The anchor is one of the most important pieces of equipment on any vessel and one of the most common motifs and symbols on land--appearing in heraldic designs, on pub signs, and in churchyard sculpture, among other places. This book explains how the first simple pierced stones developed into the modern devices of today that hold the heaviest super tankers. It begins with the archaeological discoveries of the earliest and simplest anchors and progresses to the time of the ancient Greeks, when the anchor had developed to the form we all now recognize. Developments over the next two thousand years are then described and analyzed.
All of the various functions of anchors are discussed, from the smallest kedge anchor to the heaviest bower, as are their uses on different types of vessels and the significance of holding grounds. Tables of anchor sizes are included. The book also deals with related matters like anchor manufacture and handling, the introduction of chain cables, and the methods of testing and marking anchors. No nautical archaeologist, naval historian, modelmaker, yachtsman, or boatswain should be without this basic reference tool on the subject.
