| The Recovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge I n 1997, under the direction of the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History, archaeologists began exploring the Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site. During a series of field expeditions, information has been collected to generate an assessment of the environmental setting and influences surrounding the shipwreck, as well as condition, age and nature of the site itself. Collectively, the focus of archaeological research has been to document what lies exposed at the site, determine what physical changes occur during an annual cycle, and explore buried remains through remote sensing and excavation. Recovery of diagnostic artifacts, such as cannon and a variety of small objects, took place during the first few years. These recovery efforts intensified during two expeditions in 2000 when portions of the ship's hull structure and associated artifacts were excavated from an area that was susceptible to scouring during catastrophic storms. At this time and for the foreseeable future, site visits will concentrate on monitoring for changes in the surrounding environment using remote sensing and video technology. Field expeditions have generally taken place in the fall when weather conditions are most favorable for work at the site. In some instances archaeologists found it necessary to return in late spring to conduct recovery and remote sensing operations. The length of time in the field ranges from a few days to five weeks in the fall of 1998. Prior to each expedition, a plan is prepared to help guide the work. During the expedition itself dive reports are filed daily with photographic images to help an interested audience follow the events as they happen. Following each expedition a report is prepared to summarize the preliminary findings. The plans and reports recorded for each expedition are provided below to enable a chronological viewing of the events and activities that have occurred at the shipwreck site. Based on information gathered during the first several years of investigation, a Management Plan was produced to help administer the site. The full range of information collected since 1997 is currently being processed, which ultimately will result in the creation of a detailed development plan to guide future excavation, study and exhibition of Queen Anne's Revenge. The history of the Queen Anne's Revenge In November 1717, English pirates captured the French slave-ship La Concorde near the island of Martinique. Led by the notorious Blackbeard, the pirates converted La Concorde into their flagship and renamed the vessel Queen Anne's Revenge. After spending the winter searching for prizes in the Caribbean the pirate fleet consisting of Queen Anne's Revenge and three smaller sloops, blockaded the port of Charleston in May 1718. Continuing up the coast, Blackbeard lost his flagship while attempting to enter Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina and five months later he was killed in a bloody battle at Ocracoke. We can only know this and many other facts associated with the Queen Anne's Revenge through historical research. Written resources are varied, numerous, and rich in content and in the case Queen Anne's Revenge and Blackbeard involve multinational research, including American, English, French and Spanish records that can be found throughout archives in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. The following articles provide a review of the latest findings concerning the history of Beaufort Inlet, Queen Anne's Revenge, ex. La Concorde, and the career of Blackbeard. |
| Cannon from the Queen Anne's Revenge recovery efforts. |
| Sword recovered from the Queen Anne's Revenge |
