The anchor is probably the single most important piece of equipment on any vessel - even a nuclear submarine carries one, and in addition it is one of the most common motifs and symbols on land, appearing in heraldic designs, on pub signs and in churchyard sculpture. This new book explains how this apparently simple piece of equipment developed from a stone with a hole in it to the modern device which is designed to hold the heaviest super-tanker. The author begins the book with those archaeological discoveries that tell us about the earliest and simplest anchors. By the time of the ancient Greeks the anchor had developed to a form which we all now recognise: but two thousand years of evolution have taken place since then and all the developments are described and analysed. In addition, the various functions of anchors are surveyed, from the smallest kedge anchor to the heaviest bower, as well as the most modern power anchors employed on drilling rigs. Their procedures for use on different forms of vessels are explained, the significance of holding grounds described, and tables of anchor sizes given. No nautical archaeologist, naval historian, modelmaker, yachtsman or boatswain can afford to be without this book n it is destined to become the basic reference tool on the subject.