One anchor (length c. 1.8 m, width 0.9 m, weight in excess of 500 kg) was found some 3 km north of ‘En Gedi (map ref. NIG 23799/60099; OIG 18799/10099). The upper part of the anchor’s shank, including the crown, was exposed, though most of it was covered with gypsum and aragonite deposits. Despite the mineral accumulations it is evident that this is an anchor with two arms. Only the wooden core of the lead rod survived. Such anchors are common in the Roman period throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

 

The second anchor (length c. 1.6 m, diam. c. 0.11 m, weight c. 90 kg) was revealed at the mouth of Nahal ‘En Gedi (map ref. NIG 23798/59680; OIG 18798/09680). This is a one-arm anchor made of a wooden shank; a shoot-off branch from the shank serves as the anchor's arm. The crown of the anchor is a rectangular piece of limestone that was still tied with rope to the anchor’s shank. One end of the rope, which was connected to the boat, was still tied to the anchor's crown. Anchors of this type first appeared in the seventh–sixth centuries BCE and were still in use until several hundred years ago.