Release: Immediately                                                                                                           Date: November 29, 2004

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BLACKBEARD SHIPWRECK PROJECT RESURFACES WITH RECEIPT OF GRANTS

(Morehead City) -Two grants have given new life to research at the nearly 300-year-old shipwreck of the vessel believed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR), flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard.

The Golden Leaf Foundation has awarded the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project $145,000 for a recovery project to save threatened artifacts that are fragile or may be exposed, lost or damaged due to storm or hurricane action and conduct research in new areas.

A $100,000 grant from the General Assembly will allow for conservation of the artifacts at the QAR laboratory at East Carolina University in Greenville. The state grant was secured thanks to the efforts of House Speaker Jim Black and Representatives Marian McLawhorn and Edith Warren.

This timely infusion of funding comes just as a Save America's Treasures (SAT) grant comes to an end. That grant, which provided primary funding for conservation of artifacts over the past two years, expires in December. The loss of the SAT grant without additional funding would have meant the loss of most of the QAR staff and prevented any significant exploration or recovery operations. State funding has not been available for significant exploration or recovery operations.

The new funding will support a recovery project from January to December 2005. The first step will be preparation of a detailed plan for recovery and artifact handling in the field and in the conservation lab. A spring symposium will gather nationally recognized scientists to review and sanction these plans and to present them to the public.

"We anticipate starting an expedition for major recovery in early summer to further explore the site and recover tens of thousands of artifacts," said Mark Wilde-Ramsing, project director. "After that, staff will begin intensive work in the lab cataloging, sorting, processing and or storing recovered materials."

The planned investigations will bring new attention to one of North Carolina's most important archaeological resources. Since the 1997 announcement of the discovery of the shipwreck, public interest has been intense. The project has been reported on by ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, NPR and the BBC. Major newspapers and magazines in the U.S., Great Britain, France, Spain, and also Brazil have reported on its progress.

Thousands of visitors have viewed conserved artifacts on display at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, on a traveling tour of museums, and also at the N.C. State Fair. Students from across the country emailed questions to archaeologists at work at the shipwreck during two special Dive Live events. Some of the newly recovered artifacts will also be exhibited at the Maritime Museum and should continue to attract visitors to the area.

The Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project is administered by the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For additional information, call Mark Wilde-Ramsing at 252-726-6841, ext. 169.

 

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