muskets, blunderbusses or even put into 

 bags and fired out of a cannon," Lawrence 

 says. The latter is described as the 1 8th- 

 century version of the Molatov cocktail. 



"Pirates were interested in antiper- 

 sonnel-type weaponry," he says. "They 

 wanted to cause the crew to surrender with 

 as little damage as possible." 



The closely guarded site is about a 

 mile from Fort Macon's shoreline and 

 1 ,200 yards from what is now the inlet's 

 main channel. Geologists say strong 

 currents and shifting sand have covered 

 and uncovered the upper portion of the 

 wreck many times over the centuries. 



Intersal Inc., a Boca Raton, Fla., 

 treasure-hunting company, found the 

 wreck. The Tar Heel coastline is known to 

 have claimed hundreds of ships, and 

 Intersal initially was hunting a gold-laden 

 Spanish packet that sank in 1750. 



The company began looking for 

 Queen Anne 's Revenge in 1 988, after 

 reportedly uncovering an eyewitness 

 account of the sinking in a London archive. 



North Carolina law dictates that the 

 wreck belongs to the state. Intersal has 

 formed a nonprofit arm to work with North 

 Carolina. Mike Daniel, who found the 

 wreck and now heads the nonprofit group, 

 says the partnership is unusual in the 

 treasure-hunting industry, but Intersal 

 wants the artifacts kept together. Objects 

 from most famous shipwrecks have been 

 split up and sold, he says. 



"This is probably the most important 

 shipwreck in the world, in my opinion, 

 because of the history that surrounds it," he 

 says. Intersal hopes to recoup $300,000 in 

 expenses by selling the story of the find 

 and possibly artifact reproductions. 



When the discovery was announced 

 in 1997, coastal communities such as Bath, 

 Hatteras village, Beaufort and Ocracoke 

 began feuding over which should get the 

 shipwreck goods as a tourist draw. 



State officials say the N.C. Maritime 

 Museum in Beaufort is the most likely 

 repository, but it will be years before any 

 major display is ready. In the meantime, 

 the bell, the blunderbuss barrel and other 

 cleaned artifacts periodically circulate the 

 state in a traveling exhibit. 



Historians and conservationists work to classify and clean the wreck's bounty. 



Jim Bounds, courtesy ft/The News & Observer 



The cleaned artifacts circulate throughout North Carolina, 

 Much to the delight of pirate fanciers. 



Candict Cusic. courtesy n/The News & Observer 



16 SPRING 1999 



