Stone Anchors from Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

Abstract

Lakshadweep Islands lie on the sea route between South Asia, Far East and African countries. Being on the trade route, boats and ships used the islands of Lakshadweep as a stopover to take on fresh water. Lakshadweep Islands played an important role in the shipping route before the opening of the Suez Canal. In order to understand the earliest human habitation at Lakshadweep Islands archaeological exploration was conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and (National Institute of Oceanography) NIO and varieties of pottery, Roman coins and Buddha heads were recovered at Androth, Kadmat, Kavaratti and Minicoy. In addition to these finds, in recent past an Indo-Arabian type of stone anchor has come to light at the Jama Mosque of Funhilol of Minicoy. The anchor was used as a lintel at the entrance of the mosque. Further study shows that ring stone anchors were used by the fishermen of Minicoy until the 20th century. Similarly, ring stone anchors which are popularly known as ‘fanaa’ were used by the fishermen of Maldives in recent years. The stone anchors of Minicoy and Maldives resemble stone anchors recovered from other parts of India. Ring stone anchors were used in Minicoy and Maldives till the advent of iron anchors. In this paper an attempt has been made to describe the Indo-Arabian stone anchor of Jama Mosque of Funhilol of Minicoy and ring stone anchor of Minicoy and their importance. Further, a comparative study of the ring stone anchors of India and other parts of the world has been made with the anchors of Minicoy and Maldives.