Part 20

TORBIERA DELLA BRABBIA.--Some forty years ago the peasants commenced to cut peats in the extensive turbary which lies on both sides of the canal Brabbia, and it is recorded that objects of antiquity were from time to time found, to which, however, little attention was paid. As early as 1856, Angelo Quaglia directed attention to worked beams in the peat, and since 1863, when such objects began to be more inquired after, other piles were detected in one or two places. The most important of these stations is near the mouth of the Brabbia, on its east bank. Here, during the last few years, many interesting relics have been found. While the usual flint and stone objects (Nos. 2 to 8) are abundant, several others of a more novel character have to be added to the list. Especially noteworthy are some peculiarly-shaped fibulæ (Nos. 9 to 15), one being of iron (No. 12); and a curious object made of bronze rings (No. 18), supposed to be an epaulette, is also from this station. Other objects of bronze are some hair-pins (Nos. 22 to 28), an ornamental pendant (No. 17), a winged celt (No. 21), and a ring (No. 19). There is also one flat celt of copper (No. 20). Among the stone celts and chisels some are now recognised to be of jade. (B. 423, p. 80.) No. 33 represents a hatchet of chloromelanite. Quaglia figures a curious flat stone like a wheel, with a wide circular perforation, and brought to a sharp edge along its outer margin. There were also spindle-whorls of terra-cotta (No. 29) and a quantity of pottery (Nos. 34 and 35); also two small pendants of amber. Of staghorn there are two magnificent harpoons, one of which is here figured (No. 32). Square bits of wood with central perforations (No. 36) are supposed to have been used as floats for fishing-nets. Among the osseous remains is the skull of a deer with part of the horns attached.

PUSTENGA.--Between Galliate and Doverio, and not very far from the south shore of Lake Varese, there exists in the plain called "Pustenga" a turbary of some 17 acres in extent, which was formerly a small lake, and in which G. Quaglia (B. 423, p. 90) has detected the remains of a palafitte. Among the objects recorded from this station are two arrow-points, a knife and a saw of flint, six stone celts, and a large jaw of an ox. Of the stone hatchets four are of serpentine, one of jadeite (?), and one of chloromelanite. The latter is figured by Quaglia. (B. 423, Pl. iv. 45.)

LAKE MONATE.

In the month of April, 1863, Stoppani, Desor, and De Mortillet searched this lake unsuccessfully, and consequently came to the conclusion that it was unsuitable for lake-dwellings ("non potesse offrire piaggia opportuna per le palafitte"). Notwithstanding this opinion, the Abate Ranchet, with the assistance of two local fishermen, succeeded shortly afterwards in discovering the sites of two settlements on the east shore of the lake, near the village of Cadrezzate. (B. 159.) The stations were in water from 6 to 9 feet deep, and about 200 yards apart, and their sites were marked by large mounds of stones ("enormi cumuli di grossi ciottoli"). Fragments of pottery were found in abundance, which in quality of paste and form corresponded with those of the palafittes in Lake Varese. One dish had also a quantity of black stuff, which was supposed to have been the remains of some kind of porridge. A saw, two arrow-points, and a few chips, of flint, and bits of charcoal, were the only objects, in addition to the pottery, collected.

Little was done by way of exploring these stations till the year 1875, when the brothers Borghi, the proprietors of the lake, became interested in its submerged antiquities, and proposed to make further researches. To the experienced archæologist Castelfranco they entrusted the conduct of these researches, and it is to his report I am indebted for the following facts. (B. 321.)

SABIONE.--The most northerly and largest of the two stations at Cadrezzate is about 60 yards from the shore, and occupies a quadrangular space of about 100 yards in length, and rather more than the half of this in breadth. This area was overspread with stony mounds having intervals of from two to four yards between, and for this reason it was difficult to operate with the drag. Piles were found in the intervals between, as well as on, these steinbergs; but Castelfranco thinks the former were the roadways between the huts, which were built on the piles supported by the stones.

The relics collected were similar to those from Varese, of which the following are the principal objects:--

A bronze hatchet (_coltello-ascia_) 5 inches long, and 1 to 2¼ inches broad.

Pottery, including fragments with handles of various forms.

Dishes containing a black crust ("simile al residuo che la polenta lascia in fondo al painolo dopo la cottura") were frequent. Some of this stuff was submitted to Professor Sordelli for analysis, and he thinks, from detecting in it the halves of acorns, that it was a kind of porridge made from this fruit. One thin spindle-whorl 2 inches in diameter had a few punctured dots on its surface, intended as an ornamentation. One flint arrow-point, and a stone hatchet converted into a polisher, like those already described from Varese. There were also shells of hazel-nuts, and the kernels of the cornel cherry.

POZZOLO.--This station was similar to the former as regards the stony mounds, but only about half its size. The principal relics from it were:--

_Bronze._--A triangularly-shaped spear-head or dagger 3¼ inches long and an inch broad at its base, where there were two rivet-holes; a hair-pin 3½ inches long, with a ring head; also a fish-hook.

_Stone._--A few chips, arrow-points, and a chisel of dark flint; a hammer and polisher of the hatchet-shaped kind.

_Pottery._--Fragments of a coarse and fine kind. Vases containing the "sostanza terrosa" already noticed. One bone was found, and in one spot there was a large quantity of cherry-stones.

OCCHIO.--The "Stazione dell' Occhio" is near Monate, and consists of a mass of stones in water from 10 to 14 feet deep; but, notwithstanding the difficulty of searching in such a depth, the following industrial remains were collected:--Chips of flint, charcoal, fragments of pottery, shells of hazel-nuts, and a bronze hook--sufficient to show that it belonged to the same period as the others.

LAKE VARANO, TERNATE, OR COMABBIO.

The previous failure of the early explorers and subsequently of the experienced fisherman known as "Lo Spariss" in their search for palafittes in Lake Varano did not prevent Castelfranco from trying his luck in this lake also. In July, 1878, with the assistance of two fishermen experienced in lake-dwelling researches, he made a tour of the lake (some 5 miles in circumference), and discovered traces of no less than eight stations in different localities, chiefly on the east shore. But the objects, though sufficiently distinctive to show their origin, are too few and unimportant to require any detailed notice.

Professor Castelfranco comes to the conclusion that in both the lakes of Monate and Varano the palafittes are coeval with those in Lake Varese. He is, however, struck with the entire absence of bones from both of them--a fact which appears to him unaccountable. (B. 321.)

TORBIERA DI MOMBELLO

Between the villages of Mombello and Cerro, on the east shore of Lake Maggiore, and a few miles south of Laveno, there was a small turbary in which Dr. Carlo Tinelli discovered the remains of a palafitte. The peat was being excavated from 1844, but it was 20 years later before the remains of the palafitte were detected. The further progress of the peat-cutting was carefully watched by Tinelli and a priest, Guiseppe Della Chiesa, in the interests of archæology. Some of the piles were extracted, and were said to show marks of having been fashioned by stone implements.

The relics collected here are:--Flint objects in considerable abundance, among which were two saws, a lance-head, and a beautiful knife-flake (=Fig. 50=, No. 1), now in the Museum at Varese; fragments of coarsely-made dishes without handles or ornamentation. Three canoes, roughly made and similar to those from Mercurago, were found at a depth of 8 feet. One of the canoes, 7 feet long, was presented to the Museum at Varese. Along with these objects were bones of the stag, goat, and roe. (B. 171.)

TORBIERA DI VALCUVIA.

In 1870 Professor Leopoldi Maggi described the remains of a palafitte found in "un bacino torboso" between Santa Maria di Cuveglio and Cavona. (B. 187.) This basin lies among glacial _débris_, and was formerly a small lake, but in modern times it became entirely filled up with peat. On the surface there was a layer of vegetable soil 10 inches thick, then spongy peat to the depth of 3 feet, and then a layer of more solid peat about 1 foot 8 inches thick. Underneath these layers was a blackish muddy deposit, extending to an unknown depth, into which the piles were inserted. These piles were from 5 to 10 feet long, and 8 to 10 inches in diameter. They were closely set, and along with them were several beams lying horizontally. The relics consisted of pottery, knives of bronze and iron, charcoal, etc., all of which were dispersed.

TORBIERA DI BRENNO.

Another locality that has yielded interesting remains, of "stazioni palustri," is the "torbiera di Brenno-Useria," situated along the road from Varese to Porto Ceresio, on Lake Lugano. Here, some years ago, a canoe was dug out by the peat-cutters, and associated with it were a large number of weapons of bronze and iron, bracelets, fibulæ (=Fig. 51=, No. 14), bones of domestic animals and of man, but no objects of flint. (B. 327, p. 92.)

LAKE OF LECCO.

As early as 1860 Desor thought he had discovered indications of a palafitte in Lake Maggiore,[39] but this was subsequently disproved, and up to the present time no remains of these ancient dwellings have been found in this lake. The explanation of their absence in the larger lakes of Italy is to be found in the physical conditions of these glacial and rock-cut basins, which, owing to the depth of water and their rapidly-shelving shores, afford no holding for piles.

Stoppani, in his first exploratory tour, turned his attention to Lago di Lecco as, in his opinion, a suitable locality, and having found a group of piles half-way between the Bridge of Lecco and Malgrate stretching towards the western shore, he concluded this was "una bella palafitta a cui nulla mancherebbe per ritrarre perfettamente quelle della età del bronzo." The only resemblance of this supposed palafitte to those of the Bronze Age was the fact that the tops of the piles projected 1 or 2 feet above the lake mud, as no relics of any kind were found. Further researches have not confirmed the genuineness of this palafitte, and Regazzoni throws out the hint that the piles observed by Stoppani might be the work of modern fishermen, who are in the habit of inserting stakes for fixing their nets and which, among themselves, go under the name of _serrade_ or _gueglie_. (B. 67 and 327, p. 70.)

LAKE OF ANNONE.

In the narrow strait which connects the small lake-basins of Sale and Annone, Stoppani found some piles projecting from a heap of stones in a depth of 6 or 7 feet of water, which he took to be indications of a palafitte. In 1877 Castelfranco (B. 307) re-examined the locality, and came to the conclusion that the submerged piles and stones observed by Stoppani were merely the remains of a bridge which, at some former period, connected the peninsula Isella with the southern shore; and so the matter still rests.

LAKE OF PUSIANO.

More satisfactory discoveries were, however, made by Stoppani in his preliminary tour in the Lake Pusiano, where, at the north end of the Isola dei Cipressi, he recognised the existence of a pile-dwelling. The genuineness of this station has been confirmed both by Castelfranco and Regazzoni, who had subsequently made some investigations in the locality. The industrial remains were confined to a few objects of flint-saws, scrapers, flakes, and arrow-points, a portion of a terra-cotta whorl, and some bones and teeth of animals. In 1877 Regazzoni found piles at the other end of the Isola dei Cipressi buried in a heap of stones. (B. 327, p. 72.)

TORBIERA DI BOSISIO.

To the east of Lake Pusiano lies the torbiera di Bosisio, which came early under the notice of archæologists by the discovery in it, at a depth of 10 feet, of a beautiful bronze axe-head (=Fig. 51=, No. 10). Since then a great many relics have been from time to time found in this peat, but they have been widely dispersed, and as the deposit is now nearly exhausted no more finds can be looked for. Sig. G. B. Villa,[40] in his descriptive notices of this peat moor, speaks of arrow-points, burnt wood, bits of straw, trunks of trees, etc. Among other things which have been sent to different museums are a bronze spoon (No. 11), (probably of much later date than the other objects), some beautiful arrow-points (Nos. 1 to 7), and a lance-head of flint. An iron hook of modern shape was found at a depth of 3 feet. (B. 327, p. 97.)

TORBIERA DI CAPRIANO.

In 1869 Dr. Marinoni described a turbary at Capriano, near Renate (B. 169), in which some remarkable objects of bronze were found at a depth of about 7 feet. Similar objects are prevalent among the relics from the Swiss lake-dwellings, and, judging from what we know of the early Iron Age in Italy, they appear to belong to this period. The find comprised a hair-pin (=Fig. 51=, No. 13), a fibula (No. 18), three bracelets (Nos. 15 and 16), a pendant (No. 17), and a spiral ring (No. 19), all of which are here reproduced from Marinoni's work. (_Ibid., Mem._, vol. vi. Pl. 1.)

TORBIERA DI MAGGIOLINO.

Sig. G. B. Villa, in his "Notizie sulle Torbe della Brianza" (B. 90), describes another locality not far from Bosisio, in the territory of Rogeno, called Maggiolino, in which piles, bones, fragments of pottery, flint knives, and arrow-points, etc., were found--evidently the usual _débris_ of a palafitte. (See also B. 327, p. 97.)

TORBIERA DI MERCURAGO.

Since Gastaldi published his first report on the discovery of palafittes in the bog of Mercurago by Professor Moro, many additional objects from this locality have come to light, some of which have been noticed and figured by Gastaldi in his numerous articles on the antiquities of Lombardy. The peat is now exhausted, but from these notices, together with an inspection of the relics still preserved in the Turin Museum, we can have a tolerably correct notion of this the first discovered lake-dwelling in Italy. (B. 43, 52, 91, 168, and 294.)

The peat basin of Mercurago is of an oblong shape, and the antiquities and piles were in a circumscribed place at its northern end, about 130 feet from the bank. Here in a space of 30 feet square, cleared for antiquarian purposes, were counted 22 piles bound together with cross timbers (=Fig. 52=). The superficial deposit of peat was about 6 feet in thickness, and the tops of the piles reached half-way upwards, while their lower ends penetrated from 3 to 4 feet into the lake mud below. Between this mud and the superincumbent peat there was a bed of fern, and lying immediately over it were three earthen dishes in good preservation, one of which appears to be a lid or cover for another dish (=Fig. 53=), together with a large quantity of the broken fragments of others, a bronze pin (=Fig. 60=, No. 6), a scraper 4¾ inches long (No. 7), several arrow-heads (=Fig. 54=), and quite a litter of flint flakes, some shells of hazel-nuts, and stones of the cornel cherry, etc.

The pottery was made of a blackish paste mixed with coarse grains of sand or quartz, and a few dishes were ornamented with patterns of zig-zag scratches separated by parallel lines (=Fig. 60=, No. 13). Some had handles, and others small ears or perforated knobs, two of which had portions of string still attached to them (=Figs. 55= and =56=).

Among other relics from this station were:--Two daggers of bronze, one still retaining a couple of rivets for fixing the handle (=Fig. 60=, No. 1); two bronze pins (Nos. 2 and 4); a wooden anchor 3¼ feet long, terminating at one end with two hooks and at the other with a hole as if for attaching a rope; a canoe 6 feet long, 3¼ feet wide, and about a foot in depth (=Fig. 57=); near the canoe lay a bronze drill (=Fig. 60=, No. 5); and a neat spindle-whorl of baked clay 1½ inch in diameter (No. 22). Among the more recent finds are numerous flint arrow-heads and scrapers (No. 8); a spindle-whorl of soapstone, _pietra ollare_ (No. 16); a wooden dish and perforated floats for nets; earthenware dishes of great variety (No. 12); and 16 conical beads of vitreous paste, which, when strung together, formed a handsome necklace (No. 9); and a large cake of burnt clay perforated in the middle (No. 18).

But the most remarkable objects were two wooden wheels. One (=Fig. 58=) was made of three boards kept together with two crossbars dovetailed into the boards, and in the centre was a round hole having on each side of it a semilunar space. This wheel, which was not quite circular, had an average diameter of 2 feet. The other wheel (=Fig. 59=) was differently constructed. It had six spokes: two of them were made of the same piece of wood as the nave, and their extremities formed part of the rim; the other four, two on each side, connected the fellies with the central piece. The fellies were neatly mortised together and the workmanship was very good. These wheels were so far decayed that they could not be preserved, but casts of them were taken, which may now be seen in the Museum at Turin.

TORBIERA DI BORGO-TICINO, ETC.

Analogous remains to those in Mercurago have been found in several other localities, especially in the districts called Pennino near Borgo-Ticino, and the moor of Gagnano; but the objects were dispersed or thrown away. A stone celt from this place is figured by Gastaldi (=Fig. 60=, No. 19).

In the neighbouring moor of Conturabia a group of piles was observed in the centre of the bog which appears to have belonged to a palafitte of a later date, as some of the piles were said to have been tipped with iron. Gastaldi procured one of these piles, and although this particular one had no iron on it he was convinced that it had been sharpened by instruments similar to those in use at the present day. (B. 52.)

TORBIERA DI SAN MARTINO (SAN GIOVANNI DEL BOSCO).

This morainic basin is situated in the vicinity of Ivrea, immediately to the south of the village of Giovanni, and it also has yielded, from time to time, antiquities which leave no doubt that it was a home of the lake-dwellers. The bog is of an oval shape, about 1¼ mile in length, and half this in breadth, and is beautifully situated amidst groves of chestnut and walnut trees interspersed through rich meadows and fields. On its margin are found the trunks of trees, from 1 to 2 feet in diameter, still attached to their roots and lying just as they had fallen with their points directed to the centre of the bog. These trees are generally pine, oak, hazel, alder, etc.

Below the ordinary peat there is a layer of blackish mud which, on being dried, is combustible, and underneath it lie the stratified layers of ancient lake silt, consisting of a whitish clayey substance. In the blackish intermediate layer there was found, in September, 1864, a canoe 8 feet 4 inches long, 1 foot 9½ inches broad, and 8 inches deep. (A model of this canoe is now in the Museum at Turin.) A few years later (1868) another canoe was found in this turbary, of slightly larger dimensions, having two paddles in it (=Fig. 60=, No. 17). The following objects are, among others, described and figured by Gastaldi as coming from the same place, viz.:--Specimens of pottery (Nos. 14 and 23), one of which (No. 23) is a lid of a vessel precisely similar to the one from Mercurago (=Fig. 53=); flint and stone implements (=Fig. 60=, No. 20); wooden net-floats (No. 21); two bronze pins (Nos. 10 and 11); and a remarkable bronze pendant (No. 15), supposed, however, to be of Etruscan or Roman origin, and of later date than the other remains. (B. 168 and 294.)

Other turbaries in the western districts of the Po that have yielded prehistoric remains, but with which there were no piles or other indications of lake-dwellings, are:--

TORB. DI TORRE BAIRO.--Fragments of vessels made on the wheel. In another small bog a quern-stone was found which is supposed to be of Roman times.

TORB. DI MONGENET.--A bronze paalstab. (B. 294, tav. xiii. 4.)

TORB. DI BOLENGO.--A bronze arrow-point. (_Ibid._, tav. xiii. 9.)

TORB. DI TRANA.--A sword of bronze 27 inches long (B. 294, Pl. xi.), and a celt of the flat type, (B. 168, Pl. viii.)

LAGO DI PIVERONE.--A bronze sword. (B. 168, Pl. viii.)

TORB. DI OLEGGIO-CASTELLO.--A bronze sword and a socketed spear-head. (_Ibid._)

LAGOZZA.

Lagozza is the name given to a small natural "bacino torbosa" situated in an undulating plateau of morainic _débris_, about 4 miles from Gallarate in the province of Milan. It is roughly oval in shape and covers a superficial area of 10 or 12 acres. Till recently this basin was a peaty bog, passable in summer, with certain precautions, to "Cacciatori;" but in former times, as its name implies, it was a stagnant lake. In 1875 the proprietor, Count Cornaggio, an ardent and skilful agriculturist, determined to remove the peat altogether, and, for this purpose, commenced operations by cutting a central canal to carry off the water. While the workmen were thus engaged they began to find near the middle of the bog bits of pottery, charcoal, and rotten piles, which, on skilled attention being directed to them, turned out to be undoubted indications of a prehistoric lake-dwelling. The process of clearing out the peat was therefore watched with great interest by local antiquaries, as the operation would involve a more thorough investigation of the antiquities imbedded in the peat than any researches that were likely to be undertaken solely from the scientific point of view. It was not till the spring of 1880 that the main portion of the palafitte was reached by the peat-cutters, and then various antiquarian objects were met with. The turf is now entirely removed, and the relics collected are deposited partly in the Museo Civico in Milan, and partly in the Museo Archeologico at Como.