Stone anchors from Sindhudurg Fort on the west coast of India

Introduction Seafarers have used anchors since they ventured into the sea. Various types of pierced stones were used before the manufacture of metal anchors. In India various stone anchors have been discovered during the course of exploration and excavations. Inshore explorations have been carried out in the Malwan region of Maharashtra on the west coast of India, as part of the project, 'Exploration and Excavation of Shipwrecks on the West Coast of India'. Sindhudurg (the Ocean Fort) was built between AD 1664 and 1667 by Shivaji, the Maratha king on a low lying island, about 1 km off Malwan (Fig. 1). The bay between Malwan jetty and Sindhudurg is very