CHAP, v in.] THE NEOLITHIC HOMESTEAD. 271 



generally made of wattle-work, like those of the Swiss 

 lakes ; but of this work the only trace discovered in 

 Britain is the fragment of the covering of the hut de- 

 scribed above, at Fisherton. 



From Captain Mudge's subsequent discoveries it is 

 very probable that this is one of a group of wooden 

 houses, connected with each other by paths, and sur- 

 rounded by a breastwork about five feet high, made of 

 rough spars piled up and compacted together by stakes 

 driven into the bog. He found the sill of a door, and, 

 about a hundred and fifty feet off, two doors or gates 

 cut out of solid logs of oak lying side by side, of which 

 one was perfect, being four inches thick, two feet seven 

 inches broad, by four feet six inches long, with a piece 

 of solid wood protruding at each end to act as pivot to 

 the hinges. From their size it may be inferred that 

 they belong to one of the cabins. A flint arrow-head, 

 two inches long, and "a wooden sword" have also been 

 met with in the peat close by. 



The Neolithic inhabitants of Britain also used caves 

 for habitation, such as those of North Wales (described 

 in my work on Cave-hunting), the Victoria Cave in York- 

 shire, and Kent's Hole in Devonshire. The refuse-heaps 

 in each of these contain the remains of the same wild 

 and domestic animals, and, in addition, those of the bear 

 and the wild boar. 



The Neolithic Homestead. 



If we could in imagination take our stand on the 

 summit of a hill commanding an extensive view, in 

 almost any part of Great Britain or Ireland in the 

 Neolithic period, we should look upon a landscape 



