Governor Jim Hunt unveiled an exhibit of treasures Thursday afternoon that used to be buried under the sea.
The wreck, centuries old, lies on the ocean floor, off Beaufort. Archaeologists have carefully removed 284 artifacts from the ship. Now some of them are on display for public viewing amidst the busts of some of N.C.'s most famous. The exhibit includes a brass blunderbuss barrel, a sounding weight, cannonballs, a ship's bell dated 1709, and a pewter plate that the infamous pirate himself might have eaten from.
The exhibit will be on display in the Capitol rotunda for one week. It will then head east to tour on the Maritime Heritage Trail.
The final resting place for the artifacts will be the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, but the traveling display is about more than pirates.
Whether the ship is Blackbeard's flagship or not, experts say there's a lot of maritime history in its artifacts.
A video describing the wreck and recovery of artifacts is part of the triangular-shaped exhibit. Officials believe "The Search for Queen Anne's Revenge" program is sure to be a hit with tourists this summer on the N.C. coast.
The Blackbeard exhibit will visit nine N.C. towns and cities including Bath, New Bern, Beaufort and Wilmington.
In the future, it may visit the western part of the state.
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