evidence on the Subject. 
Sheppard: Ancient Lake-Dwelling at Sand-le-Mere. 303 
out of the soft clay which underlies the peat-bed. These 
extended for about five yards, and were from a few inches to a 
foot apart. On pulling one or two out, which was done with 
‘great difficulty, owing to the rotten nature of the wood, 
it was found that the points only of the stakes remained, the 
rest in all probability having been denuded by the sea, along 
with the peat, etc., which covered them. The piles were very 
black and soft; in this respect resembling the wood found 
elsewhere in the peat and clay. They were about 2% 
inches in diameter and had undoubtedly been pointed by a 
sharp metal instrument. What seemed to be of great 
importance, however, were some pieces of round ‘wood, of 
smaller diameter, which had been bent and worked in between 
the upright piles, thus binding them together in a manner 
resembling basket-work on a large scale. These horizontal 
Pieces were met with in several places. They had been very 
cleverly bent so as to go round the perpendicular piles, and on 
the opposite side of the wood to each bend a slight cut could 
usually be detected; which would no doubt facilitate the bending 
operation without the risk of breaking. Some of the piles and 
a few of the pieces of wood just described were brought away, 
and on drying, have cracked and folded over in the manner so 
characteristic of the wood from these ancient structures. 
Unfortunately, the time at our disposal did not permit of any 
extensive excavations being made, and it is possible that, had 
this been done, some further evidence might have been brought 
to light. A few yards to the north, at the same level, the bare — 
boulder clay was exposed on the beach, which shews that the 
piles were driven in near the edge of the lake bed—boulder 
Clay, of course, underlies a whole of the peat and everything 
connected with i 
In the ahcense of implements, pottery, broken bbe or. 
other signs of a dwelling, there is no positive evidence that these 
piles, etc., are the remains of an ancient habitation ; but, having 
regard to their present state of preservation, their characteristic 
splitting on drying, their position on the edge of the old wer 
bed, their depth below and distance from the cliffs, and a 
bearing j in mind the fact that similar remains of ie dailies 
have been found elsewhere in the district, it is probable that the 
Sand- le-Mere piles represent the remains of such dwelling. 
These notes are therefore put together in the hope that future 
Visitors to the locality will keep a sharp lookout for further 
