Cannon From Notorious Pirate Blackbeards Ship Is Lifted From The Seabed After 300 Years | Sky News

1:23am UK, Thursday October 27, 2011

A one-ton cannon from the wreck of Blackbeard's pirate ship has been raised from the seabed after nearly 300 years.

The cannon was onboard the Queen Anne's Revenge which ran aground and sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1718.

Blackbeard, whose real name was thought to be Edward Teach, became one of the world's most notorious and feared pirates as he roamed seas around the West Indies and the east coast of the American colonies.

The British pirate's reign of terror only lasted two years before the Royal Navy was sent out to sea to capture him.

He was eventually killed in a battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard who cut off his head and hung it from the bow of his ship as a warning to other pirates.

When Blackbeard died he took the secret of where his treasure was hidden with him.

The Queen Anne's Revenge was found in 1996 and over 250,000 artifacts have already been recovered from it.

The cannon is encrusted in sand and salt from its years under the sea

The cannon will be put on public display for one day before it is taken to a laboratory for tests.

After almost three centuries underwater, the cannon has become encrusted in sand, barnacles, salt and shells.

Blackbeard has inspired books and films over the years.

Parallels have been drawn between his character and Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

via news.sky.com