Some wooden piles, apparently very old, and other
antiquities were found by the workmen. Not much attention, however,
was paid to this discovery till 1854, when a Mr. Aeppli drew attention
to some remains of human handiwork found near his house, in part of
the bed of a lake which had been left dry during a season of great
drought. The workmen employed in recovering some land from the lake
found the heads of a great many wooden piles protruding through the
mud, and also a number of stags' horns, and implements of various
descriptions. Stimulated by this discovery, search was made in various
lakes, and the result was truly astonishing. In every direction
remains of the habitations of prehistoric man were discovered, and
relics were found in such abundance that the history of this unknown
past could be traced through long ages, and the habits of the people
ascertained with a very considerable amount of probability. The
details are so numerous that it would be impossible in the space at
our disposal to go into them all.
Of course, during the long time that has elapsed since these
structures were erected, their remains have been reduced to mere
ruins, and it is only by comparing one with another that we are able
to picture to ourselves what they were originally like and what sort
of life was led by the men who inhabited them.
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