The piles were evidently in their natural position, and the conclusion that the entire island had been a pile-dwelling was irresistible; but the questions when and by what means was the transformation accomplished, were as obscure as before. Mainly for the purpose of clearing this matter, Sig. Ettore Ponti, in September of the following year, gave instructions to have further excavations made in different parts of the island. On this occasion 12 trenches were dug, covering an area of about 230 square yards with an average depth of 3 to 4 feet. The stratification and composition of the stuff were very similar to those experienced in the former excavations. In this space 440 piles were counted, and Regazzoni calculates that at this rate the original number of piles requisite for the construction of the entire lake-village would be from 35,000 to 40,000. Some horizontal beams were also found among the _débris_. Among the relics the following are noteworthy:--A tyne of deer's horn, with a flint implement inserted into the end of it (No. 3); a small clay weight shaped like a pear; several objects of worked bone, as needles (Nos. 7 to 9), pointers, chisels (No. 25), handles, etc. A knife (No. 5) and a dagger of bronze (No. 6), and two oblong beads of coloured glass with transverse grooves, were found in the stratum immediately below the surface soil. [Illustration: =Fig. 48=--ISOLA VIRGINIA. No. 25 = ¼, and the rest = ½ real size.] As a rule, the tops of the piles in these trenches were on a level with the surface of the water, while those in the lake were several feet lower--more or less, according to the depth of water. The cause of this was no doubt the protection given to the former by the accumulation of _débris_ around them. It was observed that the uppermost layer alone had yielded Roman coins, but along with them were objects of both the Stone and Bronze Ages--a juxtaposition which might be accounted for by agricultural and other operations to which the island has been subjected in historical times. The fourth, or that which lay immediately over the ancient lake-sediment, was alone exclusively deposited under water, as it contained some entire dishes, and the associated _débris_ were just the usual contents of lake-dwelling relic-beds, viz. the shells of hazel-nuts, acorns, charred bits of wood, bones of various animals (among others the skull of an enormous wild boar), as well as implements of bone, horn, and flint, pottery, etc. The second and third layers were composed of much the same materials as the fourth, but they appeared to have been the contents of a previously-deposited relic-bed artificially heaped up, as they contained portions of wooden beams which had no definite purpose, but lay in the soil in all directions.