There is evidence that the coracle is Asiatic in origin and that it was being used on the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates as early as the Ninth Century BC. If this is accepted then it must have been in use at some time on the continent as the tribes moved westwards, only to fall into disuse eventually. Certainly Julius Caesar had not come across such craft anywhere until he invaded Britain in 54 and 55 BC. The Belgic tribes, kinsmen of the Celts, could not have had them, for Caesar had fought many campaigns against them. Caesar mentions the coracle in his account of the Spanish expedition against his rival Pompey.

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