The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-11-22
EErNG TUESDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 1871
The Lake DWelIers e PEiRitiye &c

Fyu,, 4pD;,so.Y Aayadk.L D
The lacnstrine or Ike dwelling .
nsRiF6n TO eG1ain h8hi Is q Wick
ID have been found n many 81 the
SI IikeS and elSep heTp and hiGh APP
d . have existed aul6Dg BTlie OF
hili-saVage peoples b VaFiohS ageS d the
world In the lake dwellings Of SwttzeF'
land, tie h18S stood, not upon ISLANDS
but upon wooden platforms ratSed little
above the surface Of the water. Ihey
were brought to light in 1854, when, IN
consequence Of the extraordinary dgneS
Of the preceding Wintet, The water Y taes
lakes fell much below It's usual level ana
some Of the inhabitants Of 0ReEmellen %
I the Ike q Zurich, took advantage OF TINS
Circumstance 70 ihcFea5e tieit lrdens BY
building wall along the new water line
and rRiSinR the surface Of the reclaimed
land with mnd dredged frDm the bottom
Of the lake In the cOurse Of their dredS-
Ing they found great numbers o piles, deesr
horns, some Implements Of stone with
horn d wooden handles, such as axes.
chiselS and saws, and coarse specimens OF
pottery. The Importance Of these dis
eoveties was frst made, known BY Mr.
Ferdinand. Keller, Of Zptich, Who's IN
YetigaIions we've soon tnll9wed ,bY uhl-
mann, jain, SchEab, Eorel, Reg, Desor,
Troyon, and many others, Not only the
various LAKES or Switzerland, but some q
those Of Italy, Savoy and the French
Iura, have beGn examined, and traces Of
lake dwellings have been found in Ger.
many, Sch0tland and WaleS. In Swift.
zerlSud. between one hundred ana ffty
and two hundred lake Villages have been
iouna, and Others arc frequently coming
to Ighk The lakes Of Constance and
Zurich sem 70 have been the most active
centres q population. The city d Eur.
ichitSelf q well IS GeneTa and seVeFal
smaller towns rGsts.nn the site Of q bur
red lake village. In some places the
stumpS Of the piles arc still TtSiblea leW
feet below the Eurfaee Of the water but
the utensils and other objecIS, Hndtn many
eases the piles themselves, are eoVered BY
q thick layer Of mud OF silt, Ibe iNcCumu"
lation Of long ages These posts, which
and planted in vast ProfnsiOn, one site be-
ing said 10 have as many as forty thou
sand, indicate the, extent Of the villages,
and the degree in which they have been
WON away by the water their eompara-
tive age. The piles were embedded in the
mud from one 70 I'VE feet, and were from
three TO nine inches in diameter. Sup
posing them TO have projected from four
TO six feet above the surface Of the wafer,
their length must have been between ti-
teen and thirty feet How, with the rude
implements Of the lacuslTiHns, las the
Swiss arcKGologists have named the in
hAhitants Of these structuresJ, trees were
felled, sharpened, dragged 10 the bank,
and driven firmly into The bed 81 The lake,
Is a matter Of curious, speculation. In
some localities the piles were strengthen
ed by cross beams A double range OF
stakes reaching from the principal mass
70 me shore, marks OUT The plaee Of q
bridge which connected the lake village
with the land Near the upright posts he
fragments Of wooden beams, roughly
squared: these must ha1eT bOenspaEt!0f
the platform missed on the1stakes which.
supported the hOOSesls Trey are found.
charred, which iHdieate5thAt the lacrstTi-2
an villages were dstrOyed;by fneSJ s.rg
These discoveries posstBa particular ms
terest from the fact Ihatthey tend strong
" 10 confirm ths theory, discussed by
Professor WOTshal, thatrtW6 distinct srd-
ceS occupiedIhe greater part Of Enrope
before the period at y hichihStnrY proper,
" beginsz6 ThefBtAie supposed tO'haTe
been ! people mIaccqRainlbf with. the.use
Of metals. small Of stature, and living by
the chase and husbaDdrV, and tho. pgriOd
in which they 1iouriShed SCALED the tase
Of stone" They were followed by IAN
other and more civilized, race, who knew
the use Of metals, but employed almost
exclusively compound OF copper and
tin They were more agricultural than
their predecessor. Their age & the cage
Of bronze. No. The men Of bronze gave
place TO the men Of irua, probably the
Celts, 1Fof whom We learn something
ihrough their enemies, The Romans. That
the lake dwellings belong to different
ages appears both from the character Of
the articles found I'd them Ind the extent
TO which the piles have been worn away.