Archaeologists seeking ancient booty dive to Blackbeard’s pirate ship

WASHINGTON - Archaeologists are once again heading back to the sea off North Carolina’s coast in a continuing effort to recover artefacts from the wreck believed to be Blackbeard’s flagship.

The boat, called Queen Anne’s Revenge, is believed to have sunk in 1718 near Beaufort, N.C.

Archaeologists in the state aim to save a dozen cannons, which are up to 8 feet long and weigh as much as a ton, and the ship’s 1,800-pound anchors by preventing the process that corrodes iron in saltwater.

To do so, they apply skinny aluminium rods to the boat that act as anodes, supplying an electrical charge that inhibits corrosion.

“Visibility on the bottom is about six inches with a dive light and zero without,” Fox News quoted a team member as writing on the restoration effort’s Facebook page.

“Occasional surge shifts you back and forth a few feet. Working on repositioning the 6″ suction and preparing to re-expose the grids covered over by last week’s weather,” the team member stated.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reported that last week’s heavy rain and winds kept the team from investigating the wreck.

QAR archaeological field director Chris Southerly said the team knew it would lose days due to bad weather.

“It’s imperative that we stop the damaging effects of salt water on these treasures,” Southerly said of the underwater corrosion-prevention process.

“This is a good alternative to help stabilize them when in-laboratory space is not available,” he stated. (ANI)