Discovery of Shipwreck
Intersal Inc., a private research firm, discovered the wreck believed to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge on November 21, 1996. It was located by Intersal's director of operations, Mike Daniel, who used historical research provided by Intersal's president, Phil Masters and archaeologist David Moore. The vessel is in the Atlantic Ocean in shallow water offshore from Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Several of the cannons and more than 16,000 artifacts have been recovered; however, none appear to be of French origin, as would be expected from a French slave ship. They are mostly British, as would be expected with a colonial pirate crew.
For one week in 2000 and 2001, live underwater video of the project was uploaded to the Internet as a part of the DiveLive educational program that reached thousands of children around the world. This project enabled students to talk to scientists and learn about methods and technologies utilized by the archaeology team.
Project Director Mark Wilde-Ramsing of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch supervised recovery of artifacts from the site through the 2007 field season. In November 2006 and 2007, more artifacts were discovered at the site and brought to the surface. The additional artifacts appear to support the claim that the wreck is that of Queen Anne's Revenge. Among current evidence to support this theory is that the cannons were found loaded. In addition, there were more cannons than would be expected for a ship of this size, and the cannons were of different makes. Depth markings on the part of the stern that was recovered point to it have been made according to the French (and not British) foot measurements.
By the end of 2007, approximately 1/3 of the wreck was fully excavated. Artifacts are undergoing conservation. The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources set up the website Queen Anne's Revenge to build on intense public interest in the finds.
In 2011, the 1.4-tonne (3,100 lb) anchor from the ship was brought to the surface along with a range of makeshift weaponry.
On August 29, 2011, the National Geographic Society reported that the shipwreck had been confirmed as the Queen Anne's Revenge.
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