RALEIGH – Coming from the 12th to the 21st century, seven nesting cups deliver a big message about the presumed wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), Blackbeard’s flagship, found near Beaufort. The first discovered fleur de lis pattern (a stylized “flower of the lily”) was found on the third smallest of the cup-shaped weights. The fleur de lis traditionally represents French royalty, and first was used in the 12th century by the king. To date, 11 objects recovered are of French origin, and reinforce the identity of the shipwreck as Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was the French slave ship La Concorde when seized by Blackbeard.
The nesting weights may have been used to measure medicine, and were recovered during the 2007 fall dive at the shipwreck site. QAR project conservator Wendy Welsh identified the pattern in the bottom of the cup weight cup in February. The two smallest weights had no markings, while the larger ones are still undergoing treatment and cleaning at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab at East Carolina University in Greenville, and providing information.
“There are interesting aspects of the weights,” explains Welsh. “The weight of the largest cup is equal to the sum of the weights of all the smaller cups. The weighing system continues as each weight is equal to all the smaller preceding weights, down to the smallest weight.”
An Open Lab Day on April 25 in Greenville will showcase the nesting set and other of the thousands of recovered artifacts now undergoing conservation. The “Knights of the Black Flag” exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh through January 2010 showcases the largest collection of artifacts ever displayed from the QAR shipwreck. Other artifacts are at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, the official repository for artifacts.
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.
For additional information call (919) 807-7389, or visit www.qaronline.org. The Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project is administered by the Division of Historical Resources in the N.C. Office of Archives and History, part of the Department of Cultural Resources. Cultural Resources is the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture, and podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources at www.ncculture.com.