CHAPTEB VI. 



THE ANCIENT LAKE-HABITATIONS OF SWITZERLAND. 



IN consequence of the extraordinary dryness and cold of 

 the weather during the winter months of 1853, the rivers 

 of Switzerland did not receive their usual supplies, and the 

 water in the lakes fell much below its ordinary level, so that, 

 in some places, a broad strand was left uncovered along the 

 margin, while in others shallow banks were converted into 

 islands. The water level of this season was, indeed, the lowest 

 upon record. The lowest level marked on the so-called stone 

 of Stafa was that of 1674; but in 1854 the water sank a foot 

 lower still. 



In a small bay between Ober Meilen and Dollikon, on the 

 Lake of Zurich, the inhabitants had taken advantage of the 

 lowness of the water to increase their gardens, by building a 

 wall along the new water-line, and slightly raising the level 

 of the piece thus reclaimed by mud dredged from the lake. 

 In the course of this dredging they found great numbers of 

 piles, of deer-horns, and also some implements. M. Aeppli 

 was the first to observe these specimens of human workman- 

 ship, which he justly supposed might throw some light on 

 the history and condition of the early inhabitants of the Swiss 

 valleys. He at once, therefore, called the attention of Dr. 

 Keller to them, and that eminent antiquary soon satisfied 

 himself as to their true nature, and proved that the early 

 inhabitants of Switzerland constructed some, at least, of their 

 dwellings above the surface of the water, and that they must 



