Pre-Colombian Jamaica: Caribbean Archeology and Ethnohistory

152 / Appendix A.
No further information is provided in “Archaeology Jamaica,” but according
to Vanderwal, Lewis Purnell carried out “limited” excavations at the site before
1968.
There is a large collection of material from the site, including abundant faunal
remains, in the storeroom of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust; this material
must have been excavated, but it is not clear when or by whom. It does
not seem likely that this is Purnell’s collection.
References: AJ 1965, 4:1; 1973, 4:2; Vanderwal 1968a:88–90.
Norbrook (K5)
Mapped by Lee in 1965. As Duerden reported (1897), the site was originally
excavated by Lady Blake in 1890. It was said to be “on a little table- land sloping
down” to a bank “some 16 or 18 feet in height” on the eastern side. “In digging
into this bank layer upon layer of shells were to be found,” together with
pottery, stone tools, and animal bones. Lee’s sketch plan indicates that by 1965
the greater part of the site had been eroded away, and it has since suffered further
damage. The site is bounded on the southeast by Norbrook Gully, a tributary
of Sandy Gully. According to Duerden, the vertebrate bones were mainly
hutía, with some remains of fish and turtles. Predominant shells included Melongena
melongena, Strombus pugilis, Turbo pica, Murex brevifrons, three species
of Arca, Ostrea parasitica, and Chama lazarus.
Unfortunately the information available about the 1890 excavations is limited.
According to Vanderwal (1968a), Lady Blake’s report was no more than
“an imaginative exercise in interpretation of the way of life of the Indians.” The
excavated material was sold to the Heye Foundation in New York.
References: AJ 1965, 1:1; Duerden 1897:13–14; Vanderwal 1968a:15–16.
Martello Tower (Fort Nugent) (K6)
Catalogued under both names in “Archaeology Jamaica.” The Pre- Columbian
site is referred to as being “beside” the Martello Tower, and on Lee’s map it
appears between the tower and Fort Nugent. Mentioned by Cundall (1939)
as having been first reported by Major Cave, in 1916 according to Howard
(1950). Fort Nugent was originally named Fort Castile, after James del Castillo,
who constructed it in 1693. The Martello Tower, 700 yards to the north,
was constructed in 1806–1808, and is in fact at a higher elevation than the
fort. Frank Cundall’s Historic Jamaica (1915) contains a drawing of Fort Nugent
as it appeared in 1908 with “the old guns lying about in picturesque confusion”
(Appendix 42). The Fort was destroyed in 1960 at the time of the