Find Spot MPM2080 - Admiralty longshank anchor, Portsmouth Harbour

Late-18th to mid-19th century Admiralty longshank anchor recovered by a crane barge in Portsmouth Harbour in 2016 during the Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project.

Anchor, possibly made of wrough iron. Either an Old Pattern Admiralty Long Shank anchor which was common from the late-18th to early-19th century or a Pering’s improved long shanked anchor, developed from 1813. The sharp angle between the arms and the shank at the crown and the size of the palms suggested it was more likely to be an Old Pattern Admiralty Long Shank anchor.

This type of anchor was widely used by the Royal Navy up until c. 1840 when the Improved Admiralty design progressively took place. Its position close to the entrance of Basin No.1 suggests that it could have been used by a vessel waiting to manoeuvre in and out of the basin.

UID: BWL1_0032 in Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project report.

Wessex Archaeology, 2018, Queen Elizabeth Class Capital Dredge Project Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth: Archaeological Assessment Report (Unpublished document). SPM646.