Ancient vessels had not so heavy anchors as ours, and therefore carried more.
It was customary to anchor ancient ships by the stern, though they were sometimes anchored at the bow. The anchors were carried in the skiff to a suitable distance from the vessel and there dropped. In modern times ships of-war in action have sometimes been anchored from the stern. Lord Nelson pursued this plan at the battle of the Nile, and at the battle of Copenhagen. See the account in Alison, History of Europe, (Edition, Harper) vol.1, p. 513; vol. 2, p. 154.