Archaeologists claim to have raised the cannon from a ship believed to have belonged to the legendary pirate Blackbeard.

The 18ft (2m) long cannon was excavated from the sunken remains of a ship presumed to have been the Queen Anne's Revenge, which is widely believed to have run aground at Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina, the United States, in June 1718.

An ongoing underwater excavation at the six metre deep maritime site is being conducted by state archaeologists and is expected to result in the recovery of thousands of items from the ship.

Previous excavations have unearthed the ship's bell, the barrel of a gun and cannon balls, but experts are working to find concrete evidence that the wreck once belonged to Edward Teach, or Blackbeard.

Born in Bristol around 1680, Blackbeard is reported to have been involved in the surrender of countless ships and was eventually killed in a duel with Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard in November 1718.

Operating in the Caribbean Sea and Western Atlantic during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 18th century, Blackbeard is one of the most notorious pirates, having gone to sea at a very early age.