Part 31

Those who, like Professor Pigorini, are acquainted with the structural features of the terremare of Northern Italy, will not be surprised at the comparative rarity with which piles are met with in the _terpen_, because of the rapidity with which timbers, when buried in dry earth, decay and disappear altogether, leaving in many instances no traces whatever behind them. This fact was strikingly shown by Chierici, who produced positive evidence of the former existence of piles in the upper strata of some of the terremare, by showing that the holes left by the piles, after the woody fibre had completely disappeared by decomposition, had become subsequently filled up by dust and infiltrated material, which ultimately became hardened, and so retained the actual form of the original piles. (See page 248.) In short, natural casts of the original piles were accidentally formed, which thus disclosed a knowledge of their former existence, which otherwise might never have been suspected. To the soundness of this deduction I have myself unconsciously contributed by an observation which I made some years ago, while digging at the crannog of Lochspouts, and having recorded it I may perhaps be allowed here to repeat my words. "One day I was greatly puzzled by finding what was evidently a portion of a birch tree, from 6 to 9 inches in diameter, quite flat, and with scarcely any wood left inside the thick bark. In no instance previously had I seen the evidence of pressure on logs of this size; but after carefully considering the point it was ascertained that such effects occurred only in the upper portion of the mound, and above the log pavement, where the wood had been exposed to atmospheric influences, so that when the woody fibres rotted away the flattening of the bark was easily produced. All the logs found buried in water or mud retained their original dimensions and showed no trace of having yielded to superincumbent pressure."[66]

The absence of piles and wooden structures from many of these mounds is, therefore, no proof that they have not formerly existed; and, indeed, it is difficult to account for the horizontality and regularity of the beds on any other hypothesis.

While I wandered about amidst the various sections presented by the progressive stages of the excavations, wondering at the distinctness of the strata, or picking up stray objects from the _débris_, such as mussel shells, bits of bone, fragments of pottery, etc., which were to be found here and there sticking in the face of the cuttings, my friend, Mr. Battaerd, was deeply occupied in examining a heap of bones, which lay weathering in a sunny corner. Having joined him in his osteological study, I found that the chief point of attraction was the head of a urus (_Bos_ _primigenius_) of great size, and with splendid horn cores--the finest example, according to Mr. Battaerd, that had yet found its way to the museum.

The land close to the brink of the section, and extending over a considerable portion of the mound, was occupied by growing corn, and hence its dimensions can only be approximately stated. The proprietors, Messrs. W. and J. Bierma, obligingly accompanied us, and one of them assured me it could not be less than from three to four hundred yards in diameter. Its greatest height above the water in the canal was 18 feet, but of course the level of the canal water is considerably lower than that of high tide in the open sea. The commercially valuable stuff commenced some 3 or 4 feet below the surface, and continued without interruption to within a few feet of the canal water. It was in this intermediate portion that the relics were found: but their exact position, especially that of the smaller objects, was seldom determined, as it was generally after the stuff had become partially broken up during transport that they were found.

The stuff _in situ_ was distinctly stratified, forming layers of various thicknesses, from a finger breadth up to 3 or 4 inches, or sometimes more, which in some instances could be continuously traced for long distances. Sometimes they shelved out altogether, and others commenced. Here, a bed of fibrinous matter, in which quantities of the partly decomposed fibres of flax could be readily recognisable; there, a thickish deposit of a brownish glutinous stuff like peat. Charcoal and ashes permeated the whole, and showed themselves sometimes as distinct layers. Clay and sand were also largely mixed with these deposits, and occasionally assumed the form of distinct and separate beds.

Having so far satisfied ourselves as to the structural arrangements of the mound, and the disposition of its contents, we walked up to the church, which is but a short distance from the workings. This small edifice is surrounded by a burying ground, and among the gravestones are some ancient-looking ones. Mr. Battaerd informed me that it dates as far back as the eleventh century.

It is calculated that there are altogether about 150 of these mounds in West Friesland alone, and that of these about the half have been more or less examined, some being now entirely cleared away. They are also to be found in the province of Gröningen and some other parts of Holland. Dr. Dirks states that the town of Leeuwarden is built over two terp-mounds;[67] and Dr. Pleyte informed me that he has reason to believe that the town of Leyden also reposes on similar deposits.

RELICS (=Fig. 100=).--The relics of human industry collected from the _terpen_ are very varied and numerous. Of these the following notes and illustrations, taken chiefly from the large assortment in the Leeuwarden Museum, will serve to convey some general idea of the social economy which prevailed among the occupiers of these singular settlements, as well as of the period in which they flourished.

_Prehistoric._--The prehistoric remains, commonly so-called, such as cutting implements of stone, are only feebly represented, but occasionally they do turn up, in which respect the _terpen_ resemble the Scottish and Irish crannogs.

_Clay Objects._--Perforated loom-weights, both conical and flat; spindle-whorls in great numbers, and often ornamented with finger marks or grooved lines (Nos. 2 and 3). Some flat and triangularly-shaped objects of clay (No. 22) are perforated with three holes, one at each angle, which are sometimes perpendicular and sometimes parallel to the surface; in bulk and composition they correspond with the loom-weights.

_Pottery._--Pottery is, as a rule, coarse but abundant, and represents vessels of various shapes and sizes, generally with ears, but a few with handles (Nos. 20 and 23). Samian ware is represented by many fragments of bowls and dishes. A few vases, apparently home-made, have some traces of coloured patches; and there are lids with raised handles and ornamented with hollowed dots.

_Bone and Horn._--Bone and horn implements are very abundant, consisting of combs (Nos. 1 and 16 to 19) of varied forms, and constructed of plates riveted together with iron rivets, and ornamented with consecutive circles, lines, dots, and curvilinear figures; among them are also a few combs with very long teeth (No. 30).[68] There are also pins (Nos. 26 and 28), needles (No. 29), buttons (No. 25), dice (No. 21), finger rings (No. 12), knife handles, pointers, etc. (Nos. 10, 11, 13 and 27). Many so-called skates made from the long bone of the horse's leg. Two or three short bones (foot of the ox) are covered with concentric circles, apparently for ornamentation. A curious bone object (No. 7) is supposed to have been used in making twine or ropes.

_Glass._--Beads, blue, green and variegated; also glass slag.

_Metal Objects._--A few bronze dishes (No. 5), one a tripod with projecting handle (No. 15). Figurines of men and animals; the hand of a Roman statue, apparently a female and about full size; Roman fibulæ; some three or four double spirals; a small pair of shears (No. 8), and a few bracelets with clasping-hooks. All these are of bronze. Among objects of iron are shears, hammers, bridle-bits (=Fig. 101=), slag, etc. A leaden bar or pig weighing 17 kilogrammes and marked with three crosses, so, "XXX", was found at Achlum.

_Coins._--Anglo-Saxon coins very abundant: at Hallum 180 _sceattæ_ were found in a jar; Byzantine money in gold; Roman imperial money, generally in silver, but sometimes in gold; Frankish coins. The proprietors of Aalzum found a few silver coins in this terp with the following inscription: "+ HLOTHARIVS. IMP. DORE STATVS MON (_eta_)," which defines their date to be between 840 and 855 A.D.[69]

_Wooden Objects._--Small spades precisely similar to those used by children while amusing themselves by digging the sand on the seashore. Numbers of large casks the staves of which are kept together by three iron hoops. In diameter these casks are not more than an ordinary herring barrel, but in length they are from six to seven feet, and about one-third from the top there is a small square hole 4 or 5 inches in diameter. The ends of the staves at the top rim of some are much decayed, but the rest is perfectly sound, and for this reason they are supposed to have stood in water with only the upper parts exposed. They have been found in almost all the _terpen_ examined, usually at regular distances, and deeply buried. One, 6 feet high, was found resting inside a vat 3 feet deep, and its highest point was over two yards below the surface of the mound. Canoes and small paddles may also be mentioned as occasional relics.

_Nondescript Objects._--Cock spurs; egg-shells of the domestic fowl and goose, some of which, singularly enough, were, when found, still unbroken; shells of various kinds of sea-urchins, star-fishes, and mussels; amber beads, also this material in the unworked form; amorphous vivianite; large quantities of the _débris_ of flax; one curious object is a flute made of the shank bone of a small animal; one small fictile dish has four feet, and a few others are in the form of three cups attached. At Aalzum, on the occasion of my visit, among the articles purchased by Mr. Battaerd were a mitten and some sort of head-dress like a felt wide-awake. The mitten had only one stall, for the thumb.

In the _terp_ called Beetgum there was found an urn, like those from the dolmens of the Drenthe, containing some burnt bones. Human bones are sometimes found, but they are supposed to have belonged to secondary burials. At Aalzum a grave was found containing a body and along with it was a fibula of the Merovingian period, with a flat back containing a beautiful mosaic pattern of variegated glass and amber.

_Fauna._--Osseous remains representing the following animals:--Horse, ox (several varieties--_Bos taurus_, _primgenius_, _longifrons_, _brevicornis_), cat, dog, sheep, wild boar, deer, roe, and fallow deer. Among the skulls of these animals (of which there are many) are one or two of the four-horned sheep. It may be of interest to note that the osseous remains of this animal were among those identified by Sir W. R. Wilde as coming from the crannog of Lagore (page 351).

WARFEN (EAST FRIESLAND).

In 1879 Dr. Tergast, of Emden, published a short account of the prehistoric antiquities of East Friesland,[70] in which he takes notice of the existence of certain mounds, in the low-lying regions, called "Warfen," which he believes to be the remains of very ancient settlements constructed for the protection of their inhabitants against floods and the fluctuations of the surrounding waters. The author does not give many details about these mounds. It would appear, however, that they are to be met with in considerable numbers, as he suggests that it would be of the highest interest to archæological science to have a map constructed showing their local distribution. Nor do they appear to have been subjected to much practical investigation, as only three objects from them are illustrated in Dr. Tergasts book. These are a bone implement (so-called skate or cloth-polisher), a necklace of glass and amber beads, and an iron arrow-point. He also figures a comb (six inches long) similar to that from the _terpen_ (=Fig. 100=, No. 30), but without specifying the locality where it was found. All these are precisely similar to objects found in the terp-mounds of Holland. Every indication, therefore, points to the conclusion that the _Terpen_ and _Warfen_ are quite analogous to each other and belong to the same period of time.

WURTHEN (DITHMARSCHEN).

In 1883, Dr. Hartmann, of Marne (B. 397), gave a more detailed account of similar dwellings in the Holstein fen district, near the embouchure of the river Elbe. These, in the form of low mounds, are met with, according to him, in all the marshes along this part of the North Sea coast. In the Dithmarschen, both north and south, they are very numerous, and the larger ones, like the terp-mounds of Holland, are now generally occupied by one or more modern buildings. In extent they vary from 1¼ to 15 acres, and in height from 13 to 23 feet above ordinary mean tides. On several occasions in recent times, in the course of excavating the foundations of new buildings, the digging of wells, etc., various relics, such as fragments of pottery, clay weights, iron implements, bits of manipulated staghorns, broken bones, etc., were turned out, which, however, suggested nothing more than passing comments. But their real nature is now clearly pourtrayed by the facts recorded by Dr. Hartmann, the chief of which were ascertained from excavations conducted by himself in the Fahrstedter Wurth situated some three miles to the north of the Elbe. This _Wurth_, some years ago, became the property of a brick manufacturer, of the name of Huesmann, who was in the habit, from time to time, of utilising its contents, partly for filling up old clay-pits and partly for manuring purposes. Such was the condition of the Fahrstedter Wurth when Dr. Hartmann's attention was directed to it in August, 1881. On his first visit, while poking about the open trenches, he picked up, at a depth of four feet from the surface, a perforated clay weight, four inches in diameter, and two and a half inches thick. After this he continued his visits to the locality regularly, and, in a short time, collected a number of relics, besides determining many interesting points in regard to the structure of the mound. The greatest depth reached by the haphazard excavations of Mr. Huesmann was nine and a half feet. Along the exposed section down to this point Dr. Hartmann distinguished the following layers:

1. Ordinary soil (_Ackererde_) about 2 feet. 2. Greenish sandy earth (_hellgrüne sandige Erde_), supposed to be due to sea action, from the fact of its containing many of the spicules or needles of sponges 1 " 3. A layer of reddish clay (_rother Estrich_) ½ to 1 " 4. Remains of wooden structures (_Packwerk_) 2 to 4 " 5. Earth mixed with clay (_helle Kleierde_) 1½ "

This _Packwerk_ is described as made up of decomposed branches, from the size of a finger to, occasionally, the thickness of an arm, arranged horizontally, but sometimes perpendicularly. Its lower portion was composed of large quantities of the twigs of birch and oak, the fibres of several marsh plants, broken bones, and other organic _débris_. In the underlying clay he noticed some holes, which he concluded to have been due to small piles, the wood of which had disappeared by decomposition. Scattered through this Packwerk were found, besides charcoal and ashes, a varied assortment of the relics of human industry, of which the following may be noted:--Fragments of pottery, (grey and black), among which were some with perforations round the rims; sharpening-stones; a perforated clay weight; twelve portions of quern stones, made of basalt, and having a thickness of one and a half to two and a half inches--from a fragment, the entire diameter of one was ascertained to be 17 inches; several iron knives, a socketed lance-head, and some nails, together with lumps of both iron and glass slag. A wooden handle, some worked objects of bone with marks of rivets, bits of birch-bark, etc. A black mass of asphalt, supposed to be a product of birch-bark, had embedded in it the shell of a hazel-nut. From this it was inferred that the mass was originally in a fluid condition.

Among the osseous remains the following animals were identified by Dr. Pfeffer, of the Natural History Museum at Hamburg, and Dr. Rautenburg:--dog, ox, pig, sheep, stag, horse, bittern (?), and sturgeon (recognised by its scales).

In the clay below the Packwerk (_Kleierde_) were found the stumps of eight piles, five to six feet apart, which Dr. Hartmann concluded had originally passed upwards through the fascine work, but now only the portions embedded in the clay remained, the rest having disappeared by decomposition. Of these piles (four oak, three birch, and one ash), some were round and some rectangular, and nearly all more or less pointed at the lower extremity. The exceptions were blunt and rested on some fragments of granite stones. One of the piles, which measured six inches broad, and two and three-quarter inches thick, contained four round holes, in one of which a portion of a spar still remained.

Having satisfied himself as to the condition of this portion of the mound already exposed, Dr. Hartmann got permission from the proprietor to sink a shaft into the undisturbed portion underneath. The superficial area of this shaft was 12 feet long and 9 broad, and it was excavated until the sea-sand was reached, at a depth of 11½ feet--_i.e._ about 21 feet from the surface of the mound.

Continuing now our inspection of this section (the upper portion of which I have already detailed) the following layers were successively passed through:--

6. Clay earth continued 1½ ft. 7. Packwerk (No. 2) 1 " 8. Blackish clayey stuff (_dunkle Kleierde_) 1 " 9. Light clay (containing the stumps of a second series of piles, four in number, and from three to five and a half inches thick) 1 " 10. Packwerk (No. 3) 3 " 11. Whitish clay, mixed with twigs, branches, reeds, etc. 2 " 12. A layer of cowdung (_Grüngelblicher fester Kuhdünger_) 2 " 13. Sea sand (_Meeressand_)

The two _Packwerke_ here encountered are stated to be similar to the first, and the relics are also much of the same character. The under portion of both is described as being made up of twigs of oak, birch, and hazel, very much birch-bark, worked bits of wood, wooden handles of tools, burnt faggots, _débris_ of marsh plants (_Schilf_, _Binsen_, _und Samen von Polygonum_), small bundles of bast and other fibres of fine roots, shells of hazel-nuts, fragments of pottery (six pounds), lumps of iron slag (five pounds), broken bones (sixteen pounds), charcoal, a piece of redstone, and the shells of some edible molluscs (_Helix fruticum_ and _Strigella_, and _Cardium edule_).

Among the relics to be noted are a spindle-whorl, an iron buckle, and a bit of leather.

Of special interest is a third series of piles, which he describes as terminating in the sea-sand underneath all. These piles were five in number, four oak and one birch, 2 to 5½ inches in thickness, and 18 to 33 inches in length. They were placed in a zig-zag fashion about 1½ foot apart, and traced through the layer of "Kuhdünger" to the "Packwerk," where they became so rotten as to be no longer recognised. One of them had also a hole, which still retained portion of a projecting spar.

Our investigator made observations, but of a much more limited character, on nine other _Wurthen_, and in all of them he found the "Packwerk" to be a special feature in their structure.

Such is an epitome of the facts on which Dr. Hartmann bases his opinion that not only the _Wurthen_, but also the neighbouring _Warfen_ and _Terpen_, were constructed like the fascine islands of prehistoric Switzerland, and the Scottish and Irish crannogs. The idea of pile-buildings can scarcely be entertained by him, and he stoutly combats Pigorini's opinions in regard to the _Terpen_ of West Friesland.

The Fahrstedter Wurth, according to Hartmann, consisted of an original mound some seven feet high, to which on two subsequent occasions additions were made. The initiatory process of its construction was to form a basis of _Kuhdünger_ two feet in thickness. Over this clay and rubbish were placed, to the extent of other two feet; and then came the fascine structures, which raised the mound other three feet. To keep the mass together, piles were driven here and there down to the sandy bottom. But the inhabitants soon found that this was too low to shelter them from the waves and floods, so they constructed an addition to their mound, which raised its surface to ten feet. But this was not enough, and so a third addition was made, which added six feet more to the mound. At this height its surface would be about twenty feet above the medium sea level (_Normal Null_), and at this height Dr. Hartmann concludes that cottages would be quite secure, as the highest tides on record--viz. 4th February, 1825, reached only 12 feet 4 inches above the medium sea level, a result which would leave a considerable margin for the Fahrstedter Wurth. Of course, the tides never reach it now, as it is protected by the sea-dykes, the first of which was constructed in the middle of the twelfth century.

Very little reflection shows the inherent improbability of Dr. Hartmann's theory. Where could the primitive builders get such a quantity of "Kuhdünger" to start with? If the "Packwerk" was constructed as a solid mass, how could its under portions be so prolific of such varied relics, and other odds and ends of human occupancy? Moreover, the disproportion between the original and final height of the mound is incompatible with the supposition that the successive increases were merely additions entailed by unforeseen circumstances, such as an unusual storm. The three platforms with their corresponding series of upright piles, the stratified assortment of the structural materials, and the position of the relics and _débris_ of its inhabitants scattered throughout the entire mound, are, in my opinion, inexplicable on any other hypothesis than that we have here the remains of pile-dwellings, successively erected one above the other, precisely similar to the terremare already described. The more probable _modus operandi_ was to construct in the first place a circumscribing dyke of mud, varying in size according to the number of the tribe or family, behind which the cottages were built on platforms supported on piles. When the under spaces became filled up with the accumulated _débris_ of men and cattle, and all the other odds and ends of continued occupancy, the process was repeated again and again, until the whole enclosed area, in the course of some centuries, became a flattish mound or island within the limits of the tidal shore.

FOOTNOTES:

[45] _Antiqua_, 1886, p. 65.

[46] _Antiqua_, 1884, p. 128; and _Bul. de la Soc. suisse de Num._, 1884, No. 7.

[47] _Rev. archéologique_, 1884. p. 194.

[48] _Acad. de Lyon_, tome xi. p. 229.

[49] _Association Française pour l'avancement des Sciences_, 1885, vol. i. p. 175.

[50] _Matériaux, etc._, vol. xi. p. 95.

[51] _Bul. Soc. Anth._, 1884. See also "Crannia Ethnica": "Les Préhistoriques" (Mortillet); _Bul. Soc. Anth._, 1874, 22nd Jan.

[52] "Antiquity of Man," 4th edition, p. 241.