In following along on our adventures in conservation, you may have learned a new term often heard in the lab: concretion. As described in previous entries, concretions can contain a wealth of artifacts, made of many different materials. Corrosion is the driving force behind the development of concretion on iron and the subsequent envelopment of other artifacts nearby. We find a lot of iron on Queen Anne’s Revenge, thus a lot of corrosion, and in turn, a LOT of concretion.
Topics Related to La Concorde
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.
Glass beads were an important item in West African cultures, finding their way into the region prior to the 15th century through the trans-Sahara trade with North Africa. They functioned as ornamental items: strung into jewelry, belts, and rosaries, woven in hair, and sewn onto clothing and headdresses. Beads were also used in rites of passage or initiation ceremonies, used in protective charms and talismans, and found on statues and figurines.
On June 27, 1717*, La Concorde arrived at the trading port of Juida (or Whydah), present-day Ouidah, Benin. Over the next several weeks, the crew traded the goods they brought with them from Europe for 516 slaves and 14 ounces of gold dust. We do not know what was brought on this particular voyage for trade, but at the time preferred payment to the African merchants was cowrie shells, on which the regional economy was based.
On June 7, 1717*, the crew of La Concorde set sail from Mesurade, in present-day Monrovia, Liberia, where they stopped two weeks prior to resupply necessities such as water and food. From there they were heading to their final African destination of Judah, the French name for Ouidah in present-day Benin.
On March 19, 1717*, La Concorde was forced to return to the port of Mindin at the mouth of the river Loire.
On April 1, 1717*, La Concorde made its second attempt to leave France headed for the coast of Guinea.
March 2017 is the start of an exciting period in pirate and maritime history. La Concorde, the French vessel that would later become Blackbeard’s famed flagship, began its final voyage on this day in 1717. Join us over the next two years as we follow this ill-fated trip and the life of Blackbeard and his Queen Anne’s Revenge.