Part 16

The special feature, however, of this station lies in the number of bronze objects it has yielded. In the Ullersberger collection Dr. Lachmann describes six lance-points (No. 17); 16 hatchets with wings (Nos. 2 and 3), two with sockets (No. 1), and a few of the flat type (Nos. 29 and 30); 25 knife-blades (Nos. 9 and 12); four armlets, two ornamented (Nos. 21 and 22); some sickles (No. 23), fish-hooks (Nos. 18 and 19), rings, and more than 100 hair-pins (Nos. 4 to 8, 14, 24, and 25). Also about 40 objects of iron, including a few lance (No. 26) and arrow-heads, one axe, several knives, two pruning-hooks (No. 11), some iron rings, a fibula (No. 15), portion of a two-edged sword, a short sword with a wooden handle, an implement like a fork, a pair of pincers, etc. Besides these, there is another collection of similar implements of bronze and iron in the Museum of Friedrichshafen. Among the iron objects here are two of the so-called pruning-knives (Hippen), a hammer-axe, two harpoons, some arrow-heads and rings, a fibula (La Tène type), six horseshoes, a dagger, and a girdle-hook.

Here, as well as at Sipplingen, a quantity of well-made glass was found on the site of the settlement, consisting chiefly of the bottoms of goblets of a greenish colour, which, according to Mr. Hofrath Klemm, of Dresden, belonged to the sixth or seventh century after Christ. Very few objects of bone and horn were found at Unter-Uhldingen.

The collection of antiquities from the north shore of the Ueberlingersee, including the settlements Nussdorf, Maurach, Unter-Uhldingen, and Sipplingen, made by Mr. Ullersberger and Dr. Lachmann, previous to 1865, was purchased by the Wurtemburg Government, and is now in the Museum at Stuttgart. Since then a considerable number of objects have been found, which are dispersed among the local museums and private collections, as may be seen from an inspection of the Museums at Constance, Ueberlingen, Friedrichshafen, Bregenz, and Bodmann.

Leaving the northern branch of the Lake of Constance, and still following the coast, we come, a little beyond Meersburg, to a couple of stations, Haltnau and Hagnau, both of which subsisted during the early Bronze Age. From HALTNAU a considerable number of mixed relics, including a bronze spear-head and hatchet, two large vases, beautiful stone chisels and perforated axes, implements of nephrite, etc. (B. 378.) In the Rosgarten Museum there are a few things of bronze, as a knife, a small chisel or awl, like =Fig. 32=, No. 13, a flat hatchet (=Fig. 33=, No. 3), and a pendant (No. 13). Of late years HAGNAU has yielded a large number of bronze objects, including knives (No. 9), sickles, spirals, bracelets (No. 6), flat hatchets (Nos. 1, 2, and 4), two with wings, also pendants, lance-heads, portion of sword-blade, and about 200 hair-pins (Nos. 7, 8, and 10). (B. 381 and 462.) The few illustrations of these objects here given are from the Museums of Constance and Friedrichshafen. The stations at IMMENSTAAD, FISCHBACH, and MANZELL are rich in good specimens of jade. From Manzell comes one of the finest chloromelanite hatchets found in this neighbourhood, and also a small one of jadeite, both of which are in the Museum at Friedrichshafen.

Near Lindau, between the Villa Amsee and Aeschbach, there appears to have been a settlement, from which a few relics have gone to the Museums at Munich and Bregenz. (B. 462.)

The stations along the southern shore of the Bodensee have not as yet been so productive in industrial remains as those of the more sheltered Untersee and Ueberlingersee, but nevertheless there is sufficient evidence to show that they existed along the coast, as will be seen from the following list of their sites, which are successively met with between Rorschach and the town of Constance, viz. ARBON, ROMANSHORN, KESSWIL, MOOSBURG, and ROTHFARB near Güttingen, ALTNAU, LANDSCHLACHT, MÜNSTERLINGEN, BOTTIGHOFEN, and KREUZLINGEN. With the exception of the station at Arbon, the remains of these settlements consist of more or fewer piles, and a sprinkling of stone and flint implements. The shore from Kreuzlingen to Constance was found in 1882 to be continuously studded with piles, and among them a large number of relics was picked up, including several implements of nephrite and jadeite, an amber bead, and a large flint hatchet. (B. 462.) The two fragments of stone axes, Nos. 14 and 15, illustrated on =Fig. 29=, are from this part of the lake.

BLEICHE-ARBON.--In 1885 Messikommer relates that during the very low state of the lake in 1882 he was requested to visit Arbon, and make an inquiry regarding the discovery of some prehistoric implements along the shore, which were supposed to indicate the existence of a lake-dwelling in the neighbourhood. In the places referred to he found some flint saws and other implements, but, notwithstanding his well-known experience in lake-dwelling research, he failed to find piles; and the only result of his visit was the discovery of the ruins of a Roman watch-tower near the mouth of the harbour.

On the 19th of September, 1885, Messikommer again received a message from the authorities of Arbon to repair to their town, as this time there could be no doubt that the remains of a true Pfahlbau had been found. The site of this new discovery was not the seashore, but the flat land stretching between Arbon and Steinach. Here, in the course of excavations for a water supply to the town, the workmen came upon piles with cross-timbers, among which were interspersed various relics of human industry. The place where these discoveries were made was about a kilomètre from Arbon, and close by the road to St. Gallen. On a section being exposed, the following layers were observed:--First half a foot of soil, then a foot of loam, and under this a stratified deposit of sand and gravel, about 3 feet in thickness, containing fresh-water shells. The relic-bed was from 1 foot to 1½ foot thick, and in it were found stone hatchets; fragments of sawn stones, apparently the refuse of manufactured implements; corn-crushers; four perforated horn hammers, "_Feldhacken_;" several bone objects--needles, chisels, awls, daggers; a knife-like implement made of a wild boar's tusk, and another made of yew-wood; an oar; fragments of ornamented pottery, etc. Also there were barley, numerous seeds and fruits, shells of hazel-nuts, the skull of a dog, and a quantity of osseous remains, representing the urus, bison, stag, cow, pig, bear, etc. (B. 431, 434c, and 462.)

MINDLISEE AND BUSSENSEE.

In the vicinity of Constance are two small lakes or bogs which have yielded important remains of lake-dwellings. These are the BUSSENSEE and MINDLISEE, both situated in the tract of country stretching between the Untersee and the Ueberlingersee. The former is near Lützelstetten, and in its marginal peat there have been found the following antiquities:--A wooden dish cut out of an alder-trunk, measuring 13 inches in diameter; two amber beads--one a perforated disc 1½ inch in diameter (=Fig. 28=, No. 8), similar to one found at Ober-Meilen, and said to have been in the possession of the late Mr. Aepli, and the other a small ordinary bead (No. 9). Also several articles of stone, horn, copper, and bronze. A curiosity is a portion of the shell of a tortoise perforated with two holes for suspension (No. 17). Also a female human skull of the dolichocephalic type.[25]

The Mindlisee is near Möggingen, and its Pfahlbau is more difficult of investigation, owing to the bogginess of the peat. Some of the antiquities from this locality, and now in the Museum at Constance, consist of fragments of pottery, two ornamented pins and a dagger of copper (Nos. 2, 3 and 11), some bronze objects (Nos. 14 and 15), and a curiously shaped stone, like a hatchet and handle in one piece (No. 12). (B. 381 and 462.)

FEDERSEE.

The settlement in the Federsee was reported on by Oberförster Frank, of Schussenried, in 1876, being the result of systematic investigations conducted by him during the previous year. (B. 285.) It was situated in the south-east corner of an extensive tract of peat which now largely occupies the ancient basin of the Federsee, at a place about three miles distant from the present small lake, and 380 yards from its ancient or glacial margin. Immediately over the glacial _débris_ in which this basin is formed there lies a layer of whitish clay, "Weissergrund," about 15 inches thick, and then follows peat for a thickness of 10 or 12 feet. The lake-dwelling remains are met with at a depth of 6½ feet, but it is impossible to form a correct idea of the extent of the entire settlement, as it is only a portion that has been exposed. At this depth in the peat wooden platforms are met with, formed of layers of round or split timbers lying transversely one above the other, and forming a kind of fascine structure. Between the wooden layers there is always placed a bed of clay, the number of which varies from three to eight, so that there is no uniformity in the thickness represented by these structures.

Inserted through these solid masses of clay and wood, at intervals of about 2¼ feet, were upright beams, only some of which reached the Weissergrund. These piles were slender, only about 4 inches in diameter, and showed no evidence of having either mortises or tenons by which they could be joined with the horizontal beams.

Relics were found not only on the surface of these fascine structures, but also in the clay between the successive layers or platforms, and even underneath the lowest, down as far as the Weissergrund, but never actually in the latter. Between the lowest layers of woodwork and the Weissergrund there is sometimes a space of 4 or 5 feet in which horns, broken bones, and other relics are found; but it is "above and between the horizontal layers of timbers, and chiefly in the immediate neighbourhood of the upright piles, that implements of all kinds are met with--of flint, stone, horn, bone, teeth, and wood; also earthenware vessels and spoons quite perfect."

In June, 1879, Mr. Frank was fortunate in finding the actual foundation of a hut, showing the flooring and portions of the side walls, the dimensions and other particulars of which I will afterwards discuss.[26]

There was no evidence that this settlement, like so many in Switzerland, came to an end by means of a conflagration; and, indeed, the freshness of the upper woodwork and the absence of burnt faggots, etc., negatived the idea of such a catastrophe.

The antiquities found on these remarkable peat dwellings are supposed to belong exclusively to the Stone Age, as hitherto no objects of metal have been found among them (=Figs. 34= and =35=).

_Pottery._--A large quantity of whole and broken dishes are in Mr. Frank's collection. They are sometimes of a greyish colour, and at other times black, as if polished with soot or graphite. The paste is either fine and smooth or mixed with coarse sand, and it is of this latter quality that the larger vessels are made. Of some 140 specimens in Mr. Frank's collection the largest is 12 inches high. Both handles and perforated knobs have been in use. A few fragments of a fine yellowish paste are highly ornamented (=Fig. 34=, Nos. 17, 24, and 25). The fine black pottery consists of pretty jars, bowls, spoons, etc., which are often ornamented with a combination of lines, points, checks, knobs, etc. It is curious that there are no spindle-whorls, and only one object that can be considered to be a loom-weight.

_Stone._--Flint implements to the number of 40, such as saws, arrow-points, and scrapers, are well made (Nos. 1 to 8). One semicircular saw is interesting as being a northern type, which, however, is not in Mr. Frank's collection, but in the Museum of Natural History at Stuttgart (No. 20). Of several stone hatchets some are plain and others perforated and beautifully polished, a few of which are still in their horn or wooden handles (Nos. 9 to 14 and 19). (No horn holders with square tops for insertion into wooden handles are in the collection.) The stone implements are generally made of granite or serpentine, one only being of jadeite (sp. gr. 3·360). A small bit of red stone is perforated with three holes, precisely like similar objects from Robenhausen (=Fig. 24=, Nos. 5 and 6).

_Horn and Bone, etc._--- Of horn there are two scoops (=Fig. 35=, No. 6), and some perforated hammers (No. 7), one of which has portion of the wooden handle in it. There are also spoons of horn, as well as small bone chisels, daggers, pins, knives, haftings, etc. (=Fig. 34=, Nos. 15 and 16), perforated teeth, and some cutting implements of boars' teeth. Portion of the handle of a stone celt, still in its socket, is interesting, as showing a wedge which had been inserted so as to fix it more thoroughly, just as is done at the present day. A piece of wood, showing clearly the marks of a stone axe, is preserved by Mr. Frank in a liquid, as well as various wooden dishes.

_Organic and other Remains._--Bits of rope and coarse matting made of bast, but no cloth, were found. As regards the latter, it was with special interest that I was shown a large consolidated mass of a black material, made of grains of wheat, which most distinctly retained the impression of a finely woven tissue, evidently that of the sack in which the grain had been kept. Other curious objects are two lumps of asphalt, one of which weighs three-quarters of a pound, and a dish filled with birch-bark in little rolls. Dr. Dom, of Tübingen,[27] believes that this so-called asphalt was a product of birch-bark, used by the lake-dwellers when mixed with a black powder for smearing over their dishes.

The eminent Professor Fraas, of Stuttgart, identified the following animals among the osseous remains submitted to him, viz. stag, roe, pig, bear, wolf, fox, lynx, hare, and bison (wild); and the dog, ox, marsh-pig, and sheep (domestic). It is noteworthy that neither the horse nor goat is here represented. (B. 303.)

Wheat, found plentifully, was determined by Professor Hegelmaier to be a large-grained variety of the common species (_Triticum vulgare_). Among other fruits and seeds were linseed, acorns, beech-nuts, hazel-nuts, etc. Pine was not among the wood.

In a jar was found a greyish-black powder, which on analysis proved to be carbonate of lime in combination with a bituminous substance. Another powder was found to be red oxide of iron.

One small bead, of bright red colour, like coral, finds a place in the Schussenried Collection; but the following objects are wanting, viz. clay ring supports, leather, cloth, bread, apples and pears, usually found in lake-dwellings.

From the facts recorded in Mr. Frank's long article, it would appear that the settlers at Schussenried commenced their residence before the girdle of peat, which now covers so largely the ancient bed of the Federsee, extended very far from the shore assigned to it by the retiring glaciers; and that since they abandoned their dwellings not less than 6 or 7 feet of peat have grown over them.

OLZREUTHERSEE.

About two kilomètres north-east of Schussenried lies a small lake--Olzreuthersee--in which Mr. Frank has discovered the remains of a Pfahlbau of similar character to that just described.

Being informed that flint and staghorn implements were turned up in a field close to this lake, he at once visited the spot, and recognised the site of a lake-dwelling, situated in a small peninsula some 800 square yards in extent, and rising 1½ foot above the water, which enclosed it on three sides. Here woodwork, pottery, and other _débris_ of human occupancy were found embedded in a relic-bed rather less than a foot in thickness. The pottery was much broken, but it resembled that from Schussenried, both in quality and style of ornamentation. As at Schussenried also, neither spindle-whorls nor net-weights were found. Of 784 bits of flint collected, 178 were worked. They are thus classified:--47 arrow-points, 57 scrapers, 38 knives, 16 saws, and 20 of an undetermined character. Some of the arrow-points and saws are particularly well made. Of stone implements there were 11 axes of local materials (a few of which were perforated), and 3 hatchets and 4 chisels of nephrite. The nephrite hatchets were small, the largest measuring only 1½ inch by 1¼ inch, and the chisels were 2 inches to 3 inches in length by ¼ inch to 1 inch in breadth. There were besides several corn-crushers, 28 staghorn implements, some perforated, and rolls of birch-bark, etc., but no trace of any metal. Also a few needles, awls, and small chisels.

Mr. Frank draws attention to the remarkable fact, that while here there were nephrite objects, and no jadeite, the very opposite was the case at Schussenried. (B. 395.)

DANUBIAN BASIN.

Crossing over to the great Bavarian plateau which commands the sources of the Danube, there are on the northern flanks of the Alpine chain of mountains a series of lakes, many of which have been shown to contain remains of lake-dwellings. Those which have been sufficiently investigated to claim a notice here are the following:--Würmsee, Mondsee, Fuschlsee, Attersee, and Neusiedlersee.

LAKE OF STARNBERG (WÜRMSEE).

The Lake of Starnberg lies about 18 miles to the south of Munich, close to the spurs of the great Alpine chain of mountains. The coast is an undulating upland, interspersed with woods, villas, pleasure-grounds, and pretty villages--a passing glimpse of which, together with a constant view of the snow-clad mountains in the distance, renders a trip on this lake one of the most enjoyable attractions to Munich. At its northern end, where its surplus water is carried off by the Würm, it is only about a mile in breadth, but as we sail southwards it expands considerably, and ultimately attains a breadth of three or four miles, with a total length of 12 miles. About four miles up on its western side there is a low but prettily wooded island, called Rosen Insel since 1850, because it was then purchased by the King of Bavaria. Here a royal residence was built on the ruins of an old ecclesiastical establishment, and when its foundations were being dug various sepulchral remains of a mixed character were met with--prehistoric, Roman, and mediæval. Tradition says that the island was originally the site of a heathen temple and a sacred burying-place, which was subsequently appropriated by the Christians and used for similar purposes.

When Professor Desor visited the locality in 1864 in search of lake-dwelling remains, he found on the western margin of this island numerous piles, associated with some antiquities of the lacustrine kind so largely found in the Swiss lakes, from which he concluded that this was the site of a pile-village, and suggested that the whole island might be of an artificial nature. During the following year some further excavations were made, but no important results ensued beyond corroborating the opinion of Desor.

In 1874, however, advantage was taken of the low state of the water, and extensive excavations were made under the superintendence of Mr. v. Schab, the Government law-officer at Starnberg. Numerous shafts were dug on the margin of the island, and in all cases a relic-bed was encountered containing antiquities, apparently of very different ages. Not only was there abundance of the usual relics of the Stone Age, but also some of bronze, iron, glass, amber, etc. The collection of objects then made is thus summarised in Mr. v. Schab's report (B. 291):--Of staghorn 187, bronze 158, stone 69, bone 48, wood 7, iron 6, glass 3, and amber 1. The collection is deposited in the Ethnological Museum of Munich, from which I have had the privilege of taking most of the accompanying illustrations (=Figs. 36= and =37=). There appear to be more objects in the case in the Museum from the Starnberg lake-dwelling than Von Schab describes, as, for example, the bronze socketed celt (=Fig. 36=, No. 9), but on the other hand it is well known that some have fallen into private hands.

_Stone._--The flint from this station is of a bluish-grey colour, and does not correspond with the French kind. The articles made from this substance are chips, arrow-points, lance-heads, scrapers, saws, etc. (=Fig. 37=, Nos. 14 and 15). Of nephrite there are one or two specimens in the form of small cutting implements; of ordinary stone celts there are a few more or less perfect (No. 17), and one is in a horn casing (No. 12); also some polishers, and grindstones.

_Horn, etc._--Various kinds of hafting; about 12 bridle-guiders, a few of which are whole (Nos. 2 and 3); several perforated hammer-axes (Nos. 11 and 13); bone daggers, perforated boars' tusks, awls, etc. The most remarkable objects are two or three large bone discs ornamented (=Fig. 36=, Nos. 24 and 30).

_Bronze._--Portion of a solid bracelet ornamented with lines and concentric circles, awls and chisels (Nos. 5 and 19), knives (Nos. 1, 2, and 7), daggers (No. 8), hatchets (Nos. 9, 12, and 20), ornamented pins (Nos. 3, 4, 6, etc.), fibulæ (Nos. 21 and 22), needles (No. 13), arrow-points (No. 14), fish-hooks (No. 27), one sickle (No. 18), portion of an ornamented plate (No. 25).

_Iron._--A large knife (=Fig. 37=, No. 1), a horseshoe, two spear-heads.

_Pottery._--Fragments of pottery were very numerous, probably indicating 100 vessels; but no entire dish is among them. The ornamentation is varied, and consists sometimes of parallel grooves, like that of the terramara pottery in North Italy (=Fig. 37=, No. 16). The paste used was also of a varied quality. Spindle-whorls of various sizes and forms, clay support-rings, and conical and quadrilateral clay weights; also large beads of burnt clay of an orange colour, ornamented with concentric circles of blue and white (=Fig. 36=, No. 17).

_Glass, etc._--A few glass beads of variegated colours (No. 23), and one of amber.

_Wood._--Wooden wedges, spoons, a fragment of basket-work, etc.

_Organic Remains._--Hazel-nuts, burnt corn, and various other seeds. As to osseous remains, those of the domestic animals were twice as numerous as those of the wild species. It may be interesting to note that amongst the latter are included the reindeer (one portion of a horn), cat (one lower jaw of large size), beaver (four individuals), and two kinds of dog (_Canis familiaris_ and _matris opt._).

MONDSEE.

A couple of miles to the west of the southern end of the Attersee lies the Mondsee, followed farther up in the same valley by the small lake of Fuschl, both of which send their united surplus water into the former. Just opposite the outlet of the Mondsee, at a place called See, the site of a very interesting lake-dwelling was discovered, which since 1872 has been very carefully investigated by Dr. Much, of Vienna, with the result that this indefatigable explorer is now in possession of one of the most instructive collections of lake-dwelling remains in Europe. The SEE station covered an area of some 3,500 square yards. The piles were round, 3½ inches to 8 inches in diameter, and irregularly placed, and the relic-bed was deeply covered with mud. The antiquities, many of which are here illustrated (=Figs. 38=, =39=, and =40=), may be thus classified.