Beneath the shallow harbour waters around Port Royal lie the remains of what was, in the 1680s, one of the largest and richest English cities in the Americas: a buccaneer port nicknamed "the wickedest city in the world" for its taverns, brothels, and the buccaneers it harboured. The earthquake of 1692 destroyed it in minutes. Two-thirds of the city sank into the harbour and the survivors fled across to the new settlement of Kingston.
The submerged site is one of the best-preserved underwater archaeological sites in the western hemisphere, often compared to Pompeii in its sudden burial. Buildings, streets, and household objects are still in place. The site is protected and access is restricted, but exhibits at the Fort Charles museum and at the Jamaica National Museum in Kingston display objects recovered during excavations.