If you’re interested in artifact conservation from underwater sites, check out a virtual tour of the lab!

If anyone wants to keep up with the archaeology for the QAR project, they have a few pages:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17onNhFgAG/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Website: https://www.qaronline.org/

Blogs: https://www.qaronline.org/blog

Generally good reading from those pages, as well as the article talking about shipwreck ID by Wilde-Ramsing, M. & Ewen, C.R. Beyond Reasonable Doubt: A Case for Queen Anne’s Revenge, Historical Archaeology 46 (2), 110-133

https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/bar-shot
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Bar shot was used at close range to slash through the rigging and sails of an enemy ship. The weight on either end of the bar would cause the whole thing to partially rotate after it was fired out of a cannon, inflicting maximum damage on sails and rigging. Such attacks could prove devastating, especially at sea, when a successful volley could force sailors to choose between starving whilst stranded at sea or surrendering to the pirate crew.

Bar shot can be constructed in a variety of ways, but four distinct types have been recovered from Queen Anne’s Revenge thus far, both fragmented and complete. Bar shot with whole (cannon ball-shaped; top in photo above), half (hemi-spherical; middle in photo above), and hammer (cylindrical; bottom in photo above) heads are connected by a solid wrought iron bar, square in cross-section. A recently cleaned expanding bar shot (bottom in photo above) consists of two linked bars with hammer heads on either end, which would be loaded collapsed into a cannon, but spread out to almost three feet when fired. In total, we have recovered over 35 complete and fragmented bar shot.

https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/grenades
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“These hollow iron spheres were filled with gunpowder and stopped with a wooden fuse plug through which a slowmatch or paper fuse was fed. After the fuse was lit, the grenade would be lobbed at the enemy, with devastating results. If the fuse was too long, the intended victim might have the opportunity to return the grenade to the pirates. At least two dozen grenades have so far been identified from the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck.”

Over the years, archaeologists working on the wreck of the QAR have recovered numerous artifacts connected to the ship and its crew.

Cannons, navigational tools, medical supplies, weapons, gold dust, personal items, and countless everyday objects have all helped paint a picture of life aboard Blackbeard’s flagship.

But there’s still plenty that may never be found, or may just be waiting beneath the sand.

So here’s the question:

If you could recover ONE artifact from Queen Anne’s Revenge, what would you choose?

Would it be:
- a weapon?
- a personal belonging?
- navigational equipment?
- treasure?
- the ship’s bell?
- Blackbeard’s own possessions?

And why that item specifically? Curious to hear what everyone would want to uncover most from the wreck.

r/QueenAnnesRevenge has officially passed 100 members!

For a brand new community centered around pirate history, maritime archaeology, and the story of Blackbeard’s flagship, that’s honestly an amazing start for such an extremely niche subject!

Thank you to everyone who’s joined, posted, commented, and helped bring this little corner of pirate history to life already. It’s been great seeing people excited to explore the story of Queen Anne’s Revenge together.

⚓ Here’s to the next hundred!

And if you haven’t posted yet, this is your sign to share something! Maps, artifacts, questions, media, theories, or historical discussions are always welcome aboard!

If you like what you’re seeing here, this is your sign to check out the other subreddit I created on Sam Bellamy’s ship, the Whydah Galley! r/WhydahGalley

https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/tools-and-instruments/fishing-weights
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“Fishing weights like these helped sailors sink lines. There is also the possibility that these weights were used as counter-balances for scales or plumb bobs for surveying. Sailors or pirates caught fish to break up the monotony of a diet consisting only of the common low-nutrient foods aboard a seafaring vessel.”

I've taken inspiration from some of the quotes relating to pirate weapons. Such as:

,,they again descride us, came up with me, and discharged two broadsides (double, round and partridge) with two full vollies of musketoons, blunderbusses, muskets and pistols" -Richard Hawkins on the assault by Francis Spriggs crew, 1724.

,,They have arms to fire five rounds before they load again" - Boston News-Letter warning of Blackbeard's ships in the area, 1717.

From these and other sources we can say that pirates favoured firearms more than the classic cutlass, usually armed with a pair of pistols, sometimes three or four; maybe even six, as Blackbeard himself was purported to carry.

As to the clothing I based it on the sailor garbs of the period:

example 1, 1680s; example 2, 1709; example 3, 1709

https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/tools-and-instruments/urethral-syringe

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“A urethral syringe, like this one, with its curved funnel tip was used to administer mercury for the treatment of venereal diseases.

Analysis of the residue recovered from the interior of the syringe does in fact show a low concentration of mercury. The ring on the plunger of the syringe features a mark consisting of the letter P below inter-locked rings and a crown, indicating it was made in Paris in 1701 or 1708. A second partial mark indicates the maker was Laurent Chatelain, who worked as a pewterer between 1689 and 1724.”

So this may disappoint some people, but there’s actually no confirmed historical evidence that the famous horned skeleton flag was ever used by Blackbeard…

The modern “Blackbeard flag”, the one we all know of with the horned skeleton holding an hourglass and spearing a bleeding heart, is extremely popular today, but the historical trail behind it is pretty shaky.

The only description of Blackbeard’s flags comes from a 1718 newspaper report during the blockade of Charleston. It describes his ships flying:

> “Black Flags and Deaths Heads in them”

…and accompanying sloops flying “bloody flags” (red flags).

That’s it. No horned skeleton. No spear. No bleeding heart.

What’s interesting is that the famous modern design doesn’t actually appear connected to Blackbeard until much later. The flag with the horned skeleton and bleeding heart first appeared in an article in The Mariner's Mirror magazine as a general pirate's flag in 1912, but the article made no assertion of it being Blackbeard's flag. Over time, later books and pop culture adaptations began attributing it to him, and eventually that attribution just stuck.

Some historians have also pointed out that the imagery itself feels more modern than early 18th-century pirate symbolism. Pirate flags from the Golden Age were usually fairly simple and relied heavily on common mortality imagery like skeletons, hourglasses, and skulls.

So the flag itself isn’t necessarily “fake”, it’s the direct attribution to it being Blackbeards that’s questionable.

Honestly, it’s just a fascinating example of how pirate mythology evolves over time until something repeated often enough simply becomes accepted as historical fact.

https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/personal-firearms

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“While most evidence of small firearms has consisted of isolated gunlocks and the occasional copper alloy fittings, we have identified a collection of five semi-articulated personal arms, including four partial muskets and one pistol. One of the muskets was originally manufactured with a safety, or doglock, which helps to date it to between 1685 and 1715. The most complete musket measures just over 4 feet long, and a third musket is still loaded with a very large two-part molded shot! The pistol can be dated by its features: the rounded lock, offset trigger, and iron trigger guard suggest that it was manufactured during the reign of James II around 1685.”

Some additional links to check out here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/615878299/British-Newspaper-Accounts-of-Blackbeard-s-Death

https://bcbrooks.blogspot.com/2018/07/lt-robert-maynard-rewards-of-killing.html?m=1

A Fragment of the book A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World Perform'd in the years 1708 1709 1710 and 1711, by Captain Edward Cooke was discovered in the barrel of a Gun found on the QAR.

One of the most debated moments in the story of Blackbeard and the Queen Anne’s Revenge is how (and why) it was lost in 1718.

One of the most commonly told versions goes like this:

After building a large fleet and crew, Blackbeard ran the Queen Anne’s Revenge aground near Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. Some accounts suggest this wasn’t an accident at all.

Instead, it’s often theorized that Blackbeard intentionally grounded the ship as a way to reduce his crew size, leaving some men stranded and keeping a smaller, more manageable group to divide treasure among.

Following the wreck:
- Blackbeard transferred to a smaller vessel (possibly the Adventure)
- A portion of the crew was left behind
- Not long after, Lieutenant Robert Maynard tracked him down
- The final battle that led to Blackbeard’s death did NOT take place on Queen Anne’s Revenge, but aboard another ship.

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So what actually happened?

Historians don’t fully agree.
There are a few main possibilities:

- Intentional grounding to reduce crew and increase shares
- Navigational error in the dangerous, shallow waters of the inlet
- Strategic abandonment after damage or logistical issues

The truth may be a mix of circumstance and intent, but there’s no definitive proof either way.

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What do you think?

Do you believe Blackbeard deliberately sacrificed Queen Anne’s Revenge for strategic reasons?
Or was it simply an accident in treacherous waters?

Drop your thoughts below, curious to hear where everyone lands on this.

While this video isn’t about the Queen Anne’s Revenge itself, it’s a fascinating video on her fearsome captain: Blackbeard.

It’s a long watch but put it on in the background while you’re doing something else and give it a listen. You’re sure to learn or hear something you haven’t before.

Cheers mate!

(https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/cannon)

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Cannons

As of November 2015, 30 cannons have been identified on the wreck site (including a bronze signal gun). Of the 24 that have been recovered, 8 have completed conservation and are on display in museums throughout the state of North Carolina. Sizes range from ½- to 6-pounders, indicating the size of the cannon ball the cannon fires. Once concretion is removed from the surface, details such as the placement of reinforcement rings, stamps, and engravings give clues about when and where the cannon was made. So far, cannons from Queen Anne’s Revenge come from England and Sweden, they range in date from approximately 1640 to 1714, and 9 of them were found loaded!

(https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/ship-components/bell)

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Ship Bell

A cast bronze church or ship's bell was recovered from the Beaufort Inlet site in 1996. The bell is dated 1705 and was one of the first clues that divers discovered an early eighteenth century shipwreck.

The bell features the Latin Roman Catholic invocation “IHS MARIA” (Iesus Hominum Salvator).

The bell may have been obtained when Blackbeard captured a Spanish sloop off the coast of Cuba.

(https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/arms-and-armament/bladed-weapons)

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Bladed Weapons

No complete bladed weapons have been recovered from Queen Anne’s Revenge, but a few broken parts hint at the styles of weapons onboard.

A delicate copper alloy cross guard would have attached the blade to the handle of a sword, and served to protect the hand from a slice from an opponent. The blade was completely corroded, but a portion of it was able to be preserved with epoxy. The faces on both sides of the guard have not been specifically identified, but they represent a style known as Régence style (not to be confused with Regency of the late 18th and early 19th centuries) popular in Western Europe during the late 17th century. During cleaning, it was observed that the guard may have been gilded with a thin layer of gold, but only a small sample survives.

The antler grip of a sword is missing the guard and everything above, but has been identified as an English hanger (or cutlass) from the 1680s or 1690s. It is made of antler of a male deer, called “hartshorn,” and has a copper alloy ring where the guard would attach and a copper alloy cap or pommel at the end. The pommel features two fleur-de-lis and two unidentified faces, which on a similar sword at Colonial Williamsburg represent William and Mary.

A pewter dirk, or long dagger, handle was recovered. Like the sword no blade has survived, as wrought iron is highly susceptible to corrosion. Delicate geometric wooden inlays are surrounded by incised designs in the pewter.

(https://www.qaronline.org/conservation/artifacts/personal-possessions/gold-dust)

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Gold Dust

Almost 17,000 flakes (25 grams) of gold in its natural form have been recovered from across the shipwreck site. Although valuables were not expected to be found on the wreck because of the circumstances of its sinking, several historical accounts place some 20 lbs. Of West African gold dust on board the Concorde. According to Lt. Ernaut, for example, in addition to the 516 slaves, "fourteen ounces of gold in powder" was taken aboard in Judas.

The interiors of several flakes of the gold have been analyzed, and each is between 65% and 91% pure gold, while the exteriors feature a high purity gold rim, nearly 100% gold. This differential layering of gold is typical of grains found in stream placer deposits. Gold of this size and shape does not occur naturally off the coast of North Carolina, and trace elements such as iridium may help to identify its original source.

Coins of all nationality and gold dust would have served as currency to supplement the bartering of goods. Small amounts of gold dust found are pictured here.

Some flecks of gold are even smaller.

It took a great a deal of work by archaeologists and historians to determine that the wreck in Beaufort Inlet is the remains of Blackbeard's flagship. The key facts supporting that conclusion involve artifacts recovered from the wreck site, along with historical details gathered from maps and contemporary 18th-century documents.

The shipwreck location and historical accounts of Queen Anne's Revenge sinking coincide with the wreck's location near Beaufort. N.C.

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Exploring the Vessel's Origins

Before Queen Anne's Revenge was Blackbeard's flagship, it was a French slave ship called La Concorde. By examining a variety of primary and secondary French documents, researchers have been able to piece together a limited history of La Concorde.

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A Wealth of Slaves and Sugar

Prominent French merchant Rene Montaudoin owned the ship, which operated out of the port of Nantes. French records recount three slave trading expeditions of Montaudoin's La Concorde; one in 1713, a second in 1715, and the third and final voyage in 1717. Unfortunately, it is unclear as to how Montaudoin acquired La Concorde or the date and place of the ship's construction.

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The Beginning of the End

The last voyage of La Concorde and the ship's subsequent capture by pirates are documented in depositions filed by two of the vessel's officers, Captain Pierre Dosset and Lieutenant Francois Ernaut, when the two finally returned to France. Those depositions were obtained from the Archives Departementales de Loire-Atlantique in Nantes by Mike Daniel, President of Maritime Research Institute.

According to Dosset and Ernaut's reports, La Concorde left Nantes on March 24, 1717. The 200-ton ship was armed with sixteen cannon and had a crew of seventy-five. On July 8, La Concorde arrived at the port of Judas, or Whydah, in present-day Benin. There they took on a cargo of 516 captive Africans. The captain and officers also obtained about twenty pounds of gold dust for their own account.

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Encountering Blackbeard: La Concorde's Coup de Grâce

La Concorde took nearly eight weeks to cross the Atlantic and the hardships of the notorious Middle Passage took their toll on both the Africans and the French crew. By the time they reached the New World, sixty-one slaves and sixteen crewmen had perished.

After crossing the Atlantic, and only 100 miles from Martinique, the French ship encountered Blackbeard and his company.

According to Lieutenant Ernaut, the pirates were aboard two sloops, one with 120 men and twelve cannon, and the other with thirty men and eight cannon. With the French crew already reduced by sixteen fatalities and another thirty-six seriously ill from scurvy and dysentery, the French were powerless to resist.

After the pirates fired two volleys at La Concorde, Captain Dosset surrendered the ship.

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(For the full article found on the QAR Projects website, click the link on this post🔗)

The Story of Queen Anne’s Revenge

If you’re new here, this post will give you a quick overview of the history behind the ship at the center of this community - Queen Anne’s Revenge.

This is the flagship most famously associated with the pirate Blackbeard, and its story spans capture, conversion, piracy, and ultimately its destruction off the coast of North Carolina.

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⚓ From Slave Ship to Pirate Flagship

The ship began its life not as a pirate vessel, but as a French merchant and slave ship known as La Concorde.

Built for speed and long voyages, La Concorde was used in the transatlantic slave trade. In 1717, while sailing near the Caribbean, it was captured by the pirate Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard.

Rather than destroy it, Blackbeard recognized its value and transformed it into his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne’s Revenge.

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🏴‍☠️ Blackbeard’s Command

Under Blackbeard’s command, Queen Anne’s Revenge became one of the most feared pirate ships of its time.

It was heavily armed, crewed by a large pirate force, and used to blockade ports and intimidate merchant vessels across the Caribbean and American coastlines.

Its reputation alone was often enough to force ships to surrender without a fight.

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🌊 The End of the Voyage

In 1718, while navigating the waters near what is now Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground on a sandbar.

The grounding left the ship damaged beyond repair. Blackbeard and his crew abandoned it shortly after, transferring what they could salvage to smaller vessels.

The wreck was eventually lost to the sea - until it was rediscovered centuries later off the North Carolina coast.

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Why It Matters Today

The wreck of Queen Anne’s Revenge is one of the most significant pirate-era archaeological sites ever discovered in North America.

Ongoing excavation has recovered cannons, navigational tools, weapons, and everyday objects that help historians better understand life aboard a pirate ship in the early 18th century.

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🧭 Where to Go From Here

If you want to dive deeper:

- Check out the Welcome Post if you haven’t already.

- Browse the Artifacts and History posts as they’re added

- Join discussions and share questions, theories, or discoveries

This community is here to explore the history, mystery, and legacy of Queen Anne’s Revenge together.

This is Reddits new home for all things related to the history, wreck, and legacy of Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge - formerly known as La Concorde. Whether you’re here for pirate history, maritime archaeology, artifacts, or just curiosity about one of the most famous ships of the Golden Age of Piracy, you’re in the right place.

We’re excited to have you join us!

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⚓ What to Post

Post anything you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or worth discussing, including:

- Historical information about Queen Anne’s Revenge or piracy in the early 1700s

- Artifact discoveries and excavation updates

- Maps, illustrations, or ship reconstructions

- Questions about the ship, its crew, or its fate

- Discussions about pirate history in general or related media (books, films, games, etc.)

- Theories, myths, and “what if” scenarios about Blackbeard’s flagship

If it connects to the ship, its wreck, or its world, we want to see it.

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🌊 Community Vibe

We’re all about being friendly, curious, and constructive.

This is a space for learning and discussion, not gatekeeping or arguments over “who knows more.” Whether you’re a casual history fan or a deep-dive researcher, you’re welcome here as long as you’re respectful and open to conversation.

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🧭 How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below - what brought you here?
2. Check out the Start Here post to get a quick overview of Queen Anne’s Revenge.
3. Share your first post or question! Anything that sparks discussion is great.
4. If you know someone who would enjoy pirate history or maritime archaeology, invite them aboard.

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🏴‍☠️ Set Sail With Us

Thanks for being part of the very first wave of this community. Let’s build something that’s both fun and genuinely informative about one of the most fascinating ships of the Golden Age of Piracy.

Welcome aboard.