N.C. divers to search Blackbeard's ship for artifacts
In addition to being known for his dark, twisted facial hair, Blackbeard was said to have lit fuses under his hat.
May 21st, 2011
05:19 PM ET

N.C. divers to search Blackbeard's ship for artifacts

In a bid to recover sunken artifacts – and as an excuse just to say “Aarrrgh” to each other – divers plan an expedition next week off North Carolina to the flagship of famed 18th century pirate Blackbeard.

Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, is believed to have run aground in the shallow waters off Beaufort, North Carolina, in 1718. The ship was discovered by excavators in 1996, with piecemeal recovery of artifacts intensifying only a few years ago.

Staff from the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch will enter the waters Monday for a two-week mission focused on “conducting a detailed assessment of the main mound to determine strategies for disassembly and recovery,” according to the Queen Anne’s Revenge website.

Mark Wilde-Ramsing, project director for the Queen Anne’s Revenge dive, told WUNC 91.5 the expedition hopes to score a trove of 18th century goods, which then can be used to educate the public and raise awareness of underwater preservation efforts.

He said divers could  "hopefully recover a large anchor that is on the main ballast pile. There's a lot of these rock, stones and these anchors, two of them, plus a lot of cannon underneath,” he told 91.5.

Blackbeard, known for his dark, braided facial hair, evidently used a lot of cannons.

An article published in March on the Smithsonian website said the Queen Anne’s Revenge was found to have about 225,000 pieces of lead shot and at least 25 cannons, many of them still loaded.

Romanticized in history books as a notorious ruffian, Blackbeard, born in Britain as Edward Teach, terrorized Atlantic seafarers from the shores of the American colonies to the Caribbean.

The Queen Anne dive is part of a conservation project that has been years in the making. Wilde-Ramsing said divers will try  anti-corrosion agents and devices to stop or even reverse years of saltwater decay, according to 91.5.

For more information, see the Queen Anne's Revenge website.

 Post by:
Filed under: History • North Carolina • Pirates • U.S.
soundoff (130 Responses)
  1. faceman

    so.... im rumored to related to blackbeard... if they could find his corpse and do a dna test on it to prove it... can i have all of that? i mean i know its stolen and all but possession is 9/10s of the law... and if so... would i get to keep it or would i be in jail for possession of stolen property?

    May 21, 2011 at 11:40 pm | Report abuse |
    • deucetoace

      Blackbeard abandoned his ship when it ran aground. He was later found and executed. He is not in that ship.

      May 21, 2011 at 11:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • Nigel

      Your question has a simple answer; No. Under maritime law you get nothing...

      May 22, 2011 at 12:23 am | Report abuse |
    • chaz Romano (not real name. take that CNN)

      LOL u guys think this is a legitimate question. wow. You guys must be experts...

      May 22, 2011 at 12:44 am | Report abuse |
    • Riverrat

      There ase thirteen criteria ( or points) to determine ownership, therefore the correct phrase is "possession is nine points of the law"

      May 22, 2011 at 11:13 am | Report abuse |
  2. wayne jr.

    Blackbeard is a part of history.leave him in the past.leave it to someone famous to again "change their name.

    May 22, 2011 at 12:07 am | Report abuse |
  3. luis

    what the hell popeye did someone plunder your anus?

    May 22, 2011 at 12:16 am | Report abuse |
  4. popeye

    Aye Luis...me booty 'twas plundered by long dong Cesar the butt pirate.

    May 22, 2011 at 12:36 am | Report abuse |
  5. mr. crabs

    Yeharg! me thinks its a good idea to search for his treasure, its what i would do!

    plus they could stop by me shop and get crabby patties

    arg arg arg!

    May 22, 2011 at 12:38 am | Report abuse |
  6. dooms day surviver

    popeye is a special person. But look on the bright side, he's a dooms day survivor so leave popeye be to walk all the freaken planks he/she can handle:)

    May 22, 2011 at 12:43 am | Report abuse |
  7. Jon from Canada

    Let me guess: they found Teddy Kennedy's whiskey bottles.

    May 22, 2011 at 1:12 am | Report abuse |
  8. Knotty

    LoL...Popeye was butt pirate?! Haha!

    May 22, 2011 at 1:43 am | Report abuse |
  9. edward teach

    Don't touch my ship !

    May 22, 2011 at 1:52 am | Report abuse |
  10. real

    really though, even with an ak47 in your hands, most, probably all of you, would krap yer pants if you came face to face with the real blackbeard.

    May 22, 2011 at 2:22 am | Report abuse |
  11. voiceofreason

    The majority of you are a bunch of idiots. Hard to believe you can spell CNN, let alone read and respond to articles on their website.

    May 22, 2011 at 3:05 am | Report abuse |
    • Isaac

      That's just it. Most DON'T read the article.

      May 22, 2011 at 12:04 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Ellis

    Pix-RuffNutt is that cold "bear" a polar bear? I've heard of a cold beer, but a cold bear???????

    May 22, 2011 at 3:56 am | Report abuse |
  13. stewie

    @Ja370, He'd be thinking that's good stuff matey.

    May 22, 2011 at 5:58 am | Report abuse |
  14. guy

    They should ask, Captain Jack Sparrow about the whereabouts of the 'stuff.' I'm sure you can find him...I think he's a friend of Johnny Depp.

    May 22, 2011 at 6:30 am | Report abuse |
  15. Ellis

    Please help. Will troll for money.

    May 22, 2011 at 7:02 am | Report abuse |
1 2 3 4 5 6
« Back to main