In 1718, the notorious pirate Blackbeard lost his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, when it ran aground in Beaufort Inlet. For more than 270 years, it was hidden by water and sand – a mystery to archeologists around the world.On November 21, 1996, a search team from the private research firm Intersal, Inc., operating under a permit from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) found a cluster of cannon and anchors on the seabed near historic Beaufort Inlet.
Several diagnostic artifacts were recovered from the site, designated North Carolina shipwreck site 31CR314, including a bronze bell dated 1705, a sounding weight, an English blunderbuss barrel, a lead cannon apron, and two cannonballs. These early 18th century artifacts, nine cannon tubes, and two large anchors led the discoverers to conclude that this was the wreckage of the pirate Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR). MORE...
The bronze bell reveals the letters IHS MARIA and the date 1709.
QAR images courtesy Jim Goodwin and Queen Anne's Revenge.
