New Treasures From Blackbeard's Shipwreck

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Credit NC Department of Cultural Resources

Archeologists are unveiling artifacts recovered from the wreck of the notorious pirate Blackbeard's flagship today in Greenville. Many of the 122 items from the Queen Anne's Revenge will be sent to the North Carolina Maritime Museum and the North Carolina Museum of History.

Fay Mitchell with the State Department of Cultural Resources says one item recovered is part of a sword handle made of antler. Another is a device used to measure the weight of silver coins:

"At that time coins did not have those little ridged edges. And people were actually chipping off people or chiseling them, giving a rise to the term "chiseler." So that will be one of the things exhibited as well as some glass shards that are recovered probably from the captain's cabin. The last person to look out of the window would have been Blackbeard as the ship was sinking."

Mitchell says the artifacts add more to the body of knowledge of what seafaring techniques were and what the lifestyle was like. She says only about half the recovery is complete.