Preserving our Past: HRNM's Anchor, Part 2 of 2

The modern-day journey for one of HRNM’s largest artifacts, a 200-year-old anchor, began in 1993 (read part 1 about the anchor here). In order to treat the anchor and preserve it for the future, Dr. Brad Rodgers of East Carolina University constructed a preservation tank in November 1993. His team built the tank by digging a hole, lining it with cinder blocks, and then pouring concrete to create the tank’s walls. They built an I-beam superstructure over the tank that would allow them to raise and lower the anchor as well as turn it over. The tank held 4,000 gallons of water and was fourteen feet long, nine feet wide, and four-and-a-half feet deep.

The anchor being delivered to HRNM after preservation was completed.

Throughout the process the conservation tank was filled with either distilled water or rainwater. Once the anchor was submerged in this water, conservationists added sodium carbonate and placed steel anodes over the shank and arms of the anchor. The anodes did not make contact with the anchor, but formed a tent-like structure over it instead. An electrical current then ran through the anodes. This complicated procedure allowed the corrosion on the anchor to change from its original state into magnetite or hematite, which reduced the thickness of the corrosion and allowed chlorides to rinse out of the anchor. Conservationists emptied the tank halfway and refilled it with fresh rain or distilled water several times throughout the process. This was continued until all of the salt was removed from the anchor.

Dr. Rodgers estimated that five percent of the anchor’s weight, or sixty pounds, was salt. After the anchor was preserved, it was painted with several protective coatings. On average, the preservation process takes four to six years, but a number of hurricanes delayed the process. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd’s rains contaminated the tank with mud and other debris. After the hurricane Dr. Rodgers and his team decontaminated the tank and re-started the process from the beginning. It was not until December 2005 that the anchor’s preservation was finally completed, and it is now on display at the Naval Museum.

(This blog post was written by HRNM Public Relations Coordinator Susanne Greene.)

Preserving our Past: HRNM's Anchor, Part 1 of 2

One of the collection objects on display at HRNM is a 200-year-old anchor. Its modern-day journey began back in 1993 while USS Kittiwake (ASR 13), a submarine rescue ship, was on a routine operation in the Elizabeth River. Kittiwake recovered the anchor, which dates back to the early 1800s. For twelve years, it was under the care of the Department of Maritime History and Underwater Research at East Carolina University. While the anchor’s journey began back in the early 1800s, there are no markings or records to enlighten us about the anchor’s past.

The large iron loop at the top of the anchor goes through a smaller loop at the top of the shank. The loop, along with the curvature of the anchor's arms, are two of the design elements that show experts that this anchor is from the early 1800s. In addition, the band that wraps around one of the arms of the anchor and is riveted to the bottom of the fluke was a common repair method used in the early 1800s. Although anchors were made out of wrought iron, many were damaged when lowered quickly and their flukes broke as they hit the ocean floor. Anchors were constructed in the Royal Naval Dockyards and created with pieces of iron welded together. The iron was heated to a “white heat” and beaten into the appropriate shape with sledgehammers. The process was not without problems. When the anchors were welded, the hammering did not remove all of the air and bubbles, which created weaknesses in the final product.

Close-up of the anchor

One feature that was not common among the anchors of the early 1800s was a gravity band. One of these bands is placed in the middle of our anchor’s shank. An expert from ECU believes this to be an addition at a later date, perhaps when the anchor was repaired. The anchor’s dimensions, approximately eleven feet tall with six feet between its flukes, led the experts at ECU to believe it is a bower anchor. The name implies its place is at the bow of a ship. Based on the anchor’s weight of approximately 1200 pounds, it may have belonged to a vessel that weighed between 150 and 200 tons.

Stay tuned for more information about the preservation of this historic anchor!

(This blog post was written by HRNM Public Relations Coordinator Susanne Greene.)