival, and archaeological data, this project seeks to apply GIS analysis to 3D modeled data, and create a practical means reconstructing and interpreting data within a site and contextualizing it within a larger geographic context.

Cite this Record

Raising Port Royal: A Geospatial Reconstruction of the Colonial City in 1692. Chelsea M. Cohen. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435382)

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Keywords

Temporal Keywords
Late 17th Century

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 178