The History Of Nets
The craft of net making has been around for thousands of years and almost certainly precedes many of the crafts which we are more familiar with today such as metalwork and carpentry. Today, whilst some nets are still handmade, modern technology means the nets of all kinds, including custom nets, can be created at the push of a button.
The way in which modern nets are manufactured would seem like a different world from those who lived at the time of the first nets ever created. What is considered to be the earliest known net is called the ‘Net of Antrea’ which was unearthed in 1913 along with other ancient fishing equipment and is believed to date back to around 8300 BC, which equates with the stone age.
Although many ancient artifacts are uncovered in Africa and the Middle East, Antrea is actually in Russia and is now called Kamennogorsk. With no disrespect to the fine citizens of that Russian town, the ‘Net of Kamennogorsk’ does not sound quite as distinctive so we will stick with Antrea.