Fall 1997 Daily Reports

The project began with a flurry activity. It was busy, busy, with boats being launched, equipment being fabricated and tested and everyone finds their places. Adding to the hustle and bustle were numerous requests for interviews for the media. By the end of the day all preparations had been made in anticipation of work at the shipwreck site.

After a slight delay in order to get Snap Dragon repaired, divers head to the site to make their first site assessment. Water clarity was good (8 - 10 feet) and work proceeded quickly with the installation of a 150' reference line and a 100' transect line. These provided an "X" across the exposed remains to help archaeologists record the shipwreck. A datum post for recording elevations was also installed. By late afternoon when the tide was nearly low, the visibility on the bottom was completely lost and divers could only feel their way around. It was going to be important to consider the tides in conjunction with our archaeological investigations.

Today divers found the water as clear as a bell. As a matter of fact at times, people on the surface could see the divers 25 feet below working on the shipwreck! Much of the day was spent recording the shipwreck using cameras both video and still. Archaeologists mapped the exposed remains with vigor. What was exposed was not large in area (20 feet by 15 feet) nor did it stick more than a few feet above the bottom, but with three large anchors, a grapnel anchor, 9 cannons and an assortment of barrel hoops and ships rigging devices, it was quite impressive.

Underwater photographers continued to document the exposed remains from every angle possible since the water clarity remained excellent while mapping continued. Others were involved in deploying four 2000-pound, cement blocks at the outer limits of the shipwreck site. These will enable divers to attached large mooring lines with buoys attached for vessel to quickly get anchored at the site. It also avoids boats from dropping anchors and potentially harming artifacts.

Divers using underwater metal detectors provided the first indication that additional remains, quite possibly more cannons, were buried in the sand away from the exposed. General activities included securing the mooring blocks and installing additional reference stakes.

Archaeologists continued establishing the reference system and video documenting large features. The mooring system was completed by moving the north mooring block to its position using lift bags. These large rubberized bags are attached to the object and slowly filled with air which in time lifts and object off the bottom and allows divers to move things too heavy to lift by hand. Scientists visited the site to record divers bubbles for the future development of a system to detect unauthorized diving on the site. Geologists also came out to take cores of the sandy sediments that surround the shipwreck.

The main focus of the day was the excavation of the north anchor (A-3). Digging with a water driving induction dredged archaeologists found the anchor still had a 10-foot long wooden stock attached and in excellent condition. It lay approximately 12 inches under the bottom. The style of anchor discovered fits well within the period and style expected on Queen Anne's Revenge

 

A crew from East Carolina University's Program in Maritime Studies used SHARPS (Sonic, high accuracy ranging and positioning system) to map portions of the shipwreck. This system uses laser beams to record distances from known reference points. While it works well in protected situations, environmental conditions (wind, waves and currents) made the system difficult to set up and use on the Queen Anne's Revenge site.

ECU archaeologists continued their SHARPS mapping by focusing on anchor A-2 and produce an outline of its shape. Other archaeologists recorded elevations of the seabed and exposed wreckage using a string and line level device attached to the elevation datum stake.

Excavation grid is constructed and position over Cannon C-2 in preparation for excavation of a test unit. Prior to recovery of the cannon, surrounding sediments and artifacts are to be excavated. The excavation grid is made of aluminum with right angle elbows to form frame to guide archaeological recovery and provide stability for the divers. Archaeologists working in other areas are exploring buried remains using a hydraprobe (a tube with a light stream of water flowing from it). Their intent was to locate structural remains associated with the ship. Since positive contacts were not made little hope remains that significant portions of the ship lie buried in the sand.

With the wooden stock of the north anchor completely exposed, photographers documented in detail as archaeologists had done earlier with slates, pencils and tape measures. It was then filled back over by reversing the dredging process. At the same time archaeologists began excavation of Test Unit 1 over Cannon C-2. Numerous ballast rock and iron concretions were recovered, as well as a pewter plate, an earthenware shard from a Spanish olive jar and a bottle neck.

An excavation unit (Test Unit 2) over Cannon C-3 found a similar situation as seen in Test Unit 1. Cannons were surrounded by a layer of artifacts, shell, and sand, all of which lie on a hard packed layer of fine, gray sand. Artifacts, including the cannons, ceramic shards, ballast rocks, pieces of glass, fragments of barrel hoops and other cultural debris were contained in this 12" - 18" thick layer. No structural remains from the shipwreck were located underneath, indicating the cannons and associated material have spilled out of the vessel during or after wrecking.

During the day divers took a series of water samples, which would help determine the quality of water. Measurements could be especially helpful to conservators who need to know what has affected the artifacts during their centuries of submersion. Archaeologists worked Cannon C-2 free and it was moved to a location near the south mooring. During this process a large pewter platter was recovered from underneath the cannon.

Cannon C-3 was excavated to the point where straps could be placed underneath it. Lift bags were then used to move it safely off the site in preparation for recovery. ECU student and staff archaeologists assisted with mapping exposed portions of the wreckage. Others excavated small test units in an attempt to locate hull structure based on the limited contacts recorded during the hydraprobe survey. Once again intact wooden remains were not located.

Cannons C-2 and C-3, weighing 2,500 and 2,250 pounds respectively, were successfully recovered from the seabed, offloaded at the North Carolina State Ports Facility in Morehead City, and transported to the Gallant's Channel facility where they were place in storage tanks. Despite the rough sea conditions, the operation went smoothly. Hats off to the expedition members and supporters. Special thanks go to Cape Fear Community College for providing the R/V Dan Moore, Captain Steve Beuth and his crew and to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for the R/V Seahawk captained by Gerry Compeau. Researchers from East Carolina University also played a key role.

Examination of the shipwreck site was extended to areas away from the exposed mound in search of buried remains. An excavation unit (Test Unit 5) was placed twenty feet southeast of the exposed wreckage and archaeologists soon located Cannon C-12 buried two feet below the seabed. Numerous musket balls and lead shot were also recovered form this location. Two small areas adjacent the exposed mound, one east and one west located portions of hull structure, although there extent was limited.

A series of passes were made with the video camera over the exposed mound using transect lines that had been laid out across this area every six feet. This photographic record will provide a thorough documentary record for analysis and drawing. UNC-W's Chancellor Luetze and his wife were guest divers at the site.

This was the first day lost to inclement weather, however, it was put to good use processing artifacts in the lab, cleaning up equipment, and preparing press information for Wednesday's media day. An analysis from the General Electric laboratory in Wilmington indicated that the platter was made of pewter. Several maker's marks and hall marks were found, indicating both the plate and platter were pewter and made in London, England, during the last half of the 17th to first quarter of the 18th centuries.

Weather conditions were extremely poor today. The weekend blow from the southwest had stirred the bottom up at the site burying reference lines, filling in excavations, and moving the mapping grid. The winds had shifted around to the north but were still breezy and caused relatively rough conditions topside. The worst was the bottom visibility which often was zero and never more than a foot or two. It was possible, however, to excavate overburden in several places. One excavation unit over an unidentified exposed object 35 feet north of the exposed mound produced a large set of barrel hoops and numerous ballast stones. To the west, 8 feet from the mound, archaeologists excavated a large cannon, bringing the total to thirteen thus far discovered.

Media day was a great success. On-site activities included recovery of iron hoops and the discovery of Cannon C-14. A fifteenth cannon was also located during the exploratory excavation of Cannon C-13.

Today was the final day of the expedition. Remains exposed during recent excavations were mapped and recorded, including the final test unit placed on the east side of the exposed mound (it revealed mostly large ballast stones). The north mooring block was repositioned since it had been dragged by R/V Dan Moore during the recovery operation. All excavation units were backfilled, reference lines and temporary stakes removed, and the natural residents were allowed to return to a normal, human-free existence.