The wreck of the pirate Blackbeard‘s Queen Anne’s Revenge, which sank in 1718, was believed to be discovered in 1996.   After 15 years of excavation, the State of North Carolina and the North Carolina Maritime Museum announced today that they had confirmed that the ship wreck is absolutely Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

It’s official: Ship found off N.C. coast was Blackbeard’s

This announcement dovetails with a new exhibit, Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge, which opens today at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, North Carolina , which displays artifacts from the shipwreck and several models of Blackbeard’s ship.  (See our post from last week – Raising the Anchor from Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge.)

On the Trail of the Pirate Blackbeard

The new exhibit will feature newly released key artefacts including a whole wine bottle, sail cloth, glass beads, cannon tompions, clothing items, cask parts and French ceramics. Old favourites such as cannon and weapons from previous displays will be featured as well.

Work is also under-way to retrieve an anchor from the wreck. Project director Mark Wilde-Ramsing said the anchor is the second-largest on the site. The team will attempt to lift the 4 metre long anchor during a project that will last until the 3rd June 2011.

In addition to the exhibition at the Maritime Museum in Beaufort, visitors can also visit “Hammock House” where Blackbeard established his headquarters.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing the article along.