Field Visit

Date April 2013

Event ID 1038751

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1038751

Project SAMPHIRE

An anchor was accidentally recovered in the mid-1990s during dredging by the Sparkling Star, a Kinlochbervie-based fishing boat. The anchor was recovered near the wreck of the Manipur, a well-known local wreck and fishing spot known by locals as the copper wreck. However, the Manipur is a much more recent wreck (sunk in 1940) and is clearly unrelated to this anchor, although the anchor was reportedly dredged from a location immediately adjacent to the Manipur. The findspot is very isolated and without navigational hazards so it seems to be entirely coincidental that wreck material of two very different dates should be recovered in such close proximity.

The anchor now lies in the garden of a house at Balchrick. It was spotted at this location by a recreational diver, Derek Dillon, who reported it to Wessex Archaeology marine archaeologists who subsequently called to his home to discuss another site in Loch Laxford. A field visit was undertaken as part of the outreach phase of Project SAMPHIRE in May 2013. During the subsequent fieldwork phase in August of 2013 the SAMPHIRE team called to the house in Balchrick where the anchor is now kept and spoke to the current owner, Hywell Davies. The anchor was initially landed on the pier at Kinlochbervie and was then transported to Balchrick in a coal lorry.

Mr Davies passed on copies of correspondence with the National Maritime Museum, dated 16th April 1997. The museum described the anchor as an Old Admiralty Longshanks Anchor of a type in use until the early 18th century. The letter states that this type of anchor:

'held well but weakness at the junction of the arms and shank resulted in breakage there, the drop hammer used in welding often failed to expel air bubbles. As a result a number of anchors were returned to Admiralty Dockyards for repairs during the period… It is unfortunately not possible to relate an anchor to particular ship or manufacturer - as well as the Admiralty Dockyards a number of small forges produced anchors'.

A full set of measurements were made on the anchor by SAMPHIRE archaeologists and a photogrammetric survey was carried out. The photogrammetric survey revealed a slight curve to the shank of the anchor and also highlighted damage to one of the flukes, one side of which had been bent inwards. It is not known whether this damage occurred before or during recovery by the dredger. No attempt to conserve or paint the anchor had been made at the time of the survey and it appeared to be in a state of slow decay.

Anchor type: Long shank

Period: 16 - 18th century

Certainty: Probable

Length of shank: 3 m

Maximum width at top of shank: 14 cm

Maximum width at bottom of shank: 14 cm

Amplitude of the arms: 1.82 m

Fluke width: 45 cm

Fluke length: 61 cm

Diameter of the ring: 47 cm

Diameter of the eye of the ring: 44 cm

Width or thickness of the ring: 1.5 cm