Topics Related to Cultural Resources (DCR)
La Concorde, later Queen Anne’s Revenge was what is known as a square-rigged vessel, meaning the primary sails used to propel the vessel were set perpendicular to the keel of the vessel. A vessel with this type of rig would place many unique demands on the crew, both on deck and above, including furling (rolling up) sails at great heights in the air and hauling on lines with incredible force on deck.
Not only do we raise large, immediately recognizable objects from QAR such as cannons and anchors, but we are also constantly on the search for minute remnants of shipboard life.
Although buttons have been present in the archaeological record as decorative clothing elements as early as 2000 BC in the Indus Valley region, the first mention of the buttonhole was not until the 13th centu
On September 28, 1717*, La Concorde left Ouidah on the west coast of Africa with 516 enslaved men, women, and children, and 14 ounces of gold dust.
In late September 1717, Stede Bonnet met Blackbeard.
April 11, 2026, 10am - 3pm
The Office of State Archaeology Conservation Lab, home of the La Concorde/Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project, is hosting their annual Open House as part of the North Carolina Science Festival
The most prominent symbol for piracy in popular culture is a black flag decorated with the infamous skull and crossbones. This flag has been used within the mythos of pirates, both real and fictional, for over 300 years. With the expansive mythology surrounding piracy, and particularly Blackbeard, it is worthwhile to look deeper into this iconic flag and its connections to the infamous pirate.
Anchors have been made and lost for as long as humanity has taken to the sea, and the Queen Anne’s Revenge is no different.
The bulk of artifacts recovered from maritime environments, the Queen Anne’s Revenge included, are found in a concreted state, which is a cement like formation over the artifact that must be removed before further treatment can continue. After the concretion is initially assessed by the conservator via visual review and x-ray, the conservator can then begin the concretion removal process.
In imagining the wrecking of a ship, tempestuous storms and heaving, angry seas come to mind, along with valiant sailors sacrificing their lives all in the name of conquest, trade, and adventure on the high seas. You might expect that when excavating a shipwreck, archaeologists regularly uncover the remains of those same unfortunate sailors. Human remains are in fact quite rare on shipwrecks due to the human body’s propensity to float away. We also know that in the case of Queen Anne’s Revenge, the wrecking itself occurred as a grounding, a far less violent end.