The first anchors were probably made of stone. The disk-shaped stones had at least one hole in
the middle, to attach the line, and the stone anchors probably could serve as ballast as well. Stone
anchors have been used in parts of the world until historical times. In Roman times, in the
Mediterranean, ship anchors were made of either lead and wood, or entirely of iron.
 Stone
anchors. Museo Archeologico, Palermo, Italy. |
|
 Roman
lead stock anchors with metal fluke braces, reconstructed with modern wood. Museo Archeologico,
Palermo, Italy. |
Anchor of Greek-Roman type off Cefalù, Sicily. Photo courtesy Gianfranco Purpura,
University of Palermo. |
|
Lead stock anchor from Nemi ship, 5 m long (c
40 AD). |
Reconstructed iron anchor from Nemi ship, 4 m
long (c 40 AD). |
|
|
After Antiquity, European anchors are mostly made of iron, often with a wooden stock. From the
19th century, the stock was made of iron instead of wood. Also, the anchor rope was replaced by the
anchor chain.
Iron anchor from Cefalù Byzantine wreck,
6th century AD. Photo courtesy Gianfranco Purpura, University of Palermo. |
|
Iron anchor of the
Oseberg ship (c 850 AD). |
Wooden stock iron anchor of the Pandora (1791). |
|
|
Links
Text in Swedish
Literature
- Gerhard Kapitän's article on anchors in IJNA vol 13 1984.
Per Åkesson, November 1999 |
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