Part 27

_Fibulæ_ (=Fig. 91=).--The number of fibulæ from La Tène now amounts to several hundreds. They are all made on one principle, viz. that of our modern safety-pins. This principle is simply an evolutionary stage of the function of the straight pin, by which the point is bent round so as to meet the top after having subjected the stem to several twists so as to give it elasticity. In the part corresponding to the top of the pin there is a catch for the point when fastened. The ornamentation on the upper part and the number of spiral twists on the stem are so varied that each fibula has a distinct individuality of its own, and no two specimens exactly alike have ever yet been found. Their average size is from two to six inches in length, but sometimes they exceed this, as in one here figured (No. 1), which is 10½ inches in length. They are almost exclusively made of iron (Nos. 1 to 6), the exceptions being one or two of bronze (Nos. 18 and 26), and a small circular-shaped brooch of gold (B. 428, p. 28), which are somewhat analogous to those of the Hallstadt period.

_Pins, Needles, etc._--The ornamental pins are few in number, and generally made of bronze. Of four here figured (Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 36) one has a double stem, and is so similar to some half-dozen found in the Pfahlbauten of the Bronze Age that it is more likely to be a stray object from the latter than a relic of La Tène. Nor is this at all improbable, as we have already seen that there were several of these stations quite in the vicinity of La Tène, the relic-beds of which have become almost entirely disintegrated by the waves.

A remarkable object, found by Vouga, consists of an ornamental bronze tube, closed at one end, and having six movable rings symmetrically arranged (No. 19). There can be no doubt this was a needle-holder, as it contained a well-formed needle of iron (No. 20). Another curious object, having an eye like that of a needle, terminating in an elongated bulb instead of a sharp point, is represented by No. 15.

_Buckles, Rings, etc._--A large assortment of iron clasps (Nos. 27 and 30), buckles (Nos. 28 and 32), rings (No. 33), etc., is to be found in all the collections from La Tène. There are also to be met with a few beads and buttons of bronze (No. 23), and some glass beads of a pretty blue colour, or variegated with blue, yellow, and white (Nos. 22, 24, and 25). One has part of a bronze twisted wire passing through it (No. 21).

_Bracelets._--In striking contrast to the fibulæ, bracelets are very rare. Dr. Gross figures one of bronze wire; another of an iron rod, with the inside flattened; and a third of iron plate, riveted, forming a hollow tube, reminding one of the ornamental hollow rings of the Bronze Age. (B. 446, Pl x. 17, 18, and 27.) Of the two here figured (Nos. 34 and 35), one is a spiral rod, and the other a flat band, both of iron. Fragments of glass bracelets, in the form of a flat band, having the outside ornamented with wavy corrugations, have also been found. (B. 126, p. 294.)

_Neck-Rings._--Several portions of massive neck rings, precisely similar to those represented on ancient statuary as peculiar to distinguished Gallic warriors, as, for example, that on the neck of the "Dying Gladiator" in Rome, have been found at La Tène. They appear to have been made of two symmetrical portions, which, when worn, were united at the back of the neck, and then formed a large penannular ring, with an expanded bulb at each end (Nos. 16 and 17). They were sometimes plain rings, but generally they were more or less worked into some artistic pattern. That represented on the dying gladiator is distinctly seen to be twisted spirally immediately above the terminal bulbs. Of the two here represented, one (No. 16) is of gold, and weighs 72·90 grammes, and the other of bronze (No. 17).

4. HORSE-TRAPPINGS, WAGGONS, ETC.--Among the objects under this class we have not only bridle-bits (=Fig. 89=, Nos. 14 to 18), spurs (No. 6), various discs and other objects of bronze, supposed to have been ornaments on horse-harness (Nos. 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 21), but the actual remains of waggons, as wheels (No. 12), part of the wooden pole, linch-pins (No. 19), and other attachments. The wheel here figured shows a nave with 10 spokes and fellies, which are bound together by an iron hoop, precisely similar to the wheels now in use. "La roue entière," writes its discoverer, "a un mètre de diamètre; trouvée en compagnie d'épées gauloises, elle avait sur le moyeu un umbo de bouclier. Le cercle de fer qui l'entoure, d'environ un centimètre d'épaisseur, a 5 centimètres de largeur, le moyeu a 60 centimètres de longueur, il est formé de deux pièces, reliées de chaque côté par un ou deux petits cercles. Les rais sont en chêne au nombre de dix et la jante est, ou plutôt était, d'une seule pièce courbée et paraît de frêne; elle avait été raccommodée et la pièce est assujettie au moyen d'un clou et d'une embrasse de fer.

"Elle était encore entière, mais, en la transportant, quelques rais tombèrent et comme je ne pus pas la mettre immédiatement et entièrement dans l'eau, la jante se retira en peu de jours, laissant un espace entre le bois et le fer, de sorte que, quand je voulus mettre la roue entière dans son bassin de zinc, elle se sépara en plusieurs morceaux.

"Dans la même couche, mais dans la partie inférieure, puisqu'elle allait en pente, on trouvait des parties d'autres roues, des rais, moyeux calcinés, des manches de haches droits ou coudés pour celts, des parties de bois de lances, des poches en bois avec manches des fragments de grandes écuelles en bois, etc., de grandes et fortes poutres avec mortaises." (B. 428, p. 22.)

The fragments of this interesting relic are now carefully preserved in liquid in a large trough in the Museum at Neuchâtel.

The number of bridle-bits (excluding objects represented by Nos. 15 and 16, which are also supposed to have been used for this purpose) amounts to about a dozen. They are all made of well-beaten iron, with the exception of one (No. 17) which has a superficial layer of bronze over the iron, and have large side-rings, and a central mouthpiece divided into two symmetrical halves.

5. MONEY, OBJECTS OF AMUSEMENT, ETC.--_Coins._--But perhaps the most interesting feature of La Tène is the discovery of coins among its strange assortment of relics. Some of these are Roman, but others are undoubtedly of Gallic origin, being identical with those otherwise known to have been current among the various tribes in Gaul, prior to any intervention in their affairs by the Romans. In most cases they were picked up on the surface or amongst constantly shifting gravel, and of course no conclusive inferences could be drawn from them. This uncertainty is now, however, removed by the discovery of two gold pieces at a depth of 10 feet below the present surface, and associated with the usual characteristic objects of La Tène. "En creusant à la drague," says Vouga, "les pêcheurs de M. Schwab ont découvert une monnaie d'or et plusieurs monnaies d'argent et de potin ou de bronze. Plus tard, M. Alexis Dardel et d'autres personnes en ont aussi trouvé en assez grand nombre, surtout sur la tourbe et sur les bords du lac où les vagues les entraînaient, et une quantité de monnaies romaines avec des monnaies de Marseille, de Nîmes, de Lyon, de Vienne. Le plus grand nombre a dû se trouver sur l'île, entre les deux bras de la Thielle; mais de là, à mesure que le terrain était enlevé, ces monnaies étaient balayées et entraînées au bord avec les graviers.

"Comme elles se trouvent toutes pêle-mêle, on ne peut en tirer des conclusions bien sûres. Il n'en est pas de même de deux monnaies en or trouvées à trois mètres de profondeur avec les objets mêmes de la Tène, en février, 1884; ce sont, d'après les descriptions qu'en a faites M. le Dr. Trachsel, de Lausanne, qui les croit Carnutes, du pays Chartrain. Une monnaie gauloise, en or pâle, concave, du poids de 7.783 grammes (=Fig. 92=, No. 2): A. Tête à bandeau royal; R. Aurige conduisant un char attelé de deux chevaux; à l'exergue, inscription étrusque ou grecque, indistincte." (B. 428, p. 29.) The other coin is very like the above in every respect, except that it is smaller, being only about one quarter of its weight.

The gold coins are rare, only seven in all, according to Vouga, being recorded. One, in the Museum of Bienne, is described by Keller (B. 126, p. 302, and Pl. xv. 34) as a bad imitation of the Macedonian coins of Philip. Another (described in the _Anzeiger_ for 1883, p. 401) is similar to =Fig. 92=, No. 2. A fifth is a fragment, and the remaining two consist of small elongated rolls of gold (No. 10).[46]

Besides the gold coins from La Tène, there are about 100 of silver, and about the same number of bronze or potin (a mixture of copper, tin, and lead), representing a great variety of coinages, both native and foreign (Nos. 3 to 9, and 11).

Dr. Gross, having submitted some specimens of these coins, intended as illustrations for his work on La Tène, to M. A. de Barthelémy, publishes the following as the opinion of this eminent numismatist as to their date:--

"En résumé les monnaies dessinées sur la planche XI, à l'exception des Nos. 23 et 24 [gold coins] qui, à cause de leur métal, ont en un cours prolongé, sont de la seconde moitié du premier siècle avant l'ère chrétienne, principalement de la fin." (B. 446, p. 47.)

_Amusements._--Among objects of this nature are several dice, some of bronze and others of bone (Nos. 12 to 14). Also, about a dozen small stones of the size of ordinary marbles, and perfectly round, except on one side, where there is a segment, as it were, cut off, are supposed to have been used for some kind of game.

_Diverse._--In concluding this summary of the relics from La Tène, I have merely to mention as unclassified objects a four-footed figurine and a small wheel, both of bronze, and in the collection of Mr. Dardel (Nos. 16 and 17). Dr. Gross describes a bronze object resembling a tobacco-pipe (No. 21) which, he believes, was found on this station.

6. OSSEOUS REMAINS.--To these relics is further to be added a large quantity of the osseous remains of men and domestic animals. Of the circumstances in which the earlier finds of this description were made we have not very definite information. Keller, writing in 1866 (B. 126, p. 295), speaks of a basketful of human bones representing some eight individuals; and Desor about the same time found a human skull, which he figures in his work on the palafittes. (B. 95.) M. Vouga, however, gives precise and most interesting information regarding the conditions in which he encountered the osseous remains of human beings, as well as those of the horse, ox, pig, and dog.

We have already seen how M. Vouga came upon the _débris_ of a series of wooden houses constructed on the banks of an ancient river. Referring to these establishments he thus writes:--

"Devant le premier établissement je trouvai un crâne entier de femme. Devant le second, je trouvai pareillement les ossements de trois ou quatre personnes et trois crânes, dont un portait les traces de coups d'épée sur le sommet; un second était remarquable par sa déformité et l'extension de la partie postérieure. Devant le quatrième, deux mâchoires inférieures et les ossements dune trentaine de personnes, avec un très grand nombre d'os de chevaux, de boeufs, et de porcs. Devant le troisième, un crâne de chien grand et entier. Devant le cinquième, trois squelettes entiers dont un portait une corde au cou(?).

"Outres ces crânes et ces ossements dont je puis indiquer la provenance, il a été trouvé un grand nombre d'autres squelettes, d'ossements divers, de crânes de chevaux appartenant à une petite race.

"Je ne pourrais pas garantir l'âge de tous les squelettes, puisque, comme je l'ai dit en commençant, deux doivent être bourguignons, ayant retrouvé l'emplacement de la tombe avec un poignard de cette époque, et que six autres se sont trouvés à mi-hauteur, non loin d'un chénau en bois, et que la couche romaine paraissait s'incliner vers ce côté-là," (B. 428, p. 31.)

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON LA TÈNE.--In face of the above facts, the opinion of the earlier investigators that La Tène was an ordinary palafitte of the Iron Age, analogous to the lake-villages of the preceding ages, can no longer be entertained. Its geographical position, commanding the great highway between Constance and Geneva, and the vast preponderance of warlike weapons among its relics, clearly point to its having been a military station or outlook. Nor does it require much penetration to learn from its present ruins something of its final fate. The quantity of human bones representing some 30 or 40 individuals, some with gashes on the tops of their skulls; the number of abandoned swords, still in their scabbards; the incongruous medley of relics found by Vouga at the bottom of the ancient river-bed--all indicate that its capture by an enemy was sudden and the struggle fierce. The discovery of Roman remains, such as coins, tiles, pottery, bricks (one with the mark of the 21st legion, "Rapax"),[47] on and around La Tène, leave little doubt that its conquerors were the Romans.

_Literature._--B. 22, 31, 72, 95, 119, 126, 419, 420_a_', 420_b_', 420_c_, 428, 434_a_, 446, 449_a_", and 463_c_. Also Virchow on the human remains in vols. xv. and xvi., _Zeit. für Ethn. Verhand._

LAKE PALADRU.

From time immemorial a legend prevailed among the inhabitants around Lake Paladru that a city had been buried in its waters--a catastrophe brought about by the maledictions of the monks of the neighbouring Carthusian establishment of Sylve Bénite. On the 24th September, 1864, M. Vallier, of Grenoble, and some friends arranged a boating excursion for the purpose of examining the lake as to the reported existence of piles in it, with the view of accounting for the currency of the above legend, and found no less than six different sites where piles were to be seen projecting more or less from the mud. These were supposed to be the remains of lacustrine villages of which the following particulars were ascertained:--

1. STATION DES GRANDS ROSEAUX.--This station was situated near the head of the lake, and about two hundred yards from shore; depth of water from one to two feet; piles sometimes three feet apart, and sometimes much less; over 150 were counted.

2. STAT. DE L'ILE DE LOYASSE.--Two hundred and fifty yards from the former, and about 100 yards from shore. Only about twenty piles were counted.

3. STAT. DE LA GENEVRIÈRE.--About 600 yards farther on and 70 yards from shore. About twenty piles counted.

4. STAT. DE LA NEYRE.--About 200 yards from the preceding, and close to the shore.

5. STAT. DU PLÂTRE.--About thirty piles counted in water from 10 to 13 feet deep.

6. STAT. DU PUITS DES CARPES.--Fifty or sixty piles observed close to each other and about 20 yards from the shore.

These indications of pile-dwellings, though strengthened by further observations by M. Vallier in the following year, really contributed little to the elucidation of the problem as to the period to which they belonged; so that the work of M. Vallier, "La Légende de la Ville d'Ars sur les Bords du Lac de Paladru," leaves the question much in the same position as it was left by Professor Fournet, who had already suggested, in 1860,[48] that the legend of the buried city had its origin in the former existence of lake-dwellings. It remained to M. Ernest Chantre, of Lyons, to make the first practical investigations to clear up the mystery. To this line of research he was led by the encouragement and knowledge he had received at the first meeting of the International Congress of Prehistoric Archæology, held at Neuchâtel, in 1866, when he had an opportunity of being initiated by Professor Desor and others in lacustrine research. His first efforts, an account of which was published in the _Matériaux_ for 1867, showed that two of the stations mentioned by M. Vallier belonged to the Iron Age. Learning then that engineering works were in progress for regulating the outflow of the waters of this lake, which would have the effect of lowering its level, M. Chantre deferred his proposed excavations till these more favourable conditions should be accomplished. His subsequent investigations, conducted in the autumn of 1870, were confined to the first-named station (Grands Roseaux), which, from his former experience, gave greater promise of archæological results. From it he had already picked up some bones of the ox, pig, stag, etc., the kernels of a species of small cherry and of two kinds of plums, fragments of pottery of a different kind from any found in the Swiss lake-dwellings, an iron knife, and a wooden comb. Owing to the lowering of the lake the station was now (1870) a foot above water, and it could be easily examined by the spade on _terra firma_. In the excavations which ensued the following strata were met with:--(1) Eight inches of peaty mud and roots of water plants; (2) About eighteen inches of peat containing bits of worked wood and bones; (3) Ten inches of peat containing bones, fragments of pottery, and a great variety of antiquities; (4) Underneath this peat was the whitish lake sediment known as shell-marl.

The area occupied by the piles and wooden beams was about 1,600 square yards in extent, and of a somewhat circular shape. The tops of the piles were water-worn, and projected above the mud from one foot to one foot and a half. They were made of the stems of trees from 10 to 16 feet long, and 7½ to 15 inches in diameter, some being squared and pointed with the hatchet, and most of them penetrated to the shell-marl. Their distance from each other varied very much. Many were observed to be in groups of four, rectangularly placed, with cross timbers stretching between them, thus forming a series of square or rectangular chambers. The cross-beams overlapped each other, and each had a cutaway cavity at the point of crossing, which kept it in position, precisely on the principle on which the Swiss chalets are constructed at the present day. The walls of the submerged compartments contained some four or five of these transverses, and the space enclosed varied from 7 to 30 feet long. In the larger spaces the uprights were not restricted to the corners, but occupied intermediate positions inside the enclosed area. Numerous tenons, mortises, pegs, and other portions of worked timbers, proved that these structures were erected by the hatchet and chisel alone, as none showed any evidence of the use of the saw; nor were there any iron nails found.

The woodwork was so abundant, that the removal of it became a regular employment; and for its discovery the mud was probed with iron rods.

In two places a double row of piles stretched to the shore, one 230 feet and the other 130 feet long, which, there can be little doubt, were the remains of gangways.

The industrial relics (=Fig. 93=) consisted largely of iron objects, among which were several knives (No. 3), an axe (No. 11), an · awl, a gimlet, part of a pair of shears (No. 2), a chisel, part of a lock (No. 8), chains (No. 7), several keys (No. 9), horseshoes (Nos. 5 and 6), a curry-comb (No. 10), a spur (No. 12), a lance (No. 4), and portions of a javelin.

Of other materials there were two bone-counters (Nos. 14 and 15), a sharpening stone, the half of a leaden bracelet (No. 1), and a number of wooden objects, viz. two combs (No. 21), spoons (No. 19), pestles (No. 17), a bobbin (No. 20), and some perforated bits, like floats for nets (Nos. 13 and 16).

Pottery is of a greyish-black colour, well baked, and fashioned on the wheel, with an ornamentation of a very unusual character (Nos. 18, 22, 23, and 24). The only entire vessel was flask-shaped, having a hole in the middle of one of its sides (No. 24). Some pieces of cloth like Roman tissues, and a portion of a Roman vase, were also found.

The animals identified from the bones were the ox, sheep, goat, horse (a small race), pig, dog, and a large-sized otter. Among the remains of fruits were two species of cherry, two species of plums, peaches, walnuts, hazel-nuts, acorns, etc.

Oak was the only wood used in the construction of the submerged foundations, with the exception of one trunk of a chestnut tree; but ash, cornel-cherry, and box had been used for making utensils. (B. 193.)

In 1885, owing to the lowness of the water in the lake, further discoveries were made on this station (Grands Roseaux). Immediately in front of the lacustrine village, on its lake side, a triple row of piles was detected, which appeared to have acted as a breakwater; and on its site, along with some great oak-beams, were found various relics of a similar character to those already described. Among these were the following iron objects of the Carlovingian period--viz. 17 knives, 2 keys, a hook, a pair of shears, a stirrup, 2 spurs, a portion of the umbo of a shield, and some horseshoes of a small size. The other objects recorded were two portions of wooden spoons, fragments of a comb made of yew, and a piece of goatskin.[49]

RHINE DISTRICT.

In the two lacustrine stations just described we had to deal with remains essentially different from any that have hitherto come under our notice. In La Tène both stone and bronze objects are quite the exception, while those of iron are not only in great abundance, but, from their variety and style of art, clearly show that the working and forging of this metal had reached a great state of perfection. In short, we have inherent evidence that the civilisation of the Bronze Age was now superseded by one of a totally different character, and yet it would seem that this complete change had been accomplished independent of, and prior to, the advent of the Romans. On the other hand, the class of antiquities found in Lake Paladru brings us down to Carlovingian times, probably as late as the ninth or tenth century. In pursuing our investigations northwards we find records of many lake-dwellings which, like these, are the products of later ages than those in which the Swiss Pfahlbauten flourished. But, at the same time, there is satisfactory evidence as regards others in the same localities that they belonged to the Prehistoric Ages. Professor Virchow (B. 165) considers that, with one or two exceptions, all the lake-dwellings of North Germany were founded during the Iron Age, and, like our Scottish and Irish crannogs, continued down to the Middle Ages. As regards many, however, no conclusive inferences can be drawn, as they are imperfectly or entirely unexplored.

THE PALATINATE.

Mr. C. Mehlis (B. 400) states that in the low-lying land near Billigheim, on the left bank of the Rhine, evidences of a pile-dwelling have for many years been observed. In one place piles were found in their original position. They consisted of square-cut oak beams, about six feet long, and placed in the form of a rectangle. Near them were collected in great numbers tiles of a dark-red colour, fragments of pottery peculiar to the period from the tenth to the thirteenth century, and bones of the deer. In addition to these relics, which point to the early Middle Ages, there were others at a greater depth which no less conclusively point to a much earlier period. These are described as implements of stone and flint, such as knives, axes, spear-heads, etc.