It has been recorded that at various times prior to 1870 diverse antiquities were found in the course of drainage operations in this marshy ground, such as horn implements, stone axes of flint and jade, boars' tusks, bits of pottery, bronze celts, a fibula, and an armilla; also Gallo-Roman remains, including a Gaulish gold coin and Roman coins. In the lake itself there were no discoveries made, with the exception of a group of five piles known to fishermen. But none of these discoveries had ever suggested to any one the idea of a lake-dwelling, the common and accepted opinion being that they were remains of Druidical times and customs. On the 27th of June, 1870, when the water was about its lowest, Mr. Le Mire happened to be walking on the shore and accidentally stumbled on the top of a black pile of oak. His attention being thus directed to such a curious object, he looked about and detected many others just protruding from the lake-bottom. He then determined to investigate the matter, and at once employed some labourers to make excavations. The place selected was 100 yards to the west of the Motte-aux-Magnins, and 25 yards to the east of the canal which forms the outlet of the lake. Trenches were dug about 1 yard in width and the same in depth (a greater depth being prevented by the oozing up of water). During these operations piles were abundantly met with, but no relics were found, and it was remarked that there was no change in the stuff thrown up from the trenches, it being the ordinary whitish deposits similar to what is seen on the present surface of the strand. The piles were of oak, fir, yew, poplar, willow, and hazel, and measured from 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Mr. Le Mire then shifted his operations to the south side of the Motte-aux-Magnins, and after passing through 6 to 8 inches of the whitish surface deposits he came upon a blackish peaty layer containing roots of water-plants and other organic _débris_, which turned out to be the veritable relic-bed of the lake-dwellers. Here he continued the excavations for about three weeks with a couple of workmen, and in this way an area of about 120 square yards was examined, which he thinks was not more than a twentieth part of the total site of the lake-dwelling. The piles did not reach the surface, but they were met with abundantly, no less than 150 being counted in the space examined. The breaking-out of the war put a stop to these excavations, and the subsequent return of the water to its ordinary level prevented their renewal. [Illustration: =Fig. 23.=--CLAIRVAUX. Nos. 5, 7, and 15 = ¼, the rest = ½ real size.]