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 theur 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 when the 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 lengh of from 15 to 30 feet, and they were from 8 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 nas 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 Pœonians 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 Pile-works of subsequent periods differ little from those of the Stone age, except, perhaps, that they are more solidly constructed. The piles,
