29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2000-year-old anchor discovered at the bottom of the North Sea

A possible Iron Age anchor made from wrought iron was found at the bottom of the southern North Sea during survey works for ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm.

The artifact is thought to date from the Roman or late Iron Age, putting it between 1,600 and 2,000 years old.  It is thought that the discovery could provide evidence of ancient Roman seafaring and trading in the southern North Sea, off the coast of the East of England.

The anchor, which was over two meters long and weighed about 100 kilograms, is thought to have been estimated from a 500–600 ton ship, possibly one of the larger merchant ships in the Roman fleet.

The anchor most likely came from a sizable merchant ship in the Roman fleet because it shares several characteristics with anchors used on ships during the Roman Imperial period.

The Classis Britannica was the first British navy and the regional fleet of the Roman province of Britannia. It operated from the middle of the first century AD to the middle of the third century AD, despite the fact that very little physical maritime evidence has been found. As in Agricola’s campaign into Caledonia (Scotland), where the Classis would have scouted the coastline and resupplied the advancing legions as they pressed further north into tribal territories, erecting forts and temporary encampments, the navy’s function was to provide coastal support to land forces.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Roman anchor 140 feet below sea level.
Roman anchor 140 feet below sea level. Photo: ScottishPower

The fleet’s primary focus during the final years of Roman rule in Britain was defending the Eastern and Southern coasts from Frankish piracy and Saxon raids against coastal towns known as the Saxonicum or Saxon Shore.

The anchor has first found in 2018 during marine seabed survey works by ScottishPower Renewables for its East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm around 40km off the Suffolk coast.

Protected by an exclusion zone installed on the seabed during construction works and monitored using remote underwater technology due to concerns over its long-term preservation, the anchor was safely and carefully recovered from the water in 2021.

The anchor is the most recent of numerous significant historical and archaeological discoveries made while building the wind farm. Among these is a missing German submarine from World War I, numerous artifacts from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, and Medieval periods discovered during onshore excavation work, and a prehistoric monument dating back more than 4,000 years, complete with a rare Neolithic wooden trackway and platform and an ancient wild cattle (Auroch) skull radiocarbon-dating to around 6,000 years.

 It is currently undergoing detailed imaging and analysis to better determine its age and will eventually go on permanent display in collaboration with the Colchester and Ipswich Museums.

The conservation work is being carried out by ScottishPower Renewables’ commissioned specialists Maritime Archaeology Ltd, in collaboration with Mary Rose Archaeological Services, and with advice and guidance from Historic England’s material science experts throughout the process.

Cover Photo: ScottishPower

Related Articles

Rare Gold Coin from Reign of Byzantine Emperor Justin II Unearthed at Tuida Fortress in Sliven, Bulgaria

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

A rare gold coin dating back to the reign of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justin II (r. 565–578 CE) has...

Ancient golden neck ring found in Denmark

24 April 2022

24 April 2022

A one-of-a-kind golden neck ring from the Germanic Iron Age (400-550 A.D.) has been discovered in a field not far...

Egypt discovers five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in Saqqara necropolis

19 March 2022

19 March 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently the discovery of five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in the Saqqara archaeological...

1,500-Year-Old Stained Glass and Mosaics Discovered at Harran Cathedral Excavation in Türkiye

7 February 2025

7 February 2025

Recent excavations at the historic Harran archaeological site, which is included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List, have yielded rare...

What Lies Beneath Bor Ovoo? Turkish and Mongolian Researchers Set to Unearth Ancient Nomadic Traditions

20 July 2025

20 July 2025

Renowned historian Prof. Dr. Kürşad Yıldırım, a leading expert in Central Asian nomadic cultures from Istanbul University, is spearheading a...

Remains of Norman Stone Tower Defending Chichester Castle Discovered

5 June 2025

5 June 2025

A remarkable archaeological excavation in Chichester’s historic Priory Park has uncovered the remains of a Norman-era stone tower, known as...

An extraordinary votive treasure was unearthed in the ancient Roman bath sanctuary of San Casciano Dei Bagni in Italy

7 August 2022

7 August 2022

In San Casciano Dei Bagni, a Tuscan hill town famous for its hot springs, 40 miles southeast of Siena, unique...

In Russia, archaeologists 2100-Year-Old Medallion of Goddess Aphrodite and a warrior tomb unearthed

30 October 2022

30 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a silver medallion depicting the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Roma Venüs) in a 2100-year-old grave of a priestess...

Unique and very well-preserved prehistoric engravings found in southwestern Catalonia

23 March 2023

23 March 2023

Significant prehistoric rock art has been discovered in La Febro, in southwestern Catalonia. The team that discovered the art inside...

Archaeologists Found Evidence of a Lost Temple in Chorazin Linked to Jesus’ Healing Miracles

12 August 2024

12 August 2024

Recent archaeological excavations in Israel may have unearthed the remains of a long-lost temple, believed to be the very site...

Isotopic Evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups in Morocco

30 April 2024

30 April 2024

It has long been accepted wisdom that hunter-gatherer societies lived primarily off of meat. But fresh data from an innovative...

The First Dinosaurs Discovered in Japan From the Late Cretaceous Period

30 April 2021

30 April 2021

Yamatosaurus Izanagii, a new genus, and species of hadrosaur or duck-billed dinosaur have been discovered on one of Japan’s southern...

Native American artifacts from 1100 AD found in North America’s First City

20 June 2024

20 June 2024

Cahokia is the largest and most significant urban settlement of the Mississippian culture, known for creating massive earthen platform mounds...

Archaeologists Uncover lost Indigenous Settlement of Sarabay, Florida

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

The University of North Florida archaeological team is now quite sure that they have uncovered Sarabay, a lost Indigenous northeast...

2000-Year-Old Marvel: The Mystery of the Parthian Battery

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

The Parthian Battery is believed to be about 2000 years old (from the Parthian period, roughly 250 BCE to CE...