Now being silted up almost completely, Lake Federsee was once the second largest lake in Baden-Württemberg. Between 1919 and 1928, the Prehistoric Research Institute of the University of Tübingen carried out excavations at the lake’s surounding moorland. The discovery of over 100 complete floor plans enabled a detailed assessment of the buildings from the Stone to the Bronze Ages. Even forked support piles for raised hut floors could be examined. Images taken with a camera accurately recorded the excavation findings. Graphical reconstructions, scale models and experimental archeology (documented in silent film sequences) helped to determine the original shape and construction technology of the dwellings. Areal excavations made it possible to determine the size of the settlements and the arrangement of the houses. The sections revealed the village complexes to be lying on top of the each other. The results of these investigations stimulated new discussions about the construction method of the pile dwellings: Were the houses in the water, on land or on the shore?