ABSTRACT
Pile dwellings from the prehistoric times are a particular phenomenon of the preAlpine region. In the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and in isolated cases into the Iron Age, settlements were not only built on dry land but also in wetlands — in the shallow water zones of the larger and smaller lakes, on moorlands and less often on the fl oodplains of rivers. At these sites organic materials, in addition to the many other fi nds, remain preserved thanks to the ideal preservation conditions in the airtight and continuously waterlogged surroundings. Timber for construction, food remains, stockpiles, wooden tools, everyday objects and even pieces of clothing allow astonishingly vivid and multi-faceted insights into the lives of the people who established their villages there thousands of years ago.
