Supported by temporary funding from the State and a mixed crew of private, academic and state personnel under the direction of the Underwater Archaeology Branch (formerly Unit), field researchers began to analyze the shipwreck site, designated OSA site #31CR314 (formerly designated 0003BUI) . The primary intent was to identify the nature of the site, its condition, surroundings and potential impacts to site preservation. Over the following three fall field seasons efforts focused on mapping exposed remains, examining buried remains through remote sensing instruments, test excavations, and recovering sample artifacts for analysis. A key development in site interpretation was the diver-assisted, precision magnetic gradiometer survey during which over two thousand separate readings were taken. Computer processing of this data has allowed researchers to isolate individual iron artifacts, such as cannon, and delineate outer limits of artifact dispersion. This cultural debris field encompassed an area approximately 90 feet by 200 feet with a north - south orientation. The exposed portion offered a low relief extending above the seabed only a few feet at its highest. The same was true of the buried remains, which extended only a few feet below the sandy bottom surface. An examination of the wreckage indicated the ship sank with its bow toward shore and at some point in its sinking had heeled over on its port side spilling its cannon and deck cargo. An anchor discovered 420 feet to the south could have represented an attempt to pull the vessel to safety. Key large features of the shipwreck included twenty-one cannon (magnetic signatures suggest at least a half dozen more), four anchors ranging from 9 to 13 feet in length, a grapple hook, numerous whole and fragmented barrel hoops, and various size rings relating to the ship's rigging. Smaller artifacts included navigational instruments, pewterware, intact bottles, lead shot of many sizes, small arms, and gold dust, to name a few.

To provide a heightened awareness of the environmental conditions surrounding the shipwreck site, both historically and at present, marine geologists were engaged. By digitizing and scaling two dozen historic maps their cartographic research revealed at least four episodes during which the channel migration significantly participated in the site formation process of the Queen Anne's Revenge wreckage. The geologists also employed a series of high-resolution bathometric and side scan sonar surveys coupled with data from electronic current meters to investigate present environmental impacts to the site. After an annual cycle of tests, they were able to identify storm conditions and subsequent scour patterns that were specific to certain areas of the shipwreck site. Based on their findings and the fact that the late 1990's proved to be an extreme period for hurricanes storms, portions consisting of vessel's intact hull planking, frames and sacrificial sheathing were the focus of emergency recovery expeditions in the spring and fall 2000, and briefly in May of 2001.

Artifacts recovered from Queen Anne's Revenge require painstaking effort by trained conservators working in a fully equipped laboratory to properly clean, document, analyze, and preserve them. Individual objects recovered during the assessment and emergency recovery phase number over five hundred and represent approximately one percent of the total shipwreck remains associated with the Queen Anne's Revenge site. These objects are often heavily concreted and contain numerous artifacts, sometimes running in the hundreds; the total number of artifacts currently recovered will number in the tens of thousands. If full excavations are undertaken, artifacts are likely to exceed one million. While many recovered objects currently sit in holding tanks awaiting attention, the examination of several thousand artifacts, which represent a broad range of materials, has already been undertaken by archaeologists with the assistance of specialists in many fields. The origins of hundreds of sample ballast stones, the source of lead used in many objects, the regions where fibers and wood pieces were grown, workmanship on flint objectives, chemical analysis of gunpowder residue are a few of the avenues explored. During excavation a sluice recovery system was used to capture even the smallest artifact including tiny flecks of gold. The exhaustive nature of artifact recovery and analysis, both on the site and in the laboratory, is an important element of site assessment and is providing archaeologists with an understanding of what physical evidence is available for study.

Historical documentation related to Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge is beginning to provide more evidence to link the floating vessel to the shipwreck and events reported at the time of its sinking. Since La Concorde was a former French slaver, artifacts relating to the slave trade, if found, will provide additional support. The same is true of articles exhibiting marks or initials that can be traced to a ship or a person that Blackbeard was known to have accosted. While no definitive evidence has yet been found, collectively the vast majority of archaeological evidence from the shipwreck fits well with what is expected from Queen Anne's Revenge. The site has provided artifacts that date to the correct period, revealed comparable armament and ship parts, and its layout resembles a vessel that simply ran aground, sank and deteriorated, which contemporary reports say happened with Blackbeard's flagship. Based on a thorough search of archival records, no other shipwreck reported in this area even remotely qualifies as a candidate.

If we assume its identity as Queen Anne's Revenge, which the vast majority of those familiar with the evidence do, one moves to a more intriguing subject - What does a pirate ship look like and how does it differ from a "normal" vessel? When we take a preliminary look at the findings, things such as the variable sizes of cannon, as well as their origin of manufacture from at least two and probably three different countries appears suspiciously different. Could this represent selective armament placed on Blackbeard's flagship as he encountered and seized armed vessels? The fact that four of the five cannon were loaded offer a glimpse at the pirate crew's preparedness. Their makeshift ingenuity (and/or ruthlessness) can be seen from one cannon loaded with three large spikes to be sent swirling at an unyielding victim. Will the layout of the artifacts support a more democratic life aboard a pirate vessel? Were African Americans free or slave? With careful collection and analytical methods and attention to detail, tantalizing patterns are beginning to surface. This, in turn, will lead to enhanced archaeological research designs that, coupled with historical research and comparative artifact assemblages, will shed light on life aboard Blackbeard's flagship.

The public and academic interest in the Queen Anne's Revenge site has been truly amazing. With this comes a whole list of opportunities and considerations. Increased awareness brings with it greater risks of looting requiring a sophisticated surveillance and enforcement system. Advances in technology provide better tools for the archaeologists and at the same time allow them to bring the public into their world, even allowing direct access as they work, which has been demonstrated during the highly successful QAR "DiveLive" program. Can this intrigue with pirates and Blackbeard provide an economic boost to a poor coastal area that has traditionally relied on fishing and agriculture by increasing tourism? And if so, how can economic related development proceed and still keep the best interests of site preservation and interpretation in mind? With many possibilities and challenges ahead, the discovery of the wreck site thought to be the pirate Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge has opened an exciting new chapter in underwater archaeology.