GREENVILLE -- In June 1718, the frigate Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR) ran aground in Beaufort Inlet. Many suspect that her captain, believed named Edward Teach aka Blackbeard, deliberately sank the vessel in a bit of corporate downsizing and removed everything of value while escaping. A dedicated group of archaeologists, historians and conservators would disagree with that assessment.
Although only a few bits of gold dust have been found, tens of thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean near Beaufort, each one a prize. While the recovery of five cannon and four barrel hoops in a single day last fall captured the fanfare and media attention, much of the real work of discovering treasure among recovered artifacts goes on after the recovery in the QAR lab.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has led research at the site since 1997, and operates the QAR Conservation Laboratory (QAR Lab) located through an agreement with East Carolina University in Greenville. There, the work of freeing the prized artifacts encased in concretions, clumps of hardened sand and marine life that form around objects in salt water falls to QAR Lab Director and Chief Conservator Sarah Watkins-Kenney and her team. She helped set up the lab in 2003, and has led it since it opened 2004.
"To be part of the project team involved in recovery of objects from this internationally famous shipwreck is very exciting," Watkins-Kenney observed at a 10th anniversary celebration of this partnership between N.C. Department of Cultural Resources and ECU this spring. "From tiny glass beads to shackles to large cannons or anchors, even parts of the ship itself, all are thrilling."
The discovery of 29 (of which 22 have been recovered) of 40 cannon suspected to be aboard QAR and two of four anchors has been important in confirming that this is the wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge. Releasing the glass beads and shackles that link the ship to its previous use in the slave trade may have been most important. Other significant finds revealed in the lab include a coin weight that bore the image of Queen Anne and glass stemware from the 18th century. Sometimes the conservators have to be detectives.
"It was a bit of a mystery when we found two clyster syringes because they were not immediately recognizable," Watkins-Kenney recalls. "But after cleaning and inventory we found French makers marks that connected them to the period. They may have been brought onto the ship in May 1718 after Blackbeard blockaded Charleston Harbor and demanded medical supplies, just before he came to Beaufort."
Medical supplies including the clyster syringes for enemas, a urethral syringe to treat syphilis and a mortar and pestle to make medicines are among the assortment of artifacts that give clues to shipboard life. Personal and navigational objects, as well as weaponry, have been found.
The information on 18th century seafaring life is one of the great benefits Watkins-Kenney cites from this project. Another is the work with students and researchers. The lab has collaborated on 67 projects with 190 researchers and worked with approximately 1,000 students from East Carolina and other colleges, including UNC-Asheville, Davidson College, Penn State University and University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom. More than 2,500 visitors have had behind-the-scenes tours and the staff has made presentations to more than 80 schools and community groups.
Since announcement of the shipwreck's discovery in 2007, public interest has remained constant. Thousands have visited the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort to see artifacts in the Queen Anne's Revenge 1718 exhibit. The museum is within the Department of Cultural Resources and the official repository of artifacts from the QAR shipwreck. There is media coverage of every cannon or anchor recovery event. At least one documentary is made a year and broadcast by the BBC, Discovery Channel and National Geographic. Currently, a documentary is in production for Smithsonian Channel.
Artifacts from the shipwreck have traveled to France, England and other cities as well. During the 10th anniversary celebration, a letter was read from the Smithsonian Museum of American History where some artifacts are exhibited now. Curator of Maritime Collections Paul Johnston wrote: "I can say that our 5 million annual visitors enjoy the fruits of your labor on a daily basis, displayed in the 'Pirates of the Atlantic World' section of our permanent maritime exhibit On the Water...This area of our exhibit attracts and holds bigger crowds than nearly any other, and shows the strength of interest in the topic of pirates in our nation's early history."
Also attending the 10th anniversary celebration was Honors College Faculty Fellow Tim Runyan with East Carolina University. As previous Director of the ECU Maritime Studies program he brokered The Memorandum of Agreement between ECU and DCR; this " is perhaps the best example of a cooperative agreement between a university and the state. It created something for public benefit," he noted.
Joining Watkins-Kenney and Runyan on the program celebrating 10 years of success at the QAR Lab were Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz, State Archaeologist Steve Claggett, QAR Project Director John "Billy Ray" Morris, Friends of QAR Director Gordon Watts and ECU Vice-Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies and Incoming Provost Ron Mitchelson.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and other agencies and partners have assisted the project.
About half of the area of the wreck site has undergone recovery. QAR Project Director Billy Ray Morris hopes to next recover the mass at the center of the artifact field in one piece and explains, "The pile is a concreted assemblage of an anchor and four guns. To attempt to disassemble that concretion on the bottom risks damaging the concretion and is far more hazardous to the divers and the site."
Morris notes he needs to raise approximately $75,000 to do the recovery and the funds are not available for an expedition this summer. Another $250,000 is needed for full recovery of the site. Donations are encouraged.
It may give Watkins-Kenney a little preparation time to deal with one of the project's great tests. "Wet storage and finding tanks and space is a challenge. We're always trying to fit more stuff into the same space," she said.
For more information, please call (919) 807-7389. The Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project and the N.C. Maritime Museum are administered by the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
About the Discovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge
The Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground in Beaufort in June 1718. Intersal, Inc., a private research firm, discovered the site believed to be Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR) Nov. 21, 1996. QAR was located near Beaufort Inlet, N.C., by Intersal's director of operations, Mike Daniel, who used historical research provided by Intersal's president, Phil Masters. For more information, please visit www.lat3440.com and www.qaronline.org.