St Lucia / Special Interests / Archaeology

Like other Caribbean islands, St Lucia’s first inhabitants were the Amerindians – first the peaceful Arawaks and then the more aggressive Caribs and traces of settlements can still be seen at some points on the island. Nearly 40 pre-Columbian sites are reported to have been discovered along the island’s coast. There are Amerindian ruins at the Fond D’Or estate near Dennery, and in the south-west in Laborie there is an old Carib settlement. Archaeological remains from the Amerinidan period have also been discovered in the Balenbouche area, site of a former sugar plantation which is still a working farm with a guest-house and heritage site.