CHEDDAR, WELLS, AND GLASTONBURY. Ixvii. 



1895 this lake village, probably larger and far more important. 

 These trial excavations were going on only for ten days this 

 year, to make sure that they were really on the site of a lake 

 village. The property belonged to several owners, most of whom 

 had given their consent for the operations to be carried out. As 

 to the extent of this new village at Meare, judging from 

 superficial observations, it appeared to be divided into two 

 parts, and was much larger than the Glastonbury village, which 

 occupied an area of 3^ acres ; this one might cover nine or 

 ten acres. At Glastonbury the village measured 400 feet north 

 and south by 300 east and west. Roughly the dimensions of the 

 Meare village were 250 feet from north to south and 1,500 feet 

 from east to west. They saw dwelling-mounds around them in 

 all directions. The dwellings had not yet been counted. In the 

 Glastonbury village they numbered 81 ; but here they would 

 greatly exceed that number. They could not always trace these 

 dwellings on the surface, for gradual subsidence in the peaty soil 

 often caused the clay to sink to the level of the field. If the 

 excavation went on at the same pace as that at Glastonbury, they 

 might estimate that it would cover a great many years. It was 

 hoped that the Meare relics would go to the Somerset County 

 Museum at Taunton. Turning attention to the work actually in 

 progress before the eyes of the visitors, who had fortunately 

 come on one of the few days that the work would be in progress 

 that year, Mr. Gray said that that was the only cutting which had 

 yet been made a section four feet wide cut through the middle 

 of one of these mounds or hut-sites. If they examined the 

 section carefully they would notice, by the layers of clay with 

 thin intervening layers of mould, that several clay floors and 

 hearths had been cut through. The reason was that, as they 

 became worn out, others were laid down on the top of them. 

 Originally that mound would have been two or three feet higher ; 

 but owing to weight of the clay which they saw along the 

 section it had been gradually sinking into the peat below. The 

 excavations had not gone far enough to show the actual outskirts 

 of the dwelling, but they expected to find piles which should 



