NEOLITHIC, BRONZE, AND IRON AGES. 369 



under their skin-tents, or squatting round their fires, toasting 

 fishes and roasting bones, very much as certain coast-tribes do 

 at the present day. And perhaps Heine's graphic, if not very 

 complimentary, description of the modern Laplanders gives us 

 a faithful enough portraiture of the ancient fishermen of Den- 

 mark — 



" In Lappland sind schmutzige Leute, 



Plattkopfig, breitmaulig, und klein ; 

 Sie kauern urns Feuer, und backen 



Sick Fiscke, und quaken und schrein." 1 



Shell-mounds of similar character occur in other countries, 

 as upon the opposite coasts of the Kattegat in Scania. In Scot- 

 land they are not uncommon, but are certainly of very various 

 ages, some being as old at least as those of Denmark, while 

 others belong to very recent times. They occur from levels of 

 2 or 3 feet up to 50 feet or so above the sea-level, and are met 

 with on the shores of the Firth of Forth, of St. Andrews 

 Bay, of Forfarshire, of the Moray Firth, in the Outer Hebrides, 

 etc. Many of these are interesting from a geological point 

 of view, and some reference to them will be found in a later 

 chapter. No shell- mounds have been observed on the east 

 coast of England, probably for the same reason that they are 

 wanting on the west coast of Denmark. They occur, however, 

 upon the west coast, and they are also met with in Ireland. 

 Again, Delesse mentions the occurrence at Saint -Michel- en - 

 Lherm (on the coast of Poitou north of La Eochelle) of mounds 

 or heaps of oysters and other shells at 10 metres above the sea, 

 and 6 kilometres from the shore, which are probably of the 

 nature of kitchen-middens. 2 



Among the most interesting relics of antiquity which have 

 yet been discovered are the famous lake-dwellings of Switzer- 

 land, described by Dr. Keller and others. They evince a con- 



1 In Lapland are dirty people, 



Flat-pated, broad-mouthed, and small ; 

 They cower round the fire, toasting fishes, 

 And chatter, and screech, and squall. 

 2 Lithologie des Mers de France, etc., p. 436. 



2b 



