PIRATES IN THE GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC: CONSERVATION AT THE QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE LAB

Abstract

The Anthropology Department at East Carolina University offers an internship option for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of a master’s degree. As a result of the academic partnership between East Carolina University and the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Laboratory, an internship in archaeological conservation was made possible. While conservation and archaeology are often viewed as separate disciplines, the methods and theory in conservation are integral to the goals of archaeology both in the field and the laboratory. Since 2003, the QAR Conservation Lab on ECU’s West Research Campus has served as the primary facility for the management and conservation of artifacts recovered from the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck in Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. An internship at the QAR Lab provides students with hands-on exposure to the routine operations of a conservation facility. This includes daily and weekly duties, as well as personal projects and special artifact treatments. The skills developed as a result of this experience are highly important for archaeologists in both field and laboratory settings, but also for archaeologists responsible for the management of museum collections.