Topics Related to Queen Anne's Revenge

After 300 years on the sea bed, the condition of objects is highly variable. When objects are in very good condition it’s easy to tell what they are made of, but when things have rusted, rotted, and decayed away that gets a lot harder.

After resting on the ocean floor for 300 years, it is only natural that the artifacts would become salty. The salt in seawater is soluble (dissolved in a liquid, such as water) which allows it to enter most of the materials found on the site.

La Concorde, later Queen Anne’s Revenge was what is known as a square-rigged vessel, meaning the primary sails used to propel the vessel were set perpendicular to the keel of the vessel.

In following along on our adventures in conservation, you may have learned a new term often heard in the lab: concretion. As described in previous entries, concretions can contain a wealth of artifacts, made of many different materials.