In addition to tonnes of sand and shells, the workers dredging in Road Harbour recently brought up a piece of Virgin Islands history: an anchor that has likely lain at the bottom of the harbour since the era of Napoleon.

Famous anchors around the world If the Virgin Islands turns the recently discovered anchor into an attraction, it could join many such famous anchors around the world. A few are listed below. Bianca C — St. George’s Harbour, Grenada Called the Titanic of the Caribbean, the MV Bianca C was completed in 1949, and it was operating as a cruise ship when it sank after an explosion in the engine room in 1961. Both the anchors, which sank in St. George’s Harbour, and the vessel itself, which was towed as far as Grand Anse before it took on too much water and also sank, are popular dive sites. Ehime Maru — Honolulu, Hawaii The anchor serves as a memorial for the nine people, including four high school students, who were killed aboard the fisheries training vessel when the USS Greenville collided with it near Oahu, Hawaii in 2001. Queen Anne’s Revenge — Beaufort, North Carolina The wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was believed to have been owned by the famous pirate Blackbeard, was discovered in 1996 off the North Carolina coast. The ship’s largest anchor is being restored at East Carolina University, but it will eventually join the rest of the artefacts uncovered with the wreck at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. USS Hartford — Fort Gaines, Alabama Launched in 1858, the steamer served in the United States Civil War and later patrolled the Pacific before being decommissioned in 1890 and eventually rebuilt. Today, the ship’s anchor sits at a historic fort near Mobile, Alabama, alongside other items from the Civil War.  “The old anchor” — Tate Hill Pier, North Yorks, United Kingdom The pier itself dates to 1190, but “the old anchor,” as it is called, is displayed at the Whitby Pier because it shows the wooden stocks commonly used on anchors during the 18th Century. The large anchor discussed in the main story also would have had a wooden shank.

“This is a spectacular find. I’ve been in this game for 25 years now, and I’ve never seen this before,” said Dr. Michael Kent, an instructor with the VI Studies Department who specialises in undersea archaeology.

The anchor looks like an iron fishhook that’s been blown up to cartoonish proportions: It’s about 13 feet from bottom to top, with fluked points about five feet across.

“I’ve never seen an anchor this size come out of the water before,” Dr. Kent said Monday morning on a visit to the cruise pier project construction site. “They didn’t get much bigger than this.”

Based on the design of the anchor, which includes an uncommon iron hinge, he estimates it dates back to sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s.

“I’m guessing that this is Napoleonic era, like 1790 to 1815,” Dr. Kent said.

Technically, the anchor belongs to the BVI Ports Authority, whose officers have consulted with Dr. Angel Smith, head of the VI Studies Department, so they know what to do with it.

“Basically, Dr. Smith said we’ve got to put it straight back into the water,” said BVIPA Public Relations Officer April Glasgow.

Outside of the seawater where the anchor has sat for hundreds of years, its condition could worsen, but returned to the water along with some lead anodes to help break down the rust and other build-up, it could be restored in a similar manner as cannons around the territory, Dr. Kent said.

Ms. Glasgow said BVIPA officials hope to eventually restore the anchor and display it at the cruise pier.

“We’re going to do our best to restore it and have it placed in a great spot,” she said.

Dredgers also recovered several feet of the thick chain attached to the anchor. The anchor would have been attached to the ship with a thick hemp rope that has since rotted away, Dr. Kent explained.

With some 100 feet of rope and chain, the anchor would have taken about an hour and a half to haul out of the water, with a crew of several strong men walking around a huge spool to bring it up, according to the historian.

Rare find

Anchors of this size are rare, and would have been even rarer 200 years ago, Dr. Kent said, explaining that this fact means that the ship would have been among the largest of its day.

“My instinct is to say this came from an HMS [Royal Navy ship], because the only ships that would have needed an anchor this size would be first-rate warships,” he said.

One such ship that visited the VI in that era was the HMS Boreas, which brought Admiral Horatio Nelson to the VI around 1787.

“If this was actually Boreas’ anchor, that would be a massive find,” Dr. Kent said.

To those who follow British military history, Admiral Nelson is legendary, but if the anchor belonged to a non-military ship, it could hold a much more personal history for some in the VI.

If the anchor did belong to a merchant ship, Dr. Kent said, it would have been a slave transport ship.

“There’s just not many ships that would have needed something this size,” he said.

Ultimately, Dr. Kent added, the anchor raises more questions than it answers. Is the ship it came from still on the bottom of Road Harbour? If not, what emergency arose that caused the ship to drop its anchor?

“In today’s dollars, this would have been worth $90-$100,000 — not something you’d get rid of unless you really had to,” he said.

For Dr. Kent, the anchor’s future is as important as its past.

“This obviously has a history, and it will be a remarkable history, but also it’s got a future because people for generations will be able to come in and see this anchor,” he said. “It will show that the BVI takes its history seriously.”

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