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We're Working to Bring History Back to Life
One artifact at a time, our researchers are uncovering and preserving an important piece of maritime history. You can become part of this endeavor.
Visit our Lab and Museums
Pirates and Ships, Dives and Discoveries
Learn about Blackbeard, Queen Anne's Revenge, La Concorde, the transatlantic slave trade, and underwater archaeology with classroom-friendly educational resources.
View Educational ResourcesAn Infamous Legacy, Stretching Back 300 Years...
As archaeologists, conservators, and historians, staff of the Queen Anne's Revenge Conservation Lab and Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office of State Archaeology are dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the past. Join us as we explore day by day the origins of Blackbeard, his famous flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, and the ship's prior history as La Concorde, a transatlantic slave-trading vessel.
Upcoming Events
QAR Lab: The Science of Archaeology and Conservation
Pirates, archaeology, and science, oh my! Come out to the annual Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab’s Open House, on Saturday, April 27 (10 AM - 3 PM) to experience ongoing archaeological conservation. Learn how conservators and archaeologists use chemistry, art, physics, technology, and more to recover and conserve artifacts through fun hands-on activities and educational demonstrations. Encounter artifacts from Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, formerly the French slave-trading vessel La Concorde. Examine artifacts recovered from eastern NC and learn more about how science and the arts meet to record and care for local history! Be an archaeological conservator for a day and discover how interdisciplinary, scientific research is bringing North Carolina History back to life at this free, educational event! An official event of the NC Science Festival.
Blackbeard's Prize Lay Submerged for Over 250 Years...
The origins of Queen Anne's Revenge's, much like its Captain's, Blackbeard, stretch into an obscurity beyond the historical record.
We do know that the story of QAR began long before it fell into the famed pirate's clutches. In fact, Blackbeard's captaining of QAR constituted only a small portion of the vessel's seafaring years. Before Blackbeard, the ship was called La Concorde and belonged to a wealthy French merchant, trafficking human cargo across the Atlantic on the notorious "Middle Passage." After 1718, it belonged, for a time, to the ocean alone.
Since its discovery near Beaufort inlet in 1996, the remains of the vessel have become the property of the people of North Carolina, under the stewardship of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.