Beekeeping/Skep Hive

Skeps are inverted baskets made from straw or reeds, usually with a domed top. Sometimes they are coated with clay for extra durability. An entrance is arranged either by making a small hole in the side, or by means of a shaped wooden base. Skeps used to be the most common form of beehive in Europe before the invention of the modern hive with moveable frames around the middle of the 19th century. There are still skeppists today, especially in Germany and eastern Europe.