Topics Related to Cultural Resources (DCR)
In March 1718, the HMS Phoenix arrived in New Providence carrying the King’s Pardon, and among the first to sign was none other than Blackbeard’s former commander Benjamin Hornigold. Hornigold arrived on the scene as a privateer before the island of New Providence became a pirate haven and attempted to continue his legitimacy as such by claiming to only attack French and Spanish ships, well after official privateering rights were revoked.
If you thought this would be a post about Blackbeard’s thought process or piratical tactics... you would be wrong. Instead, this post will discuss arguably one of the most important structural features of Blackbeard’s flagship: the head, or toilet, commonly referred to as the “seat of ease.”
When we think of glass today, we mostly think of something like clear, flat window glass – impervious to water and unchanging across the years. Sure, if someone hits a baseball through it the window will break, but there’s not much you can do to chemically damage the glass itself… right?Glass is made of three major components: silica (from sand), a flux (potassium or sodium compounds), and a stabilizer (calcium, magnesium, and lead compounds).
November 17, 2018, 3pm - 6:30pm
Fascinated by pirates? Intrigued by archaeology? Curious about artifact conservation? Register for Saturday at the QAR Lab on November 17, 2018 for a FREE guided tour from the archaeologists and conservators responsible for conserving, documenting, and investigating Blackbeard’s flagship!