The history of the anchor dates back millennia. The most ancient anchors were probably rocks and many rock anchors have been discovered originating from at least the Bronze Age.[1] Many modern moorings remain reliant upon a large rock as the primary element of their design. However, using pure mass to resist the forces of a storm only works well as a permanent mooring; trying to move a large enough rock to another bay is nearly impossible.
The ancient Greeks used baskets of stones, large sacks filled with sand, and wooden logs filled with lead, which, according to Apollonius Rhodius and Stephen of Byzantium, were formed of stone; and Athenaeus states that they were sometimes made of wood. Such anchors held the vessel merely by their weight and by their friction along the bottom. Lashing tree branches to the stone formed teeth or "flukes", to fasten themselves into the bottom. Advances in woodworking and metallurgy encouraged development of improved shapes for more compact, durable, as well as efficient anchors.