RALEIGH – Researchers on the wreck of the presumed Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), Blackbeard’s flagship, will conduct the fall dive expedition Sept. 15-Nov. 7, and they are thinking big. The highlight of the thousands of artifacts they expect to recover is a cannon about eight feet long and weighing more than a ton, at about 2,500 pounds. It will be the 12th cannon recovered.
“Cannons are favorites among tourists and museum visitors, and the large number of cannons found at this wreck site only adds to Blackbeard’s lore,” said QAR Shipwreck Project Director Mark Wilde-Ramsing.
Researchers also will excavate and recover artifacts from 70 five foot by five foot grids in the vessel’s midship and forward hold areas. The artifacts will be taken to the QAR Conservation lab at East Carolina University in Greenville for safe storage. Researchers also will investigate the ship’s rigging attachments to gain further insight into the ship’s construction, as well as how wind and waves affected the sunken vessel’s deterioration. Findings from the expedition will be part of the 2008 N.C. Department of Cultural Resources “Telling Our Stories” theme observance.
After initial set-up, the research team will begin the full scale excavation dive near Beaufort on Sept. 17 aboard the research vessel Shell Point, from N.C. Marine Fisheries. The QAR sank in June 1718. This wreck was located in November 1996 by Intersal, Inc., with information provided to Operations Director Mike Daniel by company president the late Phil Masters. Archaeologists with the Underwater Archaeology Branch in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources have led research for more than 11 years and found substantial evidence that supports that the shipwreck is the QAR. Partners assisting with the project include N.C. Marine Fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard-Fort Macon, Fort Macon State Park, Nautilus Productions and the N.C. Maritime Museum.
The Underwater Archaeology Branch and the N.C. Maritime Museum are part of the Department of Cultural Resources. For additional information on the project call the Public Information Office at 919-807-7389. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Now podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources, all available at www.ncculture.com.