In Images: Divers Explore Pirate Ship Queen Anne's Revenge

Qar Crew Artifacts Lift

Diving archaeologists are in the midst of a monthlong expedition to the sunken wreckage of the pirate Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge. Before bad weather delayed the mission, the diving team was hard at work recovering artifacts at the wreckage site. [Related: Dive to Rescue Blackbeard's Pirate Ship Hits Snag ]

Above, a diver brings up a load of artifacts that are covered in concrete-like accretions and shells to the recovery vessel on Oct. 5. The divers cannot immediately tell the identity of the artifacts, said mission leader Mark Wilde-Ramsing of the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology. The load will be x-rayed and cracked open to recover any valuables.

Qar Crew Suitingup

Divers suit up for a plunge to the wreckage on Oct. 5. The monthlong mission began on Oct. 3, but was delayed by bad weather on Oct. 10 .

Qar Crew Topside

A crew working on the ship hauls in a load of artifacts recovered from the wreckage site on Oct. 5.

Qar Divers Working

Divers work with a "dredge hose" on a previous dive mission. The hose sucks up small objects and artifacts to the recovery vessel.

Qar Grid

The mission will also see how badly Hurricane Irene damaged the wreck. Above, a crew is handing down the grid that is used for site mapping. The early results suggest the Queen Anne's Revenge avoided any serious damage by the storm, Wilde-Ramsing said.

Qar Laurel Seaborn Ellen Promise

Students sift through the sluice from the dredge hose, looking for artifacts.

Qar Nesting Weights

The divers found a lid to a nesting weight, which were used as counterbalances to weigh medicine or other powder onboard the ship (example nesting weight shown above). Archaeologists have discovered a nearly complete set of the nesting weights, minus the lids, at the site.