Excavation and conservation of Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge, an initiative of the NC office of State Archaeology under the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, provides an opportunity to promote North Carolina’s history and heritage through archaeology, education, and heritage tourism. Hundreds of thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the infamous shipwreck and are being preserved at the QAR Conservation Laboratory, which is located on the West Research Campus of East Carolina University. The Queen Anne’s Revenge was Blackbeard’s flagship, that ran aground off North Carolina’s coast in 1718. On November 21, 1996, Intersal, Inc., a private research firm operating under a permit issued by the NC Department of Cultural Resources, discovered a cluster of cannons and anchors on the seabed near Beaufort Inlet. Their former Director of Operations, Mike Daniel, used historical research provided by Intersal’s late founder, Philip Masters, to locate the wreck. The site yielded several 18th century artifacts, including a bronze bell dated 1705, lead sounding weight, English blunderbuss barrel, lead cannon apron, and two cannonballs. Those items led archaeologists to believe the wreck was the Queen Anne’s Revenge, formerly the French slave ship La Concorde. In 2013, DCR, Intersal, and Nautilus Productions, signed an agreement regarding commercial, replica, and certain promotional opportunities. The State of North Carolina holds the title to all QAR artifacts and maintains the collection. QAR project’s website: www.qaronline.org/
Intersal, Inc: www.lat3440.com/
Nautilus Productions, LLC: nautilusproductions.com/
