in their own vessels with the Veneti on the coasts of Brittany, sometimes extending their voyages to the river Garonne, it is a fair inference that they possessed other vessels of a larger and stronger description, and that they had learnt something of ship-building from the Veneti, and, possibly, from the Phœnicians. But if it were true, as has been asserted by more than one author, that when the Britons undertook a voyage they abstained from food till it was completed, these voyages must have been very short, indeed, not longer than to Gaul or Ireland.
and the larger kind used by the Veneti. As has been already noticed, some almost circular boats, made of wicker-work, are still in use in Wales, and may fairly be supposed to represent a similar class of boats of much earlier times. On the other hand, we know pretty well, from Cæsar's description, the character of the larger and stronger vessels of the Veneti.[1] Thus from him we learn that they were built flatter than the Roman merchant ships, for convenience in navigating shallow waters, and that having erect stems and full bows, they were well adapted to resist the violence of the waves in a storm; while he further admits that, as they were constructed entirely of oak, they were not easily damaged by the sharp iron beaks of the Roman galleys. Such vessels could hardly have failed to attract the attention of the Britons, with whom the Veneti long maintained friendly and commercial intercourse, while it is very probable that, from them, the Britons learnt the art of constructing ships of war. But though it is likely that their intercourse with the Veneti may have had some advantages, it is, at the same time, probable
- ↑ Cæsar describes the ships of the Veneti, B. G. iii. 13.
