Page:Palæolithic Man and Terramara Settlements in Europe.djvu/586

 CHAPTER XVI

quitting the Po Valley, with its interesting and varied remains of the lake-dwellings which formerly flourished in its water-basins, there is one prominent conclusion which must be borne in mind, as it is a legitimate result of practical investigations, and that is, that the terremare of Italy were a development of its lacustrine dwellings. We now proceed to inquire if structures analogous to the terremare of the Po Valley are to be found within the lake-dwelling area of Central Europe. The structural differences observed in the latter may be thus briefly described :—

(1) In all the larger lakes the true pile-system was adopted. This consisted of wooden piles driven vertically at regular distances into the bed of the lake, leaving their tops projecting at a uniform height above the level of the water. Transverse beams were then laid across and fastened to the tops of the upright piles, so as to form a platform capable of supporting the huts of a small community. In some instances, in order to firm and strengthen the supporting piles, quantities of stones were transported in boat-loads and thrown down around them. The result of these accumulations was to form submerged mounds on the bed of the lake, which are well known to modern fishermen under the name of Steinbergs. These lacustrine villages were accessible by means of wooden gangways stretching between them and the shore.

2) In the smaller lakes the pile-system was occasionally