410 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinhurgh. [sess. 
theory offers a consistent explanation of the facts. I may observe 
that the present fertile plain of Ilidze is composed of the materials 
brought down by a number of streams and rain-wash from the 
surrounding hills, and it is highly probable that in earlier times the 
basin was more or less a lake. Indeed, in winter, portions of it 
close to this very spot become still submerged, and in the neigh- 
bouring ditches the water lies quite stagnant. The yellow clay, on 
which the culture beds of Butmir repose, was formed by the 
deposition of a fine sediment in still water, and between it and the 
beds above there is no clearly-defined line of demarcation, as bits 
of charcoal were frequently seen imbedded in the clay to a depth of 
several inches — thus showing that the charcoal and clay were 
concurrently deposited. The hollows in the underlying clay vary so 
much in depth, area and outline, that it is absurd to regard them as 
the foundations of the original huts. Had they presented even some 
approach to uniformity in outline, however fantastic, the theory 
might be feasible. I hold they are nothing more than the clay pits 
from which the inhabitants extracted the clay used in the con- 
struction of their huts and in the manufacture of pottery. In 
support of this view I may point to the immense quantities of 
broken dishes found in the settlement, and also to the burnt clay 
castings of the timbers of which the walls of the huts were made, 
and so largely found in the upper strata of the relic-bed. It seems 
to me that the entire phenomena, especially the stratification of the 
materials, can only be explained on the supposition that the huts of 
the inhabitants stood on platforms supported by piles, and that 
the refuse containing lost, broken, and worn-out implements had 
gradually accumulated in the vacant space underneath. This 
question led to an animated controversy at the Congress of 
archeeologists and anthropologists held at Sarajevo last August; 
but, of course, the present is not a suitable occasion for entering 
on the merits of the discussion. A monograph on this “ find,” 
illustrated with beautifully coloured plates of the relics, is now in 
course of publication by the Government, and as soon as it appears 
the point will be determined. 
I have now transported you on the wings of imagination over a 
wide geographical area, extending from Ireland to Bosnia, and 
from North Germany to Italy, and shown you that everywhere 
