Blackbeard's Anchor to Rise from Depths


May 27, 2011 -- The anchor from the Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of the infamous pirate Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, will be raised from the seafloor where it has rested for nearly 300 years.

The ship sank in 1718 off the coast of Beaufort, N.C., five months before Blackbeard was killed in hand-to-hand combat during a battle with naval pirate hunters under the command of Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Teach had earlier retired from pirating, received a pardon and settled in the American colonies, but he quickly fell back into his old ways.

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The ship sank in relatively shallow water, just 20 feet underwater. The anchor itself is about 13 feet long and was one of four aboard the vessel.

Even though it weighed 3,000 pounds, archaeologists floated it up on air bags. Removing the anchor from the site of the wreck could give archaeologists access to a treasure trove of other smaller artifacts, according to the Charlotte Observer, such as tools or seeds that can offer a valuable window into pirate life.

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