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The Case of the Coracle |
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© The National Coracle Centre, Cenarth |
The wooden frame requires a covering of a natural waterproof material, and animal hides were an obvious choice. The frame has to be made strong enough to take a persons weight yet light enough for one man to carry it a number of miles. It also had to be small enough to be covered by one animal skin. Cow or ox-hides were most often used and the skins were lashed to the frame with rope fashioned from hair or strips of leather, waterproofed with grease from the same animal.
Most people in Britain learn that coracles were here at the time of the Roman occupation. However, there is written evidence that coracles have been made and used in the British Isles since the Bronze Age and may well date from the last Ice Age.
The earliest and simplest coracles were probably circular or oval. The shapes of coracles have changed to suit peculiarities of different rivers and uses for the craft. A coracle on a swift flowing river handles in a contrasting way to one in calm meandering waters, and the need to transport goods downstream requires a construction different to those used for fishing.
Words: Martin Fowler
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