Historical and archaeological contributions to the study of the standardization process in the anchor industry of the 18th century European maritime powers

Abstract

Anchors were an element of major importance throughout the history of navigation. In the 18th century, European warships used various types and relied on them to anchor and perform other maneuvers. The anchor industry was at that time one of the most complex expressions of iron forging technology and, under a process of increasing industrialization, it was subject to several changes. In this article, we examine the characteristics of the anchors of the main Maritime powers in terms of design and manufacturing. In light of the available documentary and material sources, we discuss aspects related to the process of standardization and technological change in the anchor industry. Complementarily, we present some guidelines for the study of anchors of archaeological provenance.