Blackbeard's Cannon Lifted from Ocean Floor


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Archaeologists lifted a 300-year-old cannon from the pirate Blackbeard's ship off the coast of North Carolina today.

The eight-foot-long cannon was covered in sand and ocean debris called "concretion," which will take archaeologists and students at East Carolina University as many as eight years to crack through before getting to the metal cannon, according to Jennifer Woodward, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, which oversees the project.

"It was perfect. It's a beautiful day, the crews were out earlier this morning, several boats out there witnessed it," Woodward said. "It looks like it's covered in concretions, with cement all around it, and there will be lots of things attached to it."

Woodward said that in past recoveries of cannons from the ship, bits of rope, lead shot, and gold dust had been found encased with the recovered artifact. Researchers have also found wine glass stems and a leg shackle, likely used in the slave trade, Woodward said. Twelve cannons have been lifted from the ship so far.

Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, who was the captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge, a captured French slave ship. In 1717, he successfully blockaded the harbor in Charleston, S.C., where he demanded money and goods from the townspeople for weeks.

He used Ocracoke on the Outer Banks of North Carolina as his base of operations. It was there that he met his end in 1718.

Lauren Hermley, a researcher with the group, said that Blackbeard likely grounded the ship on purpose before it sank, giving the pirate and his crew time to take off the big ticket items--treasure troves of silver, for example.

He was rumored to have a treasure hidden somewhere, but if he did, the secret died with him. The artifacts that remain are jackpots only to archaeologists and history buffs.

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@shakey More like a surprise to wait and find only to wait for... again. lol

Exactly lol. This is like waking up at christmas, and your parents hand you a present. They say, this is the thing you have always wanted, but you have to wait till the 8th christmas past this one to open it. ARRGGG!

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