BRONZE AGE LAKE VILLAGES. 221 



replaced them on the western lakes. We can, however, hardly 

 suppose that the inhabitants of Inkwyl and Moosseedorf in 

 Berne, who imported flint from France, can have been ignorant 

 of the neighbouring civilization on the Lake of Bienne. More- 

 over, one settlement of the Bronze Age has been found on the 

 Lake of Constance; but as the question now stands, Pile- works 

 of the Metallic period are almost peculiar to western and 

 central Switzerland. The constructions of the Bronze Age 

 are more solidly built, but do not otherwise appear to have 

 differed materially from those of the Stone Age. They are 

 often, however, situated farther from the land and in deeper 

 water, partly no doubt on account of the greater facility of 

 working timber, but partly also, perhaps, because more pro- 

 tection was needed as the means of attack were improved. 

 The principal objects of bronze are swords, daggers, axes, spear- 

 heads, knives, fish-hooks, sickles, pins, rings, and bracelets. 

 The number of these articles which have been discovered is 

 already very great, the collection of Col. Schwab alone con- 

 taining no less than 4346 objects of metal. They are classified 

 in the table in p. 46, which gives an idea of the relative pro- 

 portions in which they occur. 



Many of them are really beautiful, and as bronze must have 

 been at that early period of considerable value, it is difficult 

 to understand how so many can have been left uncared for 

 and forgotten, along the shallow margins of the Swiss lakes. 

 "II est evident," says Prof. Desor, "que ce ne sont pas de 

 rebuts qui se seraient perdus, sans qu'on s'en inquietat. Us 

 ne sont pas tombes a 1'eau par hasard, non plus que cette 

 quantite de vases qui sont accumules sur certain points, ni 

 les jattes a provisions qu'on retire intactes." On the whole 

 he is inclined to think that in some of these cases at least, 

 we have " de simples magasins destines aux ustensiles et aux 

 provisions, et qui auraient ete detruits par 1'incendie, comme 

 semble 1'indiquer la trace du feu que montrent frequemment 



