33 
in the Wady Magarah, Mount Sinai, which were worl^ed by the 
Egyptians as early as the 5th dynasty. 
Egypt. 
Upon tablet 32 is a stone hatchet of peculiar form, said to be 
of ancient Egyptian manufacture. 
Upon tablet 33 is the cast in sulphur of a small celt of dark 
green nephrite, or jade, 2 inches long, inches broad, brought 
from Egypt by Colonel Milner in 18 12. Each of its faces is 
engraved with a Gnostic formula in the debased Greek character 
current at Alexandria during the third and fourth centuries- 
One of these formulae is in the fashion of a wreath composed of 
fourteen leaves, each of them engraved with Gnostic charms. 
THE ANCIENT LAKE-DWELLINGS OF 
SWITZERLAND. 
The collection of objects exhibited from the lake-villages 
{p/a/i/daufen) of Switzerland is large and interesting. It was 
formed by Admiral the Honourable E. A. J. Harris, C.B. — 
then H. M. Minister at Berne, who obtained in so doing the 
valuable assistance of Dr. Keller, Dr. Uhlmann, the late M. 
Troyon, and other eminent Swiss archaeologists. Professor 
Riitimeyer has also enriched the collection by adding a fine 
series of animal remains illustrative of the fauna of the pfahl- 
bauten ; unfortunately these specimens cannot be exhibited from 
want of space. 
Original Discovery of the Lake-Dwellings. 
So early as the year 1829, piles and other antiquities were dis- 
covered in deepening the harbour in front of Ober Meilen, on 
the Lake of Zurich; but the matter was not then followed up. 
The earth dug out, and all contained in it, was taken in boats 
and sunk in the deeper parts of the lake. 
The dry winter of 1853-54 reduced the level of the lakes lower 
than had ever been previously known. The water-mark of 1674 
upon the stone of Stafa was the lowest recorded, but in 1853- 
54 the water-level was one foot below this mark : consequently, 
in some places a broad strand was left uncovered along the 
margin of the lakes, and shallows in them were converted 
into islands. Taking advantage of this circumstance, the inhabi- 
tants of Ober Meilen reclaimed a piece of land, which they 
enclosed with walls, and raised the level of the included space 
