Arrrrrr...chaeology and the quest for booty

It appears archaeologists have found the remains of Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, off the coast of North Carolina and that underwater excavations are going to take place to bring up about 30% of the remains by the end of this year. Here's the whole story.

Pirates rank in A Very Remote Period Indeed's list of things we dig (eh!) second only to archaeology and, possibly, zombies. So I couldn't help but link to this. Plus, it gives me an excuse to use the term booty in a post (let's see if it boosts traffic by drawing assorted booty enthusiasts).

The article includes some details about the schedule and logistics of this project, as well as a list of items included in "Blackbeard's booty," including cannons, gold flakes and, my personal favorite, "Metal syringes most likely used to administer mercury to treat venereal disease"... which I guess is a potential side-effect of getting too much booty! Yikes, though.