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Posted on 10/25/2026 7:18:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Science Norway reports that a stone with a groove running all the way around it was discovered near an islet off the coast of western Norway that is the site of Hespriniholmen, a greenstone quarry estimated to be between 5,000 and 9,000 years old. Greenstone was used to make axes that have been unearthed in western and eastern Norway. Arild Skjæveland Vivås of the Stavanger Maritime Museum said that the team of researchers found the stone, which weighs more than 60 pounds, on an underwater pile of quarry waste. They fastened a rope around the groove and pulled it up to the surface. "It seemed very well balanced," Vivås said. "I'm absolutely convinced that this served as an anchor," added Leif Inge Åstveit of the University Museum of Bergen. The researchers explained that weather conditions at Hespriniholmen are harsh, and that the islet could have been visited only when there was little wind. "People came here to fish, hunt mammals, and perhaps collect eggs on the islet," Vivås said. "And then they discovered this source of greenstone. The fact that someone figured out they could quarry stone from an islet located far out at sea is quite extraordinary. They kept coming back for hundreds of generations," he explained. To read about Roman stone anchors recovered from England's River Wear, go to "Anchors Aweigh."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
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Grooved stoneE. Samuelsen/Bergen Maritime Museum
Hope it was one of the anchors on CNN or ABC
Ask Brian Williams, he was probably there when it was lost.
"I took a licking and kept on ticking."
(John Cameron Swayze)
Next up, Betty Furness is going to evaluate the anchor’s effectiveness.
The article says the quarry was estimated to be between 5,000 and 9,000 years old, but I wonder how old the anchor is?
I don’t dare say groovy. Not with this crowd.
The Roman ones were from river traffic while the Nords traversed a sea, so that likely accounts for the added weight and consideration for balance. I'm guessing that that the groove held a strip of leather which in turn was attached to the rope or chain, as the natural shrinkage when soaked would make the anchor near slip-proof.
Here's a tool carved from the greenstone they kept making the trip for.
While they had a rich tradition of wood and stone carving I didn't see any examples of this type of stone used for that. Hardness is great for tools, tough for art.
Didn’t work.................
Anchor? Was it Walter Conkrite?
I was about too!......................Far out, Man!...................
They were building boats that long ago.A point that was not spoken.
I wonder what a stone age boat looked like in Norway 5000 to 9000 years ago?
Thanks, SunkenCiv!
Anchor was fine. Ropemaking was not keeping up.
My pleasure!
The presence of paleolithic artifacts on Flores Island, which hasn’t been connected to the mainland during human times, shows that the use of watercraft is 100s of 1000s of years old. Travel by rivers has remained popular, even necessary, and seems likely as the origin of it. Watching an old log float by probably was the light bulb moment in many places and times.
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