Smyrna times., 1898-07-13
PRIMITIVE ANCHORS.
STONES AND WOODEN TUBES FILLED
WITH LEAD FIRST USED.

The Earliest Anchors Made on the Hook
Principle Had Only One FIuke-Crude !
Devices That Are Still Used In Different
Parts of the World.
There appear to be two ideas which |
have led up to the invention of the
modern anchor: ~ the idea of attach
ing the vessel by means of a rope or
chain to weight sufficiently heavy to
keep the vessel from moving when the
weight has sunk to the bottom Of the
sea, and (2) the idea of using a hook
instead of Tor in addition toy the weight,
SO as to catch in the bottom. The Eng
lish word anchor is practically the same
as the Latin ancOra and the Greek ang-
kura, meaning "that which has an an
gle, from the root ank, bent.
The earliest anchors made on the
hook principle probably only had one
f1uke instead of two. In the "Sussex
Archeil. Coll. " there is an illustration
of what has been surmised to be an
anchor made out of the natural forked
branch of tree. 1t was found with an
ancient British canoe at Burpham, Sus-
sex. There is in the British museum an
interesting leaden anchor with two
fiukes bearing Greek inscription. Its
date is about 90 B. @. and it was found
off the coast of Cyrene
The invention of the anchor with two
hukes is attributed by Pausanius to
Midas, by Pliny to Eupalamas, and by
Strabo to Anacharsis. Diodorus Siculus
states that the first anchors were wood
en- tubes filled with lead, while another
classical writer says that before the in
PRODUCTION of metal anchors Jumps Of
stone with a hole through the middle
for the attachment of the cable were
used
The form Of the anchors used by the
Greeks and Romans is well known from
representations on Trajan's column and
in the catacombs at Rome as an early
Christian symbol This form does not
seem to have changed materially for
quite a Thousand years, as is shown by
the Bayeux tapestry.
Some very primitive kinds of anchors
are in use at the present day in different
parts of the world, and study of their
construction may throw some light on
the evolution of the modern anchor.
An anchor which came from japan
consists of a natural forked branch of {
tree, slightly improved artificially, 81
as to make hook. Two round bars art
fixed at right angles to the shank, anC
to these two ordinary beach pebbles ART
tied. The length of the anchor is 2 fee
8 inches the width across the hook
inches, and across the transverse bars
foot inches The stones are from t.
inches in diameter and inches thick
Another anchor was in use quite re
Gently in the Arran islands, off the ives
coast of Galway 1t is constructed of
sloping bar at each side and three cross
bars, forming figure not unlike tn
isosceles triangle in Euclid's pons as1
norum. The lowest of the three cross
bars is of square section and is fixed b
iron spikes at each side to the slopin
pieces so as to prevent them spreadin
outward. The stone. which acts as
: weight, is clipped by means of the tw
side pieces. being held tightly by tw
spliced rings of rope passing under I'll
upper crossbarS.
: These crossbars are of round sectiC
and project at each side thus keepiI
the rope rings from slipping upwar,
The cable is fixed to the middle of Il
lowest transverse bar and is carried I
on one side of the stone, then betweC
, the two sloping boards. and final
through loop fixed to q hole at the t.
! of the anchor The boards at each si
are foot lOA inches long and Il
stone foot inches long.
1t may seem strange that such prin
= tive looking cOntrivances should co
tinue to be used by fishermen who ha
full knowledge of every modern a
pliance connected with navigation a
= vessels, yet there are good reasons w
they should have survived. Where
sea or river bed is rocky anchors &
easily lost This is a serious mat
when the anchor is of iron and of sol
j, value, but if it is constructed like tht
- described there is not much difficu
or expense i'll replacing it. A bea
s. stone and few bits of wood are alw;
at hand, and the skilled workmansl
required to fashion them into a W
IV serviceable anchor is but small
Thus it is that under certain con
tions primitive appliances must alwi
ES hold their own against modern inv
tions When, as often happens, a neV
introduced contrivance gets out Of
der, it generally involves much grea
JE loss of time and more expense to
ere place it than if it were of simpler C
nee struction and capable of being made
an ordinary workman out of materi
- easily procurable on the spot.
Highly civilized man has much
~ learn from his prehistoric ancestors
from uncultured races still existing
to how he should act in an emerge
when deprived of his usual applian
-Reliquary and Illustrated Arche
gist