The Queen Anne's Revenge was the flagship of Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. The ship was abandoned in 1718 when it wrecked on a sandbar off the coast of North Carolina. Archaeologists have been carefully studying the wreckage for a decade now, and have slowly released photographs of their finds. Recently they reconstructed a sword hilt from found fragments that may have belonged to Blackbeard or one of his companions.
See more pictures and information at National Geographic News. Link
(Image credit: Wendy M. Welsh, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources)
Recovered from the Queen Anne's Revenge wreck site in 2008, the quillon could have been made in England or France, according to Wendy Welsh, conservator of the Queen Anne's Revenge artifacts for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
Beyond the hilt, only a stump of the blade remains, but Welsh said Jan Piet Puype, a Dutch arms historian, thinks the weapon was probably relatively short and was carried by a gentleman with some status—at least before a pirate got hold of it.
Although it could have been used for self-defense, the sword was mainly a decorative accessory and was manufactured sometime between the mid-17th century and the early 18th century, according to Puype.
See more pictures and information at National Geographic News. Link
(Image credit: Wendy M. Welsh, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources)
The good news is that apparently anyone can be the conservator of the Queen Anne’s Revenge artifacts for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Forget applying at McDonalds this summer, just get on over to North Carolina. Perhaps you can discover Blackbeard's tea cozy on fuzzy bunny slippers.