Divers Discover Underwater Hospital And Gravestone Off Florida Keys

A team of divers has discovered the remains of a 19th century hospital and cemetery at the bottom of the sea off the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, CBS News said in a report. Archaeologists believe the site could have been used to quarantine yellow fever patients between 1890 and 1900, the outlet further said. According to a press release by National Park Service (NPS), Dry Tortugas staff conducted a survey in August last year that led to the findings.

Only one grave has been identified at Fort Jefferson Cemetery, experts estimate that the remains of dozens of people, mostly members of the military stationed at the fort, could be there.

The grave belongs to a civilian named John Greer, CBS News said citing NPS records. He worked as a labourer at the fort and died on November 5, 1861, according to the headstone found at the site.

"This intriguing find highlights the potential for untold stories in Dry Tortugas National Park, both above and below the water," Josh Marano, maritime archeologist for the South Florida national parks and project director for the survey, told the outlet.

"Although much of the history of Fort Jefferson focuses on the fortification itself and some of its infamous prisoners, we are actively working to tell the stories of the enslaved people, women, children and civilian labourers," the archaeologist added.

The national park is spread across 160 kilometres and is made up of several islands in the Florida Keys. It can only be reached by a boat of plane.

National Park Service said the Fort Jefferson was used as a prison during the Civil War. As the population of prisoners, military personnel, slaves, engineers and support staff increased, disease spread, killing dozens throughout the 1860s and 1870s, it added.

Nearby islands were used as quarantine hospitals because there wasn't enough space on Garden Key.