Abstract: A dowel and a method of anchoring the same in a blind hole or bore of a building or construction element are disclosed. The dowel comprises a central bolt having a spreader head about which there is arranged a segmented ring of shells held together by a resilient closing ring. The blind hole has a depth less than the combined axial length of the spreader head and the ring of shells and is provided with a frustum-shaped enlargement which converges toward the opening of the blind hole. According to the anchoring method of the invention, the dowel is inserted in the blind hole until it contacts the bottom and a portion of the ring of shells protrudes therefrom. The ring of shells is then urged over the spreader head such that the shells spread outwardly into the frustum-shaped enlargement, thereby firmly anchoring the dowel against axial displacement in the bore.