The best ford is what? That's right - a bridge!

Go ford the river, a convenient place for fording - for today's metropolitan or just a city dweller these words do not respond anything special. Bridges, underground passages, the metro - in our century there are enough ways with convenience to cross the river. And a couple of centuries ago in Russia, a good and convenient ford across the river was of utmost importance for trade.

Why do I need a ford

Despite the fact that most of the trade routes passed through rivers and seas (for example, the most famous route "from the Varangians to the Greeks"), land trade also existed from time immemorial and occupied a niche of local, one can say regional. Take the vegetables from the village to the town or from one village to another. To buy at a fair is cheap and sold to the surrounding villages - it was quite normal at that time business.

Imagine an ordinary shopping caravan - a few dozen clunky wagons, twice as many horses, a dozen people. As a rule, even a full-flowing stream made the crossing almost impossible. Of course, bridges were set up somewhere, in some places people were transported on antediluvian ferries, but their number was immeasurably smaller than required for a safe passage. That is why the ford is the best ancient way of crossing without material investments.

Wade - both good and bad

What is a ford? This is the place where the river becomes shallow, allowing a person, animal or technique to move to the other side of the river, without using additional structures or equipment.

Of course, not only traders, travelers and warriors understood that ford is a lively and important place. Robbers of different suits very often ambushed and robbed people passing by. They already knew that this ford is the only place for crossing the river for the next 50-100 versts.

Interesting ways of crossing without a ford

Of course, human thought is ingenious, and many simple and elegant solutions have been invented to cross the water obstacles:

1. Rafts. Several logs or connected to each other - and voila! Antediluvian ferry is ready. Strengthen on both sides a strong rope, and the raft will not even bear the current. Pros - you can transport cargo and livestock, do not get wet. Cons - requires labor and materials.
2. Inflated or hay-covered skins. Very interesting way of individual crossing. The goat or sheep skin was stuffed with something light or just puffed up, tightly stitched and greased with grease for tightness. This "inflatable mattress" allowed to cross even through the wide rivers. Pros - you can bring it with you in advance, speed of use, minimum of labor, ideal for covert crossing. Cons - only suitable for a person with a small load.
3. Pole vaulting. Wade is too boring, thought some ingenious guys, after which they took a long enough pole, ran away, and stuck its far end into the middle of the channel. Then everything happened in the same way as in modern competitions in pole vaulting - or a champion, or fell into the river. Pros - only a long and strong stick is needed, plus some share of adventurism. Cons - most likely, the ferry will not come from the first time.