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A Typological Assessment of Anchors Used in Northern Europe During the Early and High Middle Ages, CE 750 - 1300

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A Typological Assessment of Anchors Used in Northern Europe During the Early and High Middle Ages, CE 750 - 1300 A Typological Assessment of Anchors used in Northern Europe During the Early and High Middle Ages, CE 750 - 1300 Daniel Claggett A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Maritime Archaeology. College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Flinders University of South Australia 2017 Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 9 Declaration of Candidate ...................................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Aims............................................................................................................................................. 12 1.2 Project Rationale and Significance .............................................................................................. 13 1.3 Study Area ................................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 15 2. Background ................................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Anchor Etymology and Depiction in Primary Literary Sources ................................................... 16 2.2 Cultural Contact and Seafaring in Northern Europe: CE 400 – 800 ............................................ 18 2.3 Cultural Contact and Seafaring in the Mediterranean: 400 BCE – CE 600 .................................. 20 3. Literature Review .............................................................................................................................. 23 3.1 Anchors as an archaeological resource ....................................................................................... 23 3.2 Development of the anchor in the Europe ................................................................................. 23 The Mediterranean ....................................................................................................................... 24 Northern Europe ........................................................................................................................... 25 3.2.1 The origins of iron anchor technology in northern Europe ..................................................... 28 3.3 Anchor typologies: History of development ............................................................................... 29 The Mediterranean ....................................................................................................................... 29 Northern Europe ........................................................................................................................... 31 4. Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 33 4.1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................ 33 4.1.1 Anchor Database and Data Collection ..................................................................................... 33 4.2 Anchor Recording ........................................................................................................................ 34 4.3 Anchor Classification ................................................................................................................... 36 4.4 Limitations and Constraints ........................................................................................................ 36 5. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 38 5.2 Pre-Viking Anchor Types ............................................................................................................. 38 The Bulbury Anchor ...................................................................................................................... 38 The Nydam Anchor ....................................................................................................................... 39 The Priestside Anchor ................................................................................................................... 39 5.3 Viking-Era Anchors ...................................................................................................................... 40 1 5.3.1 Viking Anchors (Type 1) ........................................................................................................... 40 The Oseberg Anchor ..................................................................................................................... 40 The Blackfriars Anchor .................................................................................................................. 41 Strø Mølle Anchor ......................................................................................................................... 42 The Hananger Anchor ................................................................................................................... 43 The Ribe Anchor ............................................................................................................................ 44 5.3.2 Viking Anchors (Type 2) ........................................................................................................... 46 The Ladby Anchor ......................................................................................................................... 46 The Arkona Anchor Fragment ....................................................................................................... 47 The Sigtuna Anchor ....................................................................................................................... 48 The Vestnes Anchor ...................................................................................................................... 49 The Kalmar Anchor ........................................................................................................................ 49 5.4 Post-Viking Anchor Types............................................................................................................ 50 6. Discussion .......................................................................................................................................... 55 6.1 Typological Assessment in Northern Europe: Benefits and Limitations ..................................... 55 6.2 Cultural and Economic Influences on Iron Anchor Design in Northern Europe ......................... 57 Cultural and Economic Influences on Iron Anchor Design: The Mediterranean .......................... 57 Cultural and Economic Influence on Iron Anchor Design: Scandinavia ........................................ 59 6.3 Future Work and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 61 Case Study: Absolute dating and typological assessment of the Camuscross anchor from the Isle of Skye, Scotland ........................................................................................................................... 62 7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 65 References ............................................................................................................................................ 67 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 77 Appendix A: Medieval Iron Anchor Database ................................................................................... 77 2 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Greek and Phoenician towns and colonies, highlighting the trade routes between the Mediterranean and Britain. Figure 1.2: The Camuscross anchor, found in 2009 on the Isle of Skye. Figure 1.3: The study area, with boundaries surrounding the areas limit. Figure 2.1: One of the earliest depictions of a likely stone weight-anchor from the Sahure burial temple relief, 25th century BCE Figure 2.2: The relief from the Unas Pyramid, depicting a likely stone weight-anchor at the vessel’s bow, 24th century BCE. Figure 2.3: Roman currency depicting most likely a wooden anchor, 3rd century BCE Figure 2.4: Coin minted by Seleucos I depicting a wooden anchor, 3rd century BCE Figure 2.5: Drawing of a detail of the Tunis Tapestry showing an anchor stowed at a ship’s bow, 16th century CE Figure 2.6: The seal of Winchelsea, depicting a large anchor with a prominent stock on the ships stern,
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