4 



Added to this, we became aware of those remarkable discoveries made 

 by Prof. Keller and others of ancient Lake-habitations in Switzerland, 

 somewhat resembling the Crannoges of the Irish Lakes (now mostly 

 buried in peat-bogs, which have filled up these ancient fresh waters). 



At the same time, our countryman, Mr. Henry Christy (then 

 fresh from his Mexican travels), brought home to us not only the 

 contents of the French caves, but also those of the Danish peat- 

 mosses and refuse-heaps, thus adding new interest to the investiga- 

 tion of pre-historic man. 



Nor have these varied materials been allowed to remain as idle 

 curiosities in our Museums, to be objects of marvel or conjecture; 

 on the contrary, they have been subjected to the most severe in- 

 vestigation by the best and ablest among our archaeologists and 

 geologists, and, like the vision described by the prophet Ezekiel 

 (xxxvii.), we have seen the dry and mouldering remains of these 

 ancient inhabitants of our island arise ; we have seen the animals 

 they followed in the chase, the weapons which they used, the orna- 

 ments they wore, and have even learned a good deal concerning the 

 rude arts they practised. Nor is this all we have gained, for we can now 

 compare each fresh discovery with such a series of recorded prece- 

 dents, spread over such wide areas of explored country, that we can 

 refer each imd to one or other of a series of stages representing 

 periods in the history of these ancient races, which, although not re- 

 ducible to years, or even centuries, yet are capable of being dealt 

 with in chronological sequence, just as the earlier deposits have been 

 arranged by geologists long since. 



The evidences of the remote antiquity of man are derived from 

 various sources : — • 



L The ancient quaternary river-gravel deposits. 



2. The ossiferous caverns and rock shelters. 



3. The shell-mounds or refuse heaps of Denmark, the Orkneys, 



the Welsh coast, etc., etc. 



4. The Danish peat-mosses. 



5. The Irish lakes and peat-bogs (crannoges). 



6. The Swiss pile-works, or Pfahlbauten. 



1. The first of these is, undoubtedly, of the most ancient character ; 



