Ever wonder what it takes to uncover and preserve the remnants of a pirate ship? At the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville, NC, you can get up close with artifacts from Blackbeard’s infamous vessel and see the meticulous work of bringing history back to life.

The Story Behind Blackbeard’s Flagship
Long before Blackbeard was terrorizing the Atlantic, the ship we know as Queen Anne’s Revenge started its life as La Concorde, a French privateering vessel. Privateers were essentially pirates with permission—when France was at war, ships like La Concorde had a green light to capture enemy ships and split the loot with the crown.
But when peace hit, La Concorde became a slave ship. It completed two transatlantic voyages. On its third trip, it was intercepted by Blackbeard’s pirate ship. He gave La Concorde its new name, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and began marauding his way through the Caribbean, eventually making his way up to the American colonies.
His boldest move? Blockading Charleston’s port for a week, demanding money and a chest of much-needed medicine. With that loot secured, he steered north toward Beaufort, North Carolina. But near Fort Macon, things went awry when he ran his ship aground on a shoal. Ever resourceful, Blackbeard transferred his treasure onto a smaller, quicker vessel and left most of his crew stranded as he made his getaway. Even after accepting the king’s pardon following the notorious Stede Bonnet trials, Blackbeard couldn’t resist the lure of piracy. His reign of terror finally ended when he was killed by the English in the fierce Battle of Ocracoke.
Love Blackbeard’s North Carolina connection? Check out my Complete Guide to Historic Bath, NC
Finding the Wreckage in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”
Flash forward to November 21, 1996, when a salvage company discovered part of the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck (cannons and anchors). Full-scale excavation has been underway since 2005, but it’s a challenging process.
The North Carolina coast is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” because of its rough waters and shifting sands, which have claimed countless ships over the centuries. This natural environment has been both a help and a hindrance to the conservation team. The sands help protect the wreck, but they also make it challenging to keep the site clear for artifact retrieval. The team has to repeatedly dredge out the sand that constantly shifts back in to cover the wreck.
Touring the Queen Anne’s Revenge Lab
The heart of the tour is the lab, where artifacts are carefully uncovered from their “concretions”—thick layers of rust, sand and marine growth that have hardened around each item. The cannon concretions can hold everything from the cannon itself to ballast stones, cannon balls, plates, platters, bottles, and coins. They’ve yielded about half a million artifacts from the 3000 or so concretions they’ve raised!
The concretions rest in baths of sodium bicarbonate, a corrosion inhibitor, between “cannon days,” when the cannons are lifted from the solution and worked on by the entire team all day. Depending on the size of the concretion, this process can take years.
Using tools like mini-jackhammers called air scribes, the lab team slowly uncovers the layers to reveal what lies inside the concretions. However, most concretions require x-radiography to identify the hidden artifacts.
Next, we walked over to the warehouse, which happens to be about the same size as the Queen Anne’s Revenge. When I picture it as a tall ship with three masts, multiple decks, miles of rope, and hundreds of yards of sailcloth, it’s pretty mind-blowing to think that Blackbeard believed he could navigate a beast like that through the shallow waters near Beaufort!
By the way, the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort is where visitors can see the restored collection of artifacts on display.
The single largest (not heaviest) artifact recovered thus far from the Queen Anne’s Revenge is an anchor. There are four of this same size anchor on the ship, but this is the only one that’s been excavated. Until the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort has space for an artifact of this size, they can’t even begin to work on it.
Where’s the Ship?
The warm waters of Eastern North Carolina might be perfect for beachgoers, but they’re a nightmare for preserving shipwrecks, so the Queen Anne’s Revenge ship as a whole has been lost to the elements over time. The most significant “ship-looking” artifact they’ve recovered is the stern post with some attached planks. Seeing it up close, especially with the French draft marks carved into the wood, was an incredible peek into the ship’s history!
The main concern in the preservation process is salt, so many of the artifacts undergo electrolytic reduction to remove the excess salt from years of being underwater. It’s the longest part of the entire preservation process. It can take 5-10 years for a large cannon to desalinate.
Conserved Artifacts
After the lab tour, we explored artifacts from the Queen Anne’s Revenge wreck that are ready for museum display. Each item, from glass to ceramics and beyond, offers a glimpse into 18th-century global trade. But among these fascinating pieces are somber reminders of the ship’s darker past as La Concorde, such as Venetian glass trading beads and gold dust, both used as currency in the slave trade.
Some unexpected finds? An animal bone with tiny rat bite marks—a small but vivid detail of life on board. Then there was a broken spoon, intentionally snapped to make it pocket-sized, as every sailor had their own.
Final Thoughts on the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab Tour
The Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab gives you a firsthand look at the hard work of preserving the remains of Blackbeard’s iconic ship. I’ve taken the tour twice now and I’ll probably go again! If you’re into Blackbeard’s legend or curious about how history gets preserved, this is definitely a place to check out.
Know Before You Go
- Tours are free and open to all ages, but registration is required.
- Ongoing Tours: First Tuesday of every month at 10 am and 2 pm. Limit of 20 visitors per tour.
- Special Events: QAR Lab Open House—Saturday, April 5, 2025
- Website
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