Part 29

The pottery, of which 45 fragments were collected, was made of fine clay, by means of the potter's-wheel, and from the variety of its ornamentation and characteristic wavy lines, there can be no doubt that it belonged to the type of the Burgwälle--an inference which is greatly strengthened by its resemblance to that found in the Wallberg in the Raddatzsee, a noted Burgwall situated in the close vicinity. Illustrations of a few specimens of this pottery are given on =Fig. 96=, Nos. 6 to 9.

From an examination of the bones collected the following animals were identified, viz.:--horse, ox, goat, sheep, pig, dog, fox, deer, and roe.

In the Virchowsee a little to the north of Persanzig there is a huge Burgwall surrounded by water, in which the remains of piles have been found. (B. 165.)

STREITZIGSEE.--On the lowering of this lake a very large assortment of piles became exposed, but although several excavations were made, both by Professor Virchow and others, no decided results were obtained bearing on their character and scope. (B. 165.)

LÜBTOWSEE.--Another locality which has furnished remains of pile-dwellings lies to the right of the Oder, in the vicinity of Lübtow. (B. 165.) Here the river Plöne traverses a long lake, and on its being lowered in 1859, an extensive area covered with piles became visible towards its northern end. It is said that many relics were found among these piles, some of which were collected by the proprietor; but the idea of their belonging to lake-dwellings was not mooted till several years afterwards. Professor Virchow visited the locality in 1865, and again in 1869, and on the latter occasion he made extensive excavations, which convinced him that this was a regular lake-settlement. Later on the foundations of a quadrangular wooden building came to light, from which, owing to its being 3 feet under the late lake level, Mr. Kühne inferred that the lake must have formerly stood at a lower level. That this structure, however, as well as the piles, belonged to the Iron Age, he says there can be no doubt whatever, as the antiquities collected in both were precisely similar, being generally iron objects, such as swords, lance and arrow-heads, stirrups, spurs, knives, and bricks of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. In the rectangular building, in addition to such objects, were found a helmet and greaves. But what was considered still more singular, there was found among the piles a number of stone chisels and hammers, together with one bronze celt. (B. 119, 2^o ed., p. 629.)

Adjacent to this lake at Bonin, and deeply buried in the turf, indications of wooden structures came to light which, in 1872, attracted the attention of Professor Virchow, who, in company with the local antiquaries, made excavations which revealed structures analogous to those in the Persanzigersee. (B. 227.) In excavating they passed through the following distinct layers:--First, 5 to 8 feet of peat; second, some thin layers of marl, sand, and mud; and third, a relic-bed, 2 to 4 feet in thickness. The woodwork appeared to the investigators to have been cut by sharp metal tools. Among the relics collected were four sharpening-stones, a few perforated staghorn hammers, a bone chisel 6½ inches long, some large horn handles, a small iron knife, bits of leather, fragments of wooden dishes, and part of a boat. Pottery was also found which belonged to the Burgwälle type.

SOLDINERSEE.--In 1857 this lake was lowered 7 to 8 feet, when two islands became visible, one of which turned out to be the site of a lake-dwelling, and yielded a considerable number of antiquities, among which was portion of a reindeer horn. (B. 165, p. 407.)

In 1873 Major Kamienski examined it with greater care, and published a short notice of the results. (B. 241.) The island was 150 yards from the shore, and measured 85 by 30 yards. It contained many piles, and showed no evidence of having been destroyed by fire. The relics were of a mixed character. With flint flakes and broken stone-axes were various iron objects, as a hook, a spear-head, three knife-blades, and three halves of horseshoes. There were also arrow-points of bone, two portions of bows, a clay spindle-whorl, a bone shuttle, beautifully worked, and a piece of horn with a kind of ornamentation cut on it. The fragments of pottery also indicated different kinds. Stones, which looked as if they had been exposed to fire, were supposed to have been used as hearths. Among the osseous remains were those of the ox, pig, stag, roe, fox, bear, beaver, wild boar, and a single vertebra of a fish.

A Burgwall was on the land near the lake-dwelling--a fact which is somewhat significant, as, according to Virchow, there was often a close connection between these two classes of remains.

DABERSEE (HINTER POMMERN).--The Pfahlbauten in this lake were shown by Professor Virchow to be connected with an adjacent Burgwall by a wooden bridge. (B. 165.) He also found that the piles were associated with submerged wooden rectangles similar to those already described in the Persanzigersee. Together with pottery of the Burgwälle type, he found bone skates, an iron hatchet, and an ornamented comb, constructed of several pieces of bone banded together with iron rivets. About this comb he remarks that the teeth were sawn after the pieces were put together--a peculiarity which I have noted of the bone combs found on the Ayrshire crannogs.[55]

LÜBBINCHENERSEE (KR. GUBEN).--In 1877 a lake-dwelling of the Slavish period (_Spätwendischer und darüber Mittelalterlicher Pfahlbau_) was examined by members of the Märkisches Museum, in Berlin, from which they collected a large quantity of iron objects, pottery, bones, etc., which may now be seen in this museum. The base of this lacustrine dwelling was constructed precisely similar to that at Persanzig, and the beams had similar cuts near their extremities, where they overlapped each other.

ALT FRIESACK (KR. RUPPIN).--A similar Slavish Pfahlbau was found at Alt Friesack, from which there is now in the Märkisches Museum a large quantity of _débris_--wooden beams, quern-stones, some perforated clay sinkers (=Fig. 96=, No. 5), an iron hatchet (No. 2) with traces of ornamentation on it, an iron oblong ring (No. 1), and pottery with the characteristic wavy lines (Nos. 3 and 4).

KLOPPSEE (NEUMARK).--A lake-dwelling in the Kloppsee, near Woldenburg, has yielded a fine black pottery, so well burnt that it gives a metallic ring when struck. The vessels found here are well shaped, and the fragments show handles, feet, and well-formed recurved rims. (B. 165.)

SPANDAU.--One of the most remarkable lacustrine discoveries in North Germany was made a few years ago (1881) at the town of Spandau, near Berlin. Here, in a flat space called Stresow, close to the river Havel, in which workmen were excavating the foundations of a military powder-house, oak piles and bronze weapons were turned up from considerable depths.

The locality was almost surrounded by the adjacent sluggish waters, and so wet that two pumps had to be kept going before the men could carry out the necessary excavations. From the sedimentary character of the deposit, as well as the abundance of fresh-water shells, there could be no doubt that formerly the place had been occupied by a lake. There was, first of all, a bed of peat about five feet thick, and under this came a deposit of mud and sand. On the south side of the space being excavated there was observed at a depth of nearly 12 feet a layer of greenish stuff, mixed with bones, impregnated with vivianite, and through this layer the piles were found to have penetrated to the sand underneath. It was in the muddy deposit immediately beneath the peat that the tops of the piles appeared, and they were arranged sometimes in parallel rows, and sometimes without any apparent regularity. Some were of oak, and others of soft wood. There was also much timber lying transversely, and many of the beams showed signs of charring.

The relics were collected between and around these piles, and uniformly all over the area. They consisted of a remarkable series of bronze implements and weapons, together with a few of stone and horn. There were also found the bones of tame and wild animals, a human brachycephalic skull and some other human bones, a portion of a canoe, and a very small quantity of pottery of an indeterminate character. The bones were very much broken, but, notwithstanding, they were identified as belonging to the following animals, viz.:--stag, roe, hare, bear, ox, horse, pig, and dog. It is noteworthy that the reindeer and elk were both unrepresented.

_Relics._--It is, however, the relics that distinguish this lacustrine find from others in North Germany, and these I shall now describe shortly:--three swords with handles (=Fig. 97=, Nos. 8, 9, and 10), one sword-blade attached by rivets (No. 11); an ornamented _commandostab_ (No. 18), and a small button-like object, ornamented with a running scroll of double spiral; three daggers have rivet-marks and one has a tang (Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 12); one dagger, still in its bronze handle (No. 13), has its butt end ornamented with concentric circles and spirals characteristic of the Scandinavian archæological area; two lance-heads with sockets (Nos. 4 and 17), one of which is ornamented with lines and crossbars (No. 17); one socketed celt (No. 3); five paalstabs (Nos. 1 and 2); and a piece of bronze wire.

Of stone objects there were two round grindstones or polishers (No. 15) and some sharpening stones, a polished perforated stone (No. 16), a portion of a hammer of greenstone, and a round stone ball 4 inches in diameter, like a cannon-ball.

Five staghorn axe-heads, a disc of horn perforated, a portion of a horn spear, five bits of rough unornamented pottery, and a large perforated ball of clay. Fragments of a canoe showing a length of 10 feet. Report goes that an iron implement, and a portion of a dish like earthenware of the twelfth century, were found; but probably they had no connection with the bronze objects above described. It is noteworthy that all the relics are of a military character, there being among them no spindle-whorls, combs, hair-pins, fibulæ, bracelets, or any other objects that can be said to belong to domestic life. For this reason this lacustrine abode is generally supposed to have been a military fort like La Tène. (B. 384 and 396.)

(C) POSEN AND POLAND.

OBJEZIERZE.--In the province of Posen there are several localities to be recorded which have yielded unequivocal indications of lake-dwellings, two of which, viz. Objezierze and Czeszewo, are supposed by local archæologists to date as far back as the Stone Age. The former existed in a swamp now filled up with peat, which has thus preserved and concealed piles and other remains recently brought to light by peat-cutters. The relics collected from this place are now deposited in the Posen Archæological Museum, and among them I have noted the following:--A few remarkably fine knife-flakes of flint, one of which is 7½ inches long, a perforated bead, four large clay rings (=Fig. 98=, No. 8), and three flint celts of the Scandinavian type (No. 7). In the same turf moor and in the vicinity of the lake-dwelling was found a large bronze torque ornamented as shown in No. 9.[56]

CZESZEWO (KR. WAGROWICE).--Although for many years the existence of piles in a particular spot in this lake was known to fishermen, it was not till 1871 that their true nature was recognised by Professor Lepkowsky of Krakow. The lake was surrounded by marshy borders and peat bogs, and at various times its level was lowered, which thus considerably reduced its area. Firewood being scarce in the district, the fishermen were in the habit of pulling out the piles, and in this way the structures were greatly damaged before a competent archæologist saw them. The site of the Pfahlbau was near a large tumulus constructed close to the original lake margin. The area occupied by the piles was in the form of a segment of a circle, the base of which was 250 paces long and its greatest breadth 75. Transverse beams from 10 to 12 feet long were found interspersed among the uprights, which were supposed to have bound the latter together, though neither wedges nails, nor mortises were detected. It was observed that the uprights had their tops charred and that the portions remaining were longer the farther they were placed from the shore, and hence it was supposed that the dwelling had been destroyed by a conflagration.

The remains of human industry collected from this station are now deposited partly in the Jagellon Museum at Krakow, and partly in the Archæological Museum at Posen. Among them are fragments of pottery, one being part of a dish perforated with small holes (=Fig. 98=, No. 5), perforated stone and horn hammers and axes (Nos. 1 and 2), one or two plain celts (No. 6), some fragments of clay rings (No. 3), two fragments of human skulls, and a large quantity of the osseous remains of different animals. One object of bronze is said to have been found on this station, and one of the stone implements is only partially perforated, the operation having been unfinished. The stone objects are made of dark granite.

Messrs. Kohn and Mehlis have published a small photographic view of the objects in the Krakow Museum, but the more interesting ones, though fewer in number, are at Posen, from which the illustrations here shown are taken. Notices of this lake-dwelling have been published by Count Przezdiecki (B. 156 and 195), by Kohn and Mehlis (B. 338), and by Ossowski of Krakow (B. 361)--the last being in Polish and French.

GROSSESEE.--At Alt-Gortzig, in the Grossesee, there was a small island which became visible on the lowering of the lake some 10 feet, around which were found piles and the usual _débris_ of a lacustrine dwelling, among which were pottery with parallel and wavy lines, charcoal, and an iron axe-head, together with numerous osseous remains. (B. 228 and 352.)

PAWLOWICE.--Mr. Schwartz, of Posen, describes what he considers to have been a lake-dwelling near Pawlowice. Here, in a turf-moor which had formerly been a lake, he found, at a depth of five feet, bits of clay plaster, hearth-stones, fragments of cooking vessels, etc.[57] Also at Komorowo, in the Bythinersee, indications of lake-dwellings have been found.[58]

LAGIEWNICKI.--Another interesting locality, discovered a few years ago, is at Lagiewnicki (Posen). Here the tops of oak piles were found at a depth of five feet in the peat, and associated with them were fragments of two kinds of pottery--one rough, like that used in the manufacture of urns, and the other of the Burgwälle type. Among the relics were a wooden mallet, a perforated bone implement, some flint flakes, the pin of a bronze fibula of La Tène type (=Fig. 98=, No. 11), and a silver necklace (No. 10), terminating at one end in a raised button which clasped with an eye at the other when fastened. (B. 430.)

KWACZALA.--At the request of the Academy of Sciences of Krakow, Mr. Adam Kirkor, curator of the Archæological Museum at Wilna, investigated, in the summer of 1873, a peat-moor near the village of Kwaczala, said to contain pile-dwellings. Mr. Kirkor found beams and piles in several spots pointed out by the proprietor, where the peat-cutters were said to have formerly encountered woodwork. Water came upon his trenches at a depth of three feet. Both upright and transverse beams of oak were found, some being over a yard in circumference and 8½ yards long. The area containing structural remains of woodwork was 70 yards long by 40 broad. The foundation was of horizontal beams, spread out in all directions, which he concluded to have been arranged after some kind of architectural principle. There was a large quantity of rude pottery, some showing linear or punctured ornamentation. Two perforated axe-hammer heads of stone, and about 300 bits of worked flint were collected among the _débris_, as well as some bones of the horse. Altogether, this primitive habitation appears to have been of a peculiar kind. (B. 338.)

BIALKA (LUBLINER KR.).--In the moor of Bialka, formerly covered with water, there is a small island about 100 paces in diameter, on which tradition says there was once an enchanted castle. Professor Joseph Przyborowski, of Warsaw, made some excavations on the island, and found on the surface some tiles and modern implements, which so far confirmed the tradition of the ancient castle; but upon digging he came upon wooden piles at a depth of four feet. His excavations extended some twenty feet long and nine feet wide, and in the whole of this area he found numbers of piles, as well as cross-beams. Associated with these wooden structures there was also a relic-bed, entirely distinct from the superficial layer, on which he found two well-formed flint arrow-heads, a portion of a perforated axe of serpentine, some flint implements, and broken bones of edible animals. If this site were properly investigated the author prognosticated results of considerable scientific value. (B. 338.)

Professor Ossowski, in his "Carte Archéologique" (B. 361), gives the following sites of lake-dwellings, none of which, however, have been carefully investigated:--(1) _Warlubie_ (Kr. Swieć). This is a vast peat deposit from which neolithic implements and staghorn hammers have been extracted from time to time. It was visited by Ossowski in the year 1878, who found some fragments of pottery and charcoal. But these merely strengthened the suspicion that the antiquities were due to Pfahlbauten. (2) Similar indications were found at _Kowalewo_, in the district of Tornú. (3) At _Wabrzeźno_, in the district of Chelmno, there is a small lake, in which were found a primitive vase, a bronze fish-hook, a stone hammer, and an implement of staghorn. (4) _Lankorsz_, district of Lubawa.

(D) EAST PRUSSIA AND LIVLAND.

In the eastern districts of Prussia lake-dwelling remains have been discovered in the following places, which have been more or less investigated and described in various archæological publications, especially in the _Altpreussiche Monatsschrift_:--

ARYSSEE (KR. LÖTZEN).--_A. M._, vol. iv. p. 667; xii. p. 89; xiv. p. 181. _Zeit. für Ethn._, vol. xix., _Verhand._, p. 491. CZARNISEE (KR. LÖTZEN).--_A. M._, vol. xiv. p. 181; vol. xv. p. 481. KOCKSEE (KR. RÖSSEL).--_A. M._, vol. xxii. p. 169; _Zeit. für Ethn._, vol. xvi., _Verhand._, p. 560. PROBCHENSEE (KR. RÖSSEL).--_A. M._, vol. xxii. p. 169 QUERTZ (KR. HEILSBERG).--_A. M._, vol. xxii. p. 169. BONSLACK (KR. WEHLAU).--_A. M._, vol. xxii. p. 485. TULEWOSEE (KR. LYCK).--_A. M._, vol. v. p. 750. SZONTAGSEE (KR. LYCK).--_A. M._, vol. xxiv. p. 488. KOWNATKENSEE (KR. NIEDENBURG).--_A. M._, vol. xxiv. pp. 168 and 496. LONKORRECKERSEE (CULMERLANDE).--_A. M._, vol. x. p. 579. GESERICHSEE--_Phy. Ok. Gesel._, 1874, _Verhand._, p. 14.

ARYSSEE.--The existence of the _débris_ of a remarkable lake-dwelling in the Aryssee became known in 1863, in consequence of the discontinuance of a mill which had its motive power supplied by the surplus water from this lake, and the subsequent deepening of its outlet, which had the effect of lowering its level about seven feet. Its remains have been investigated and described by various persons, notably Professor Heydeck, of Königsberg, who has made plans and models of its peculiar structure. These, as well as a large collection of relics, are now deposited in the Prussia Museum at Königsberg. It appears to have been a kind of _Packwerk_. There were, first of all, two or three layers of round timbers lying transversely to each other on the bottom of the lake in the form of rectangles, after which their sides only were continued upwards by single beams, laid successively on each side, thus leaving empty spaces above. These horizontal beams were kept in position by numerous uprights, which here and there flanked them on both sides, as well as by deep cuts towards their extremities where they overlapped each other, precisely similar to the plan adopted at Persanzig and elsewhere. This understructure had a thickness of three to four feet, and over it was laid a wooden platform, above which the huts of its inhabitants were constructed. Clay floorings were found over these platforms, with evidences here and there of fire-places. The relics were found both on the platform and in the originally empty spaces, which, of course, were now filled up with _débris_. Upon its first appearance there was a layer of from 1½ to 2 feet of mud over the woodwork, but after its exposure for some time the mud dried and became greatly contracted. The central area of this structure measured 72 by 36 feet, and was surrounded by three rows of piles. A bridge or gangway, also constructed on a triple row of piles, extended to the shore, a distance of about fifty yards.

At first, and for several years after its discovery, no metal objects were found, and hence it was supposed to belong exclusively to the Stone Age; but this is no longer the case, as latterly it has furnished both iron and bronze objects.

Among the relics are the following:--fragments of an iron socketed lance-head 4 inches long, a large bronze button 1¾ inch in diameter, and a portion of cast bronze. Wooden hooks, like those from Robenhausen, and perforated square bits, supposed to have been floats for nets. Fragments of pottery and some whole dishes, the largest being 18 inches high, showing nail and finger marks (=Fig. 99=, No. 11), perforated rims (No. 10), and sometimes handles. A few flakes, arrow-points, and scrapers of flint (Nos. 8 and 9). Fragment of a perforated axe-hammer of diorite and some mealing stones. Six perforated horn axes, the largest 6½ inches long; pointers, pins, two needles, and various other objects of bone (Nos. 1 to 7). Arrow-points of bone are 3 to 4 inches long, and scrapers 1½ to 3½ inches. Portions of roofing thatch of rushes, clay flooring, etc.

CZARNISEE AND TULEWOSEE.--These two lakes are in the vicinity of the Aryssee, and each contained a lake-dwelling similar to that in the latter, both in structure and in the character of its relics. On the station in the Czarnisee were found a blue glass bead; a partially perforated stone axe, 3⅛ inches long, with the core still remaining; and two socketed iron lance-heads.

The KOWNATKEN Pfahlbau was also a Packwerk formed of round and split stems. It extended along the margin of the lake for about seventy paces, and had a breadth of twelve at the east end, which became reduced to seven or eight at the west end. Some of the pottery from this station, of which fragments of twelve vessels were found, was ornamented with finger marks as well as string marks (_Schnurornament_). Among the relics are pointers of bone, one supposed to be a skate (=Fig. 99=, No. 14); some round sling-stones; a well-formed stone hatchet (No. 12); worked flint flakes (No. 13); and sharpening stones. Among the bones were those of the stag, roe, pig, horse, ox, and portions of reindeer horn.