Famed Pirate's Cannon Possibly Raised From Deep

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. – State underwater archaeologists on Monday raised a cannon from a sunken ship that could have belonged to the pirate Blackbeard.

The roughly 8-foot-long cannon weighs about 2,500 pounds and was pulled from an ongoing excavation at the presumed site of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

Fay Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Cultural Resources, said the crew finished bringing it to the surface early Monday afternoon.

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The cannon will be on display Wednesday at the N.C. Maritime Museum expansion site at Gallants Channel in Beaufort.

Historians believe Blackbeard's ship — the Queen Anne's Revenge — ran aground in Beaufort Inlet in June 1718.

State archaeologists have researched the shipwreck for 10 years, but are still looking for a indisputable link to Blackbeard.

Their current three-month expedition began in August and is expected to recover thousands of artifacts.