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gether, 68 villages, belonging to the Bronze Age, have been discovered in Western Switzerland, and by the same process of reasoning they may be supposed to have contained 42,500 persons; while for the preceding epoch, the population may, in the same manner, be estimated at 31,875.

For a moment it may surprise us that a people so uncivilised should have constructed their dwellings with immense labour on the water, when it would have been so much more easy to have built them on dry land. The first settlers in Switzerland, however, had to contend with the Boar, the Wolf, the Bear, and the Urus; and subsequently, when the population increased, and disputes arose, the lake habitations, no doubt, acted as a fortification, and protected man from man, as they had before preserved him from wild beasts.

Switzerland is not, by any means, the only country in which lake dwellings have been used as fortresses. In Ireland, a number of more or less artificial islands, called "Crannoges,' are known historically, to have been used as strongholds by the petty chiefs. They are composed of earth and stones, strengthened by numerous piles, and have supplied the Irish Archeologists with numerous weapons and bones. From the Crannoge at Dunshauglin, indeed, more than 150 cart-loads of bones were obtained, and were used as manure! These lake dwellings of Ireland, however, come down to a much later period than those of Switzerland, and are frequently mentioned in early history. Thus, according to Shirley, "One Thomas Phelliplace, "in his answer to an inquiry from the Government, as to what castles "or forts O'Neil hath, and of what strength they be, states (May 18, "1567): For castles, I think it be not unknown unto your honors, "he trusteth no point thereunto for his safety, as appeareth by the raising of the strongest castles of all his countreys, and that fortifi"cation that he only dependeth upon is in sartin freshwater loghes "in his country, which from the sea there come neither ship nor "boat to approach them: it is thought that there in the said forti"fied islands lyeth all his plate, which is much, and money, prisoners "and gages: which islands, hath in wars to fore been attempted, and now of late again by the Lord Deputy there, Sir Harry Sydney, "which for want of means for safe conducts upon the water it hath "not prevailed.'"

Again, the map of the escheated territories, made for the Government, A.D. 1591, by Francis Jobson, or the "Platt of the County of Monaghan," preserved in the State Paper Office, contains rough sketches of the dwellings of the petty chiefs of Monaghan, which are in all cases surrounded by water."+ In the "Annals of the Four Masters," and other records of early Irish history, we meet with numerous instances in which the Crannoges are mentioned, and some in which their position has not preserved them from robbery and

• See Wilde's Catalogue, V. i. p. 220.
† Ibid. p. 231.

destruction; so that we need not be surprised to find that most of the Swiss Lake-habitations appear to have been destroyed by fire. Though, however, these latter resemble the Irish Crannoges in their position and use, they differ considerably from them in their construction. In one or two places, indeed, as for instance at the Steinberg, in the Lake of Bienne, it is possible that an island may have been formed, the bottom of the lake having been artificially raised. It is curious that a canoe laden with stones, was actually found near this spot, it having, apparently, sunk with its load, at the time whenthe Steinberg was in process of construction. After all, however, it seems probable that even in this case, the object was only to obtain a firmer foundation for the piles. At the present time the highest part is eight feet below the surface of the water, and nothing justifies us in looking back to any such alteration of level. Moreover, even now the piles project two or three feet above the surface, upon which, therefore, the cabins cannot have been intended to stand. A small island in Lake Inkwyl, however, reproduces almost exactly the Irish Crannoge.

After having chosen a favourable situation, the first step in the construction of the Lake-habitations was to obtain the necessary timber. To cut down a tree with a stone hatchet must have been no slight undertaking. It is, indeed, most probable that they made use of fire, in the same manner as is done by existing savages in felling trees and making canoes. Burning the wood and then scraping away the charred portion, renders, indeed, the task far more easy, and the men of the Stone period appear to have avoided the use of large trees, except in making their canoes. Their piles were imbedded in the mud for from one to five feet, and must also have projected from four to six feet above the water level, which cannot have been very different from at present. They must, therefore, have had a length of from 15 to 30 feet, and they were from 3 to 9 inches in diameter. The pointed extremity which entered into the mud still bears the marks of the fire, and the rude cuts made by the stone hatchets. The piles belonging to the Bronze period being prepared with metal axes, were much more regularly pointed, and the differences between the two have been ingeniously compared to those shown by lead pencils well and badly cut. Dragging the piles to the lake, and fixing them firmly, must have required much labour, especially when their number is considered. At Wangen alone M. Lohle has calculated that 40,000 piles have been used; but we must remember that these were probably not all planted at one time, nor by one generation. Wangen, indeed, was certainly not built in a day, but was, no doubt, gradually added to as the population increased. Herodotus informs us that the Paeonians made the first platform at the public expense, but that subsequently at every marriage (and polygamy was permitted), the bridegroom was expected to add a certain number of piles to the common support. In some localities, as at Robenhausen, on Lake Pfeffikon, the piles were strengthened by cross beams. The Pileworks of subsequent periods differ little from those of the Stone age, except, perhaps, that they are more solidly constructed. The piles,

also, are less decayed, and project above the mud farther than those of the preceding epoch. M. Morlot considers that the horizontal platform rested upon the top of these piles, at such a height as to allow for all ordinary variations in the level of the water. M. Suter, however, supposes that in some cases, at least, the platform was not attached to the perpendicular piles, but rested upon the water, rising and sinking with it. The structure of the Pileworks at Wauwyl, in the Canton of Lucerne, certainly seems to favour this view. It was composed of four rectangular divisions, separated by narrow channels, over which, no doubt, bridges were thrown, and through which canoes might pass. The piles were less numerous than usual, and were grouped principally round the outer edge of the platforms. In this case they have been preserved by peat; they are from three to four and a half inches in diameter, all rounded, and not formed of split timber. In order to ascertain their length, M. Suter dug up two of them; the longest penetrated four feet through the peat, and ten feet six inches into the ancient bed of the lake; the other, also four feet through the peat, but only four feet six inches lower. M. Suter examined the piles carefully, but fruitlessly, to ascertain any manner in which the platform can have been attached to them.

The platform itself consisted of five layers of trees, curiously and carefully fastened together by clay and interlaced branches of trees, but like the perpendicular piles they were examined in vain for any traces of notches, mortises, holes, ligatures, bolts, or any other contrivance, by which the upright piles and the platforms could have been fastened together.

Not only were the debris of their repasts, and other rubbish thrown into the water, but more or less valuable weapons and instruments must have been sometimes lost in this manner, especially as children formed, of course, the usual proportion of the population. Many of the articles presently to be mentioned, were however, in all probability, engulphed at the destruction of the Pfahlbauten, some of which were perhaps burnt and rebuilt more than once.

The number of stone implements which have been already found is quite astonishing; at Wangen, in Lake Constance, many hundred weapons of various sorts have been discovered, and a great number also at Moosseedorf, Wauwyl and Robenhausen, in none of which places has a single piece of metal been as yet met with, a fact which, taken in connexion with the great number of bronze implements which have been collected from other Pileworks, clearly indicates that the settlements above mentioned, belonged to the age of Stone. Not only, however, is metal absent, and not only, as we have already seen, does the Fauna indicate a greater antiquity, but the stone weapons themselvess are less varied and less skilfully made. Most of them are made from rocks which occur in Switzerland, though it is probable that the flint was brought from France. The absence of any great blocks of this valuable material in Switzerland accounts for our not finding any of the large, flat axes which are so characteristic of northern Europe, and especially of Denmark. At Wangen, the

stone implements resemble those of Moosseedorf, and are principally formed of indigenous rocks, which to judge from the fragments scattered about, were evidently worked up at these two places. One or two bits, however, consisted of Oriental Nephrite, which is green, transparent, and of remarkable hardness, and if these really belonged to the Stone age, the fact is very remarkable, as this substance, according to Swiss mineralogists, does not naturally occur in Switzerland, and must have been brought from Egypt or Asia. On this point, however, it would be desirable to have more information; since, if we are to suppose that any such extended commerce existed, it is difficult to understand why bronze and iron were not also introduced. Weapons of Nephrite have also been found at one or two other places, belonging to the Bronze age, and where therefore its presence is less inexplicable. The stone implements found in the settlements belonging to this earliest period consist of hammers, axes, knives, saws, lance-heads, arrow-heads, corn-crushers, and polishing blocks. Some of the hammers were made of serpentine with a hole pierced through one end, and are, like all pierced stones, of very great rarity, belonging perhaps only to the end of the Stone period. Some of them are cylindrical, others more cubical in shape.

The axe was preeminently the implement of antiquity. It was used in war and in the chase, as well as for domestic purposes, and great numbers have been found, especially at Wangen, (Lake of Constance) and Concise (Lake of Neufchatel). With a few exceptions they were surprisingly small, especially when compared with the magnificent specimens from Denmark; in length they varied from six inches down even as low as one, while the cutting edge had generally a width of from 15 to 20 lines. Flint was sometimes used, and nephrite, or jade, in a few cases, but serpentine was the principal material. Most of the larger settlements were evidently manufacturing places, and many spoilt pieces and half finished specimens have been found. The process of manufacture is thus described by M. Troyon. After having chosen a stone, the first step was to reduce it by blows with a hammer to a suitable size. Then grooves were made artificially, which must have been a very tedious and difficult operation, when flint knives, sand, a little water, and an unlimited amount of patience, were the only available instruments. Having carried the grooves to the required depths, the projecting portions were removed by a skilful blow with a hammer, and the implement was then sharpened and polished on blocks of sandstone.

Sometimes the hatchet thus obtained was simply fixed in a handle of horn or wood. Generally, however, the whole instrument consisted of three parts. A piece of horn, two or three inches in length, received the stone at one end and was squared at the other, so as to fit into a longer handle either of wood or horn. These intermediate pieces present several variations, some are simply squared, others have a projecting wing which rested against the handle, some few are forked as if to receive a wedge, and one had a small transverse hole apparently for the insertion of a peg.

The knives may be considered as of two sorts.

Some differ from the axes, principally in having their width greater than their length. In other cases they were made of flint flakes. In this manner also were obtained the saws, which in addition had their edges somewhat rudely dentated; they were fixed into handles of wood by some sort of cement; but we do not find in Switzerland any of the semilunar saws, which are frequent in Denmark.

The arrow-heads were made of flint, or in some cases of rock crystal, and were, as in Ireland, of three principal sorts, between which however, there were a great many varieties. The first sort had a diamond shape, the posterior half of which was, in some specimens, shorter and rounded off. The second sort had the posterior margin more or less excavated, so that the angles being produced, as it were, into wings, clasped the shaft and enabled the arrow-head to be more firmly fixed. In the third sort, the middle part of the posterior side had a projection which sunk into the shaft. There are also found rounded stones, pierced with one, or sometimes with two holes. The use of these is uncertain, but they may perhaps have been used to sink fishing lines.

"Waste not, want not," is a proverb which the Lake-dwellers thoroughly appreciated. Having caught any wild animal, except the hare, they ate the flesh, used the skin for clothing, picked every fragment of marrow out of the bones, and then in many cases, fashioned the bones themselves into weapons. The larger and more compact ones served as hammers, and, as well as horns of the deer, were used for the handles of hatchets. In some cases pieces of bone were worked to a sharp edge, but they can only have been used to cut soft substances.* Bone harpoons, poig nards, arrow-heads, and javelin heads also occur, and pins and needles of this material are very common. Teeth also, and par

ticularly those of the wild boar, were used for cutting, and were also, in some cases, worn as ornaments or armlets. There can be little doubt that wood was also extensively used for different purposes, but unfortunately most of the implements of this material have perished. A wooden mallet, however, was found at Concise.

For our knowledge of the animal remains from the Pileworks we are almost entirely indebted to Prof. Rütimeyer, who has published two memoirs on the subject. (Mittheilungen des Antiq. Gesellschaft in Zurich, Bd. xiii. Äbth. 2, 1860; and, more recently, a separate work, Die Fauna des Pfahlbauten in der Schweiz, 1861.) The bones are in the same fragmentary condition as those from the Kjökkenmöddings, and have been opened in the same manner for the sake of the marrow. There is also the same absence of certain bones and parts of bones, so that it is impossible to reconstruct a perfect skeleton even of the commonest animals.

The total number of species amounts to about 66, of which 10 are

According to Sir E. Belcher, however, sharpened pieces of horn are used

by the Esquimaux in the preparation of flint weapons.