Type of settlement found quite commonly in prehistoric Europe in areas with many lakes, such as Switzerland and north Italy. They should properly be labelled lakeside villages, since in most cases they were constructed on the shore and not on stilts over the water, as was formerly believed. They were, however, frequently constructed on timber platforms and subsequently rising water levels in the lakes have preserved these platforms and much other wooden material, as well as artefacts of other organic substances such as textiles and bark. Cultures in which lake villages are common include Chassey,
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied