From the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

 

GREENVILLE — Lots of pirate loot will be showcased at the open house at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Laboratory on Nov. 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Artifacts on view from Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, will include cannons, gold dust and navigational instruments. Conservators and archaeologists can explain the use of each prized object. Those who love pirates, archaeology and conservation will enjoy the free program. No registration is required.

The open house will allow visitors of all ages to learn about recovery and conservation of Blackbeard’s cannons, and view the cannon just raised in October. Guests can look through a microscope at the smallest objects discovered over the years and see mysteries revealed in x-rays.

The lab is located on East Carolina University’s West Research Campus, about 10 miles west of the main campus in Greenville. The address is 1157 VOA Site C Road in Greenville. For more information about the open house and the lab, please visit www.qaronline.org or contact Courtney Page at 252-744-6721 or by email at courtney.page@ncdcr.gov.

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 on Nov. 21, 1996. QAR was located near Beaufort Inlet, by Intersal’s director of operations, Mike Daniel, who used historical research provided by Intersal’s president, Phil Masters. Daniel now heads up Maritime Research Institute, the nonprofit corporation formed to work on the project in cooperation with state archaeologists and historians of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History.

Archaeologists and historians with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources have led recovery efforts at the shipwreck site since 1997. Cannons, platters, medical and scientific instruments used by Blackbeard and his crew have rested on the floor of the Atlantic since 1718. Tens of thousands of artifacts have been recovered.

The Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project and the Office of State Archaeology are within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan W. Kluttz, NCDCR’s mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state’s history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state’s communities. NCDCR’s Divisions of State Archives, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR’s State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for people who are blind and have physical disabilities.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state’s creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call 919-807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.