1894 - 95 .] Dr R. Muriro on Lahe-divelling Research, 393 
one of the most important in the whole series of lake-dwelling 
antiquities. 
Sometimes the construction of a railway skirting the shore of a 
lake was the means of bringing important material to light, as was 
the case at Concise and Gresine. It was in consequence of 
information supplied by the engineers of the Mont Cenis and Culoz 
Railway, while conducting excavations at the latter place in 1856, 
that the existence of lake-dwellings in Lake Bourget became first 
known, although no advantage was taken of the discovery for several 
years afterwards. However, in 1862, at the instigation of Baron 
Despine and M. Desor, the Societe Savoisienne, made some preliminary 
investigation with most encouraging results. Subsequently, and at 
various times, independent researches were carried out by a number 
of experienced archseologists, among whom may be mentioned Le 
Comte Costa de Beauregard, MM. Rabut, Perrin, Revon, Cazalis 
de Fondouce, and Chantre, all of whom secured more or less 
extensive collections. It may be interesting to note that through 
the liberality of Sir Augustus W. Franks, M. Rabut’s collection is 
now in the British Museum. 
It would be impossible in this sketch to convey anything like an 
adequate idea of the successive investigations and discoveries which 
have been made on the sites of the Swiss lake-dwellings during 
the last 30 or 40 years, and which have so greatly enriched the 
principal museums of Europe with lake-dwelling remains. For 
such details I must refer you to the many special works now 
published on the subject. I shall therefore proceed to notice briefly 
the concurrent researches instituted in other European countries, 
beginning with the valley of the Po. 
In 1851 while the harbour of Peschiera, at the south end of 
Lake Garda, was being deepened, numerous bronze implements, 
associated with decayed wooden piles, were found in the mud at 
a particular spot near the north mole of the fortress, which, how- 
ever, attracted no special attention at the time. The bronze objects 
were laid aside by the workmen and sold as old metal. A few 
articles were fortunately sent to the K. K. Antiken Cabinet at 
Vienna. In 1860 further alterations in this harbour became 
necessary, and again similar objects were found in the dredged 
stuff. The works were, on this occasion, conducted under the 
