Spring 2000 Recovery Plan
Shipwreck Site 31CR314


Archaeological field work planned for Spring 2000 at shipwreck site 31CR314, believed to be Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR), Blackbeard the pirate's flagship, will focus on four objectives:

  1. recover wooden hull timbers and associated artifacts that have been previously exposed by hurricanes
  2. establish a permanent elevation datum and take readings of exposed components
  3. conduct a high-definition, sonar survey prior to timber recovery and place two current meters on the site to monitor changes that may be caused by impending storms during the 2000 hurricane season
  4. bring the QAR conservation laboratory to a fully functional state of operation.

Collectively, these objectives will document and recover threatened remains, monitor the condition of the site and lay the ground work to begin full-scale recovery in the spring of 2001.

Students from East Carolina University's (ECU) Program in Maritime Studies and Cape Fear Community College's (CFCC) Maritime Technology Program will participate as part of a cooperative arrangement to provide post-graduate job training in archaeology and conservation and highly skilled labor for the QAR project. Bill Lovin, Marine Grafics, in cooperation with ECU's Education Department/Science and Technology, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and the North Carolina Maritime Museum (NCMM) will conduct tests that will ultimately lead to live feed transmissions from the shipwreck to the museum and classrooms around the state.

As is always the case, weather and environmental conditions will play a major factor in what is accomplished. The project team, however, is extremely experienced and will make the most of the situation presented to them. In order to allow the public to keep up, daily updates will be furnished in the Captains Log.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. Hull timber recovery: The threatened portion of QAR wooden hull, made up of 4 planks attached by five sets of frames (ribs), will be recovered. This will entail removing overburden and tagging, disassembling, and recovering each component. Loose timbers, including planks of wood hull sheathing, a large concretion (the "Baby Ruth") and miscellaneous artifacts will also be recovered. Test units will explore beneath the recovered hull section and a variety of samples will be collected before the area is back-filled and secured.

2. Permanent datum and elevations: An intensive effort will focus on establishing a permanent datum and developing an accurate method to record elevations. This is crucial to study the relationship of artifacts on QAR. Low visibility and strong currents make recording this information difficult. One or more permanent, heavy-duty pipes will be used for reference datums around the site and numerous elevations will be recorded for all exposed shipwreck features and each baseline stake.

3. Site monitoring: Prior to timber removal, a high-resolution side-scan sonar survey will be used to record the condition of the shipwreck. This will be compared with last fall's post-hurricane survey and available for comparison with results from future surveys. At the end of the field expedition, two electromagnetic current meters will be secured on the site, one on the north side and one on the south side of the exposed mound. These will be downloaded every 60 days and remain on the site throughout the hurricane season. Analysis of the collective data will detect sediment movement around the shipwreck

4. Set up QAR conservation lab: After three years of field testing, a backlog of small artifacts in need cleaning and conservation has developed. The QAR conservation research facility at IMS is currently being equipped and will be ready to begin processing artifacts during the project. Construction activities will also take place at the CCC conservation area to prepare it for large artifacts. On days when weather does not permit field work, conservation activities will take place.
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