378 ARCHEOLOGY. 



tains in its whole depth relics of ancient industry, so that its forma- 

 tion corresponds with the duration of the village or hamlet which ex- 

 isted at that point. A stone hatchet has even been found among the 

 flints on the surface of the ground, and it was covered with a thick 

 layer of soft, sandy stone upon the face that was in contact with the 

 water, whence it follows that this little hill has not been increased in 

 height since it has ceased to be inhabited by man. It is possible that 

 the stones and gravel were at various periods deposited by the in- 

 habitants of the village or hamlet with a view to consolidating the 

 piles. However that may have been, it is amidst those deposits that 

 innumerable remains of past industry may be found. 



Pieces of wood and planks, carbonized more or less completely, 

 have been drawn out of the depths of the artificial bed,' and seem to 

 indicate that on more than one occasion fire has wholly or partially 

 destroyed the lacustrian dwellings of Concise. Upon some spots, de- 

 composed branches form thick beds which contain various grains and 

 diflerent utensils; on others, the mud has especially accumulated; 

 but in a general way, flints, many of which have been broken by the 

 hand, are scattered over the whole site. 



The piles which supported the cabins of this ancient hamlet have 

 been shortened by the destroying action of the waves to the surface of 

 the mound, while their lower extremity, deeply sunken in the earth, 

 remains very perfect. Many of them penetrate but a little into the 

 primitive bottom of the lake, and it is not uncommon to see the very 

 notches made by the stone axes still remaining. The diameter of the 

 piles varies from three to nine inches, and some of them consisted of 

 pieces of wood cleft by the aid of the wedge. The principal kinds 

 of timber employed were fir, birch, and especially oak. More than 

 seven hundred and fifty objects bearing the marks of human industry 

 were obtained by our latest researches, not reckoning innumerable 

 bones of animals, most of which have been broken with the hammer. 



The most remarkable and also the rarest articles are instruments 

 which are still furnished with their handles. Of these I shall first 

 mention an axe of the material called serpentine. It is fixed to a 

 handle of buckhorn, the square extremity of which, opposite to the 

 stone, entered the lateral mortise of a handle of fir wood. The three 

 pieces, i. e., the stone axe and the handle pieces, respectively of fir 

 and buckhorn, were brought up together by the drag, and quite 

 evidently all belonged to and formed one instrument. Although the 

 wood is broken at the mortise, the manner in which the three pieces 

 were formed into the one working tool is perfectly obvious. But it 

 is probable that the adjustment was consolidated and strengthened by 

 ligatures like those which I copied in my work upon the lacustrian hab- 

 itations of ancient and modern times. 



Three other fragments of axe handles show that their greatest di- 

 mensions corresponded with the cutting edge of the instrument, so 

 that the strokes should be more certain, while the part adapted to 

 the hand was slighter and lighter. Of those implements the whole 

 length is scarcely a foot. Another axe, of serpentine, is still con- 

 nected with its buckhorn handle of the same form as the preceding. 



