ABSTRACT
As discussed in chapter 5, dug-out canoes are not at the present time an entirely satisfactory subject for investigation, as, although many have survived in the British Isles, few have been securely dated, and they are known to have been in use from at least the early second millennium BC to the seventeenth century AD and later. A systematic examination of the evidence for the dug-outs of England and Wales recently carried out by Seán McGrail 1 revealed that dug-outs had been in use on the lakes and tarns of the highland zone as well as on the rivers and estuaries of the lowlands. The surviving evidence for boat-building techniques, however, is often difficult to interpret because the excavated material has fragmented, distorted and shrunk over the years, and because in the past only infrequently were adequate drawings made at the time of finding. Nevertheless it is possible to suggest that many of these boats were developments from the simple logboat, having added washstrakes and stabilising timbers, and possibly being paired. A few may have had fitted ribs, but there is more evidence for this in Ireland and Scotland where there are also indications that some dug-outs were propelled by oar rather than paddled or poled. When this Irish and Scottish material and the corresponding evidence from continental Europe has been systematically investigated, a more comprehensive picture should be obtained of the methods used to build and operate this ubiquitous craft. A programme of radiocarbon dating, which is now under way, and future dendrochronological work should throw further light on the development of techniques over time.
