Part 12

The station at Creux de Tougues is the most important of the group, and it has furnished a large number of antiquities. It is about 130 yards from the shore, in a depth of water varying from 5 to 10 feet. Ordinary stone celts, 27 of which have been collected (B. 462), were found on the part next the shore. The collection of bronze objects consists of:--Four winged celts (=Fig. 18=, No. 10), one flat celt, two socketed chisels, one sword, one lance-head, 21 knives, five sickles (No. 9), 14 bracelets, 120 rings, 170 hair-pins, and six diverse objects. Pottery from this station (Nos. 12 and 13) comes largely to the front, and in the Museum of Geneva there are fine specimens of plates, cups, vases, and other vessels of a fine black ware which, both in form and ornamentation, resemble those from the palafittes of Lake Bourget and others of the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Spindle-whorls, discoidal stones with a marginal groove, rubbing stones, etc., are also abundant. A peculiarly-shaped stone object known as "gorge de poulies" comes here to be noted. (B. 31, 281 and 462.)

MESSERY.--Piles are here seen projecting above the mud 2 to 5 feet, in a depth of about 12 feet of water. One of the piles pulled up by Troyon showed markings of a metal tool. Numerous fragments of pottery characteristic of the Bronze Age have been found, but only two objects of this metal, viz. a winged celt and a sickle.

NERNIER.--Two stations are described in the vicinity of the village of this name. One, near the shore, and partly covered up with gravel, belonged to the Stone Age. Here Troyon observed some large piles in a depth of 6 feet of water, and others he found on the shore buried in the gravel. Among the objects collected are flint flakes, spindle-whorls, hatchets of serpentine (a perforated one is in the Museum of Annecy), some worked bones, etc.

The Bronze Age station is 600 yards to the west of the village, and 150 from the shore. The relics consist of pottery, spindle-whorls, ring-supports, etc. Among the bronze objects are:--Eight winged celts, two chisels, one sword, two lance-heads, three knives, three sickles, five bracelets, three rings, and five hair-pins. Among the rings is included a pendeloque, in the form of a large hollow ring, attached to which is a small ring for suspension.

STATIONS D'EXCENEVREZ ET DE COUDRÉ.--In rounding the point of Ivoire we come to a sheltered bay, into which a couple of streams discharge their waters, carrying down a considerable amount of _débris_, so that the lake-dwelling remains are here deeply buried. Traces of two stations have, however, been observed, one, station De Moulin-Pâquis, near Excenevrex, and the other, De Coudré, opposite Château Bartholoni, not far from the village of Sciex. Both appear to belong to the Stone Age, and in the latter, in 1874, 12 stone hatchets were found.

THONON.--There were two separate settlements at Thonon. One (Stone Age), about 20 yards from the shore, was discovered in 1862, when the new port was being formed. The objects there collected were piles, flint implements, stone hatchets, spindle-whorls, and some coarse pottery.

The Bronze Age station was considerably in advance of the former, and in a depth of 3 to 4 yards. The settlement was extensive, and ran parallel to the shore, and from its remains a large assortment of relics has been collected. Being among the earliest discovered in the Lake of Geneva, it has been industriously searched by a number of well-known archæologists, as Troyon, Forel, Revon, Monod, Revilliod, Carrard, etc., and consequently its treasures are widely distributed. The bronze objects, according to Dr. Forel (B. 462), amount to 48, viz. 11 winged celts, two lance-heads, six knives, two sickles, 14 bracelets, two rings, five hair-pins, and six diverse objects. One of the knives, which is finely ornamented and one foot in length, has the peculiarity that the handle contains less tin than the blade (=Fig. 17=, No. 16). Another knife was adapted for side-plates to be riveted on its handle (No. 11); while others were socketed and tanged (Nos. 17 and 18). Some of the hatchets have a side loop, and others are devoid of it. Among other things are a large ring, _armilla sacra_ (Carrard), (No. 2); a pendant of three involved rings, together with various other pendants (No. 9). Among the pottery are fragments with perforated knobs, herring-bone pattern (No. 1), etc.; and some charming vases, clay ring-supports, etc.

There are thus, according to Dr. Forel, 11 stations of the Stone Age; three of the period of transition (_i.e._ with hatchets of bronze of the flat type), six with mixed objects, 19 of the Bronze Age, and one (Station de Plongeon) which furnished objects characteristic of the early Iron Age.

These notes have been collected from a fragmentary and widely-scattered literature, including the following original sources:--B. 22, 31, 34, 40, 121, 126, 138, 152, 280, 282, 286, 315, 377, and 462.

LAKE LUISSEL, CANTON DE VAUD.

In a small valley among the heights above Bex, adjoining the Rhone valley, there were found, in 1791, while a canal was being dug for facilitating the cutting of peat, some industrial remains which point to the existence of a lake-dwelling of the Bronze Age. At the north of the basin, and at a depth of 6 feet, a quantity of bones (some human), grains of corn, bronze rings, the tip of a scabbard, and three remarkable swords (from 23 to 26 inches in length) were encountered (=Fig. 19=). The swords are still preserved, and indubitably belong to the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age. In the summer of 1859 Mr. Troyon made excavations in the turf of the former bed of this lake, but found only a portion of worked wood, which might have been used as a handle for a stone hatchet. According to an old tradition in the neighbourhood, a château once existed here which had been engulfed in the lake. (B. 31.)

LAKE BOURGET.

As early as 1856, while the Mont Cenis and Culoz railway was being constructed, some antiquities were dredged up in the bay of Grésine, in Lake Bourget, which the engineers surmised to be remains of a lake-dwelling. Though this information was formally communicated to the Société Savoissienne, it was not till 1862, in consequence of renewed attention to these discoveries by Baron Despine and M. Desor, that this society took steps to investigate the matter. A preliminary investigation conducted by a committee of seven gentlemen was considered so satisfactory that the committee was renewed, with funds at its disposal for systematic researches among the palafittes. Since then several archæologists have conducted independent researches, among whom may be noted particularly Le Comte Costa de Beauregard, MM. Rabut, Perrin, Revon, Cazalis de Fondouce, and Chantre. (B. 73, 138, 176, 179, 282.)

The combined results of these explorers have now established the fact that there were eight settlements in this lake, all of them belonging to the Bronze Age. The antiquities fished up have been very numerous, but unfortunately they are widely distributed, many indeed being in private collections. The largest proportion is, however, to be found in the Museums of Chambery, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, and St. Germain, and the private collection of Count de Beauregard in his château on the Lake of Geneva. (For relative position of these stations see Sketch Map of Lake Bourget.)

CONJUX.--This station is 200 yards from the shore, opposite the village of the same name. A group of piles only 50 yards from the shore is supposed to have been the ruins of a Roman pottery business, on account of the abundance of characteristic ware found among them. A peculiarity of this station is the number of moulds found on it in proportion to the other objects, no less than 13 being recorded up to 1875, representing all manner of industrial implements, as knives, winged and socketed celts, sickles, hammers, pins, rings, and buttons.

CHATILLON.--This settlement occupied a sheltered position about 500 feet from the shore. In one part the piles project out of the mud, and are all inclined towards the east at an angle of 45°, but in the rest of the station they are straight. A vessel of earthenware, like the later productions of the lake-dwellers, was found among these piles with the name Severinus stamped on it in Roman characters. (B. 176, p. 24.) Here were found some 40 or 50 of these very remarkable vessels of black earthenware, ornamented with tin strips forming a combination of pleasing designs (=Fig. 193=, Nos. 4 and 5); also some fragments of Gallo-Roman pottery, and others of a very early type. Among the relics are eight moulds (one of which is for a lance-head) and about 320 objects of bronze.

GRESINE.--The bay of Grésine contains the sites of two settlements--one close to the railway, and the other farther out and of larger extent. The latter appears to have been connected with the Pointe de Grésine, as a gravel bank runs from this part of the shore to the site of the palafitte; and the two stations were connected with a gangway, the remains of which have been traced. The railway just touches the site of the inner station, to which accident the discovery of palafittes in Lake Bourget is due. Although the stations at Grésine have been more frequently searched than any others, owing to their proximity to Aix-les-Bains, they have continued for a long time to be the richest in all kinds of antiquities, carbonised fruits, etc. Among the moulds is one for the handle of a sword on one side, and a buckle on the other. (B. 282, Pl. liv. 2.) No less than five bronze hammers have been found on this station, all of which are socketed and cylindrical in shape. Last summer some remarkable objects were fished up, which I saw in the collection of the finder at the Restaurant Lacustre (Port Puer), some of which are here figured (=Fig. 21=, Nos. 4, 6, and 12).

MEIMART.--The _débris_ of this settlement lies about 100 yards from the shore, under 16 to 20 feet of water, and hence it has been less searched, although it is of considerable extent, and has yielded a few antiquities, notably a bronze sword, moulds, fragments of pottery, and a Roman vase.

LE SAUT.--This settlement, like the others, was on a slight elevation some 110 yards from the shore, and at low water its relics have to be fished from a depth of about 10 feet. The station has been well explored, and it has been observed that the ceramic remains indicate greater technical skill the farther out in the lake they are picked up, and where the piles are seen to project higher above the mud. A piece of timber 22 feet long, with numerous mortises at each end, and a bone harpoon with one barb, like those of bronze from Peschiera, are the only objects which distinguish the antiquities of this station, which in general are very similar to those from Grésine.

LES FIOLLETS.--A small settlement in 15 to 20 feet of water. The few bronze objects found here are covered with calcareous matter. Some of the pins collected on it are of novel forms, but the most interesting object is a small file, which may be seen in the Museum at Chambery. Mortised beams were also fished up from this station.

CHARPIGNAT.--Some piles have been observed near the village of Bourget, but the associated industrial remains, if any, have not yet been revealed.

In 1875 Mr. Perrin made a series of elaborate statistics, by which he estimated the entire number of bronze objects from the palafittes in Lake Bourget at a little over 4,000, and tabulated them in various categories according to their uses, indicating the stations on which they were found, and the museums or collections in which they were then located. (B. 282.) Since then so many additional relics have been recovered from the palafittes that Mr. Perrin's tables can offer no approximation to accuracy; but, nevertheless, they have a certain value in showing the relative frequency of the different objects. I have, therefore, taken the liberty of reconstructing from Mr. Perrin's data the following list of the objects found in Lake Bourget, which gives a better general idea of the culture and civilisation of its lake-dwellers than pages of descriptive details:--

LAKE BOURGET.

+----------+-------------- | Grésine. | All Stations. ------------------------------------------+----------+-------------- Founders' {Moulds | 22 | 49 Materials {Ingots and Castings | 46 | 171 {Hammers | 5 | 7 {Hatchets | 19 | 38 {Chisels | 2 | 4 {Gouges | 1 | 1 {Sickles | 7 | 23 {Knives | 35 | 126 Utensils {Paring Knives (Tranchets) | 4 | 13 and {Razors | 18 | 32 Instruments {Stamp | -- | 1 {Borers, etc. | 32 | 164 {Saws | 1 | 2 {File | -- | 1 {Rivets and Nails | 115 | 248 {Needles | 46 | 190 {Fish-hooks | 38 | 144 {Pincers | 5 | 7 | | {Swords | 2 | 3 {Daggers | 9 | 12 Arms {Lances | 5 | 16 {Arrow-heads | 23 | 49 {Shields | 1 | 2 | | {Hair-pins | 163 | 798 {Fibulæ | 2 | 2 {Bracelets | 82 | 252 {Torques | 1 | 2 {Finger-rings | 32 | 121 Objects {Earrings | 4 | 22 of {Girdles | 1 | 1 Ornament {Buckles, Rings, etc. | 140 | 598 {Pendants | 7 | 16 {Clasps | 7 | 50 {Buttons | 35 | 63 {Brackets, etc. | 43 | 185 {Beads | 115 | 488 {Tubes and Spirals | 8 | 73 | | Diverse Objects | 34 | 108 +----------+-------------- Total | 1,110 | 4,002 ------------------------------------------+----------+--------------

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PALAFITTES OF LAKE BOURGET.--Count Costa de Beauregard, in his excellent article on the "Habitations Lacustres du Lac du Bourget" (B. 176), states that the stakes on which these villages were reared were generally of oak, measuring from six to eight inches in diameter, and that they were placed at a distance of 100 to 200 yards from the shore, in a depth of 4 or 5 yards of water. Their lower extremities almost always bore cutting marks, which could only be made by metal tools. The great differences as regards their state of preservation show that the settlements had been occupied for a long time, necessitating the renewal of the piles at different epochs.

The Count also believes that all the palafittes of Lake Bourget were constructed during the Bronze Age, in regard to which he thus writes:--"Malgré les quelques instruments de silex et les hachettes de pierre rencontrés dans nos fouilles, il est peu probable, comme je l'ai déjà dit, que ces bourgades aient été fondées à l'Epoque de la Pierre. Tout nous porte à croire, au contraire, qu'elles florissaient à l'Epoque du Bronze, période qui a dû être de fort longue durée en Savoie, car il a fallu bien des siècles pour accumuler sur les différents points que nous avons explorés une pareille quantité d'objets et de débris de toute sorte." (_Ibid._, p. 23.)

RELICS.--_Weapons._--The swords recovered are few, and of one type (=Fig. 20=, No. 16). That they are of home manufacture is more than probable from the finding of portion of a mould of the same class of weapon, now deposited in the Museum of Chambery. Only a few tips of scabbards hitherto found (=Fig. 21=, No. 20). The daggers were both tanged and riveted to their handles. Lance-heads (Nos. 1 to 4) are all socketed, with only one or two exceptions (Nos. 5 and 12), which might be daggers. They are generally unornamented. Arrow-points are formed for the most part of triangular plates of bronze, with two or four holes for fastening them to the stem; but other forms are met with (=Fig. 21=, Nos. 13, 22 to 26, and 32).

_Implements._--Hatchets (=Fig. 20=, Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 17) are both winged and socketed, and the latter have their sockets round, oval, or rectangular. The chisels and gouges are all socketed (No. 19). Sickles (Nos. 20 and 21) have nearly all a raised button for fixing the handle (in which respect they differ from those of Switzerland), and may be classified under a variety of groups dependent on the degree of curvature and the disposition of their raised ribs. The knives are socketed, tanged, and with a solid handle (Nos. 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14); the former being most, and the latter less, frequent. Razors are of two kinds, with or without a handle (Nos. 22 and 23). Needles have the eye either at the end or middle. Awls and a variety of fish-hooks are abundant; but spears or harpoons are very rare. Rivets, nails, and bits of thin bronze plates, are in some places abundantly met with. Examples of saws and files have been found, but in small numbers.

_Ornaments._--Pins with large round heads are very rare, as are also those with wheel heads (the various forms are shown in =Fig. 21=, Nos. 10, 18, 19, 21, 30, and 31). Bracelets (Nos. 16, 17, and 29), which are numerous, and mostly open, are either solid or hollow (one is of tin); fibulæ and torques rare; finger-rings are of two kinds, plain and spiral (No. 7); portions of girdles, buckles, pendants (No. 5), buttons (No. 33), bronze beads, and small spirals, are abundant; a clasp is like one from Mörigen (=Fig. 20=, No. 25). Tin appears in ingots, in a bracelet, discs, and thin strips for ornamentation to dishes; also gold in the form of a few portions of twisted wire or leaf. Several bronze vessels. One charming little vase (=Fig. 21=, No. 14) of cast bronze, figured by Count Costa de Beauregard, and now in his possession, was found at Grésine along with a sword (=Fig. 20=, No. 16), a knife (No. 8), and about 250 nails supposed to have been used in the manufacture of a shield. Nos. 1 and 2 of =Fig. 21= represent two remarkable objects from Grésine, now exhibited in the Museum at Aix-les-Bains. A similar object, but more worn and minus some of its rings, is in the Museum at Chambery; and a fourth is in the Museum Lacustre at the Port (=Fig. 195=, No. 4). Crescents, spindle-whorls, fragments of cloth, bits of plaited rushes and basket-work, glass in small coloured beads, and amber (=Fig. 21=, Nos. 27 and 28), also in small beads, are all fully represented.

The articles represented by Nos. 4, 6, and 12, may be the brass ornaments on a set of harness; but as to the two curious vessels of bronze (Nos. 8 and 11), I am unable to assign any use.

The pottery shows great skill in the ceramic art. It is of a grey, black, or red colour (Nos. 34, 35, 36, and 37). Vessels combining the three colours, in various geometrical forms, with linear ornamentation, have been found among them, and others with ornamentation reminding one of the impressions of fern-leaves (_Polypodium vulgare_).

A few iron spear-heads (=Fig. 198=) and knives, as well as Roman tiles and pottery, have also been collected from these palafittes.

The domestic and wild animals, so far as they have been identified, are similar to those from the Swiss lake-dwellings.

LAKE ANNECY.

Since 1856 piles have been discovered in several places in Lake Annecy, but owing to the depth of water and the accumulation of mud, their associated relic-beds could not be easily examined. Up to the present time only four stations have been sufficiently investigated to enable us to form some idea of their chronological position with respect to the other remains of lake-dwellings. These are Stations du Port, De Vieugy, Du Chatillon, and Du Roselet.

The first-named (Station du Port) came to light only in the beginning of 1884, when the little harbour at the town of Annecy was being deepened to facilitate the movements of the pleasure-steamers which ply on the lake during the season. In the course of these operations the dredging-machines came into contact with piles, and brought up various kinds of stone implements, etc., in the mud, which, unfortunately, were mostly re-deposited in deep water. The spot where these remains were found lies just at the extremity of the Swan Island; and after the public works were completed, the dredger was put at the disposal of the Société Florimontane, who conducted systematic investigations, both there and at the stations of Roselet and Vieugy. Previous to this time all the stations examined had yielded more or fewer bronze objects, and they were therefore considered to be analogous to those of Lake Bourget, all of which were founded during the Bronze Age. The explorations conducted at the Station du Port upset this view, as from the character of the relics found on it there could be no doubt that its inhabitants lived chiefly during the Stone Age, but the station survived to the Bronze Age. The objects collected from it consist of perforated hammer-axes of serpentine (=Fig. 22=, Nos. 8 and 9), polished hatchets of serpentine, stone spindle-whorls, beautifully-worked daggers and lance-heads of flint (Nos. 5, 6, and 7), as well as arrow-heads, (one of shale stone No. 10), saws, scrapers, etc., of the same material. Only two metal objects, viz. a bronze hair-pin (No. 2), and a bead (No. 3), probably of copper, like those from Vinelz are recorded; but these are said to have been on the surface of the relic-bed.

STATION DU ROSELET was the first discovered in this lake, but it has yielded only a few relics, among which are fragments of pottery, some fine spindle-whorls, a hatchet of serpentine, and a bronze bracelet.

CHATILLON was in a depth of 8 to 13 feet, and among its relics are a socketed knife and a couple of bracelets (No. 4).

The settlement at Vieugy was discovered in 1868, and the most important objects from it are a bronze hatchet of the flat type (No. 1), some stone moulds, and a few rubbers. (B. 315.)

LAKES OF AIGUEBELLETTE AND THUILLE.

M. Troyon reported the existence of piles at two places in the Lake Aiguebellette, and one in Lake Thuille; but of these I find no further records. (B. 31.)

LAKE CLAIRVAUX (FRANCE).