During an archaeological dig on Hatteras Island in 1998, archaeologists discovered a 10-carat gold English signet ring from the 16th century, among other artifacts. The discovered ring was the first material connection between The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island and the Algonquian peoples on Croatan Island. In 2011, underwater archaeologists raised the anchors of the Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship vessel of Blackbeard, near Beaufort.