Chapter X: Part 10

As a final report of the _abitazioni lacustri_ of Lake Fimon (B. 295) Mr. Lioy has published a lengthy monograph with numerous plates of illustrations. The work, however, deals more with extraneous and general considerations than specific facts or details bearing on the remains of the palafittes in this lake. I consider the station at Polada, with its remarkable relics, far more typical of the Stone Age lake-dwellings, and I have accordingly selected it as a standard for such remains in the eastern valley of the Po. Moreover, Mr. Lee (B. 119, 2nd ed.) has already presented to English readers an abridgement of Mr. Lioy's work, with no less than nine plates of illustrations; whereas a report of the discoveries at Polada has not yet been published at all. I have, therefore, restricted my illustrations from Lake Fimon to the few objects on =Fig. 66=, which include a bronze flat celt, a large clay ring, and a few specimens of pottery.

ARQUÀ-PETRARCA.

In the neighbourhood of Padua remains of lake-dwellings presenting in many respects similar characteristics to those in Lake Fimon, have recently been discovered in the small lake of Arquà-Petrarca situated in the Euganean hills. It was discovered in the autumn of 1885 by Professor Frederico Cordenons, who, with the aid of funds from the Museums of Padua and Este, made excavations during this and the following summer, the result of which he has just published. (B. 464.) It appears that the lake, though now only covering some dozen acres, was formerly of much greater extent and occupied the whole of the present valley. In the slime of this ancient lake-basin, which is now overlaid with a deposit of peat over 3 feet in thickness, the remains of two stations were found, one on the eastern and the other on the western margin of the present lake. These remains, which consist of piles, portions of transverse beams, and a large assortment of the industrial _débris_ of the inhabitants, are entirely confined to the ancient mud deposit, nothing being found in the peat above it. Mr. Cordenons does not give as minute a description of the relic-bed and its surroundings as could be desired; but as only a fourth of the area occupied by the piles has been excavated (1,000 square yards), the present report may be only a first instalment of the researches.

Among the objects collected, the following will give a general idea of its chronological position with respect to analogous remains in the Po valley:--Several perforated stone axes, half of a perforated hammer-axe of green serpentine beautifully polished, a large hammer-stone, a beautiful flint saw four inches long ("un bellissimo coltello-sega"), portion of a finely-worked laurel-leaf-shaped lance-head of flint, a number of arrow-heads, lance-heads, saws, knives, etc., of flint.

Objects of staghorn were not numerous, and only some perforated rings of this material are recorded.

The pottery is abundant, and with the description of it much of Cordenons's monograph is taken up. The paste in the generality of the vessels is mixed with sand and bits of mica, recognised to be the _débris_ of the surrounding hills. Only one dish (=Fig. 66=, No. 11) showed ornamentation of incised lines, but, on the other hand, raised lines meeting in points, forming triangles, etc., were most common. The handles were of various shapes and showed a complete series of the progressive stages, from the single button-shaped top to the almost perfect _ansa cornuta_.

No metal objects were found, and consequently Mr. Cordenons concludes that the station belonged to the pure Stone Age, a conclusion which, however, Pigorini disputes. (B. 466b.)

The pottery is very similar to that from the adjacent lake-dwellings at Fimon, and by no means dissimilar to that from Polada.

POLADA.

About half-way between Desenzano sul Lago and the village of Lonato, and a little to the south of the direct railway between Milan and Venice, there is, in the midst of a series of morainic hillocks, a small bowl-shaped hollow, scarcely 300 yards in diameter, which at one time formed a stagnant lake called Polada. It appears that at some former period, of which there is now no record, this pool had been partially drained by means of a small tunnel which was pierced through the morainic lip on its north side, and so carried off the water to a lower valley. The result of this was to expose a considerable portion of the lake-bottom, one part of which formed a tongue-like projection or promontory attached to its eastern margin. This continued to be the condition of Polada for many ages, and in course of time the remaining portion of the lake became completely filled up with peat. Some years ago the proprietors of this bog commenced to utilise its contents as fuel, and, to facilitate this operation, the margin of the crater-like cavity was pierced by a second tunnel at a lower level than the former, so as to get rid of the water. It was then found that the promontory of land, which since its original exposure had been cultivated, had been only partially bared by the first drainage, as on its inner side there was a thin covering of peat, which a little farther on suddenly sank to a great depth. In the course of removing this covering of peat from the tip of the promontory, and just on the margin of the cultivated land, some rotten piles and other indications of a prehistoric dwelling were discovered. Dr. Giovanni Rambotti, President of the Liceo Ginnasio at Desenzano, recognised this to be the remains of a lake-dwelling erected on piles, and so greatly did he interest himself in the objects recovered and daily turning up that he arranged with the workmen to preserve all the relics for him. This discovery was made in 1872, and, as the operation of clearing out the peat progressed during the following two or three years, the settlement turned out to be very rich in industrial remains. Now that the turf is entirely removed and all the relics kept together Dr. Rambotti finds himself the possessor of one of the most valuable and instructive collections of lake-dwelling remains in Italy.

From an inspection of the original outlet Dr. Rambotti calculates that before the first tunnel was executed this tongue of land would be covered by eight to ten feet of water, and he thinks that in this depth of water the lake-dwellers must have erected their piles and platform. That portion of the site might have been exposed and destroyed when the first drainage was made, is probable; but at any rate sufficient remained to be able to form some opinion as to its size. When I visited the locality with Dr. Rambotti he gave me the following dimensions, which he derived from a careful study of the locality and disposition of the piles. Its form was that of an oblong parallelogram, 65 yards long and about one-third of this distance in breadth. Its longest diameter ran nearly east and west, and the dwelling thus presented its short side to the nearest shore. Two rows of piles, about two feet apart, stretched to the shore, a distance of about 100 yards, and Dr. Rambotti justly concluded this to be the remains of a gangway. A shallow canoe, 25 feet long and 30 inches wide, having traces of fixtures for oars at three equidistant spots on each side, was found near the site of the lake-dwelling. Portions of a second canoe, apparently of smaller dimensions, were disinterred at the land end of the gangway.

But the valuable feature of this lake-dwelling is the large and unique assortment of industrial remains which it has furnished, all of which are kept together at the private residence of Dr. Rambotti, where they constitute a respectable museum.

_Pottery._--The larger vessels were made of coarse greyish clay, mixed with rough sand or pebbles; but the smaller and more ornamental were composed of a fine black homogeneous paste. Besides a large quantity of fragments, there are in Rambotti's collection about 150 vessels, more or less entire, showing a considerable variety of size and form, according to the uses for which the vessels were intended. Some were large wide-mouthed jars, with two, or sometimes four, handles. The largest of this class measured 15 inches across the mouth and 9 inches in depth. One flat dish was 12 inches in diameter and only 4 deep, while another was flower-pot-shaped and measured 10 inches across at the top, 5 ½ at the base, and 12 in depth. Another dish (=Fig. 68=, No. 37) was perforated all over with small round holes, arranged in upright and equidistant rows, of which there were in all thirty, each row having eight holes. The measurements of this curious percolator are 10½ inches across the mouth, 8 at the base, and 4½ in depth. Some vessels, especially the larger vases, were ornamented with a line of perforations or projecting knobs round the rim; others again had a ridge marked here and there with a knob round its bulging part (=Fig. 67=, No. 6). Few were without handles. In one or two instances there was a hollow protuberance, instead of a handle, sufficiently prominent to be grasped, and the hollow part communicated with the interior of the vessel. The handles were attached generally at the rim, but often below it, and sometimes half-way down the side of the vessel. The largest handle I noticed measured 6 inches from its two points of attachment. Some of the handles were surmounted by a button-shaped prominence (No. 10); others terminated in a bifurcation like a couple of horns, which strongly suggests a rudimentary form of the _ansa lunata_, so characteristic of the terremare (Nos. 13 and 14). Of the finer kind of pottery there are a great variety of dishes, which may be classed as cups, bowls, plates, jugs, etc., some of which were ornamented with simple designs made with dots and lines (Nos. 9, 10, and 11). One handle had the form of a cross punctured on it, having one arm prolonged into a long stem running downwards, just like a modern Christian cross.

About 140 spindle-whorls of terra-cotta, some of which are variously ornamented (=Fig. 68=, Nos. 28, 29, and 36). A considerable number of perforated clay weights, of which five are flat, with the hole in the centre (=Fig. 67=, Nos. 19 and 20). The most novel objects were a few oblong cakes of terra-cotta ornamented with repeating lines of small circular depressions (=Fig. 68=, Nos. 22 to 24).

_Stone Objects._-A large sandstone polisher, together with a number of smaller ones. About 40 hammer-stones of quartz, serpentine, etc., some having finger-depressions. A few perforated stones, used as sinkers or hammers. Six round stones about the size of an egg, found in the canoe. Of polished celts there were only six of the usual type (=Fig. 67=, Nos. 15 and 16). One of the most remarkable features of the collection is the number of arrow-points, which exceed 300, presenting in this respect a remarkable contrast to Lagozza. As will be seen from the illustrations (=Fig. 68=, Nos. 1 to 19) these arrow and lance-heads are varied in form and exceedingly well made. Eight are of a rhomboidal shape, and a similar number have only one barb (No. 7). Three rectangular plates of polished stone, perforated at the corners, were probably used to protect the wrist of the archer (Nos. 34 and 35). Flint saws to the extent of nearly 100, of which a few are unique. One has slanting teeth as shown in No. 20, which represents both sides of the flint. A few were still in their handles when found. One is very remarkable (=Fig. 67=, No. 12) as being formed of four separate flints fixed in a wooden casing by means of a groove and asphalt. This casing or handle has a grasping portion at each end--in short, it is a double-handed saw. The illustration represents this implement lying flat, and the horn-like ending projects upwards at an angle of about 40°, so that when placed in working position with the flints downwards, the horn-like projection would be directed to the left. Hence Dr. Rambotti thought the lake-dwellers were left-handed men. There were two other wooden casings, precisely similar, but minus the flints.

_Horn und Bone._--About 40 daggers and pointers of bone, of which 12 are made from split leg-bones and beautifully polished like those from Laibach and other places. A number of small pointed objects of bone, chisels, pins, etc. (=Fig. 68=, Nos. 25 to 27). Seven perforated axe hammer-heads of staghorn (=Fig. 67=, No. 17), also similar to those from Laibach.

_Bronze._--A bronze dagger (No. 1) with a neatly-worked bone handle terminating in a button-shaped capsule. The blade was attached to a semilunar capsule of thin bronze by rivets. Portions of worked bone similar to the handle of this weapon were supposed to belong to other analogous weapons. Three flat celts of the terramara type (Nos. 2 and 3).

_Ornaments._--Eight bone rings, one of which is ornamented with small circles (=Fig. 68=, No. 33). Three perforated buttons or spindle-whorls of marble (No. 30). Several other forms of buttons in stone or marble (Nos. 21 and 32). Several perforated teeth of dog, wolf, bear (No. 31), and wild boar; also one perforated shell.

_Wood._--Several articles of wood are preserved, as handles of implements, a portion of an oar, fragments of the casings for flint saws. A stool with six legs cut out of the solid. These are now mostly shrivelled up and scarcely recognisable.

_Osseous Remains._--Upper part of a human skull. Also numerous bones of the following animals:--the urus and some other breeds of cattle, horse, sheep, goat, dog, cat (one skull), wild boar, pig, stag, and roe.

Dr. Rambotti thinks that there was satisfactory evidence to conclude that the settlement had been destroyed by fire.

No report of this remarkable lake-dwelling has yet been published in Italy, but the principal objects were exhibited at a Congress of Art and Archæology held at Brescia in the autumn of 1875. On this occasion no less than fourteen pages of the published catalogue of the exhibition are devoted to the enumeration of Dr. Rambotti's collection from Polada.

CASCINA, ETC.

The Torbiera di Cascina, situated between Castelnuovo and San Georgio, in Salice, has from time to time yielded objects which, there can be no doubt, belonged to ancient pile-dwellers. The station was first recognised by Martinati (_Adige_, 1874, No. 23), who found flint arrow-points, a laurel-leaf-shaped lance-head, some stone implements, bits of staghorn, etc. In 1878 Pigorini gives a further account (B. 328d') of some of the objects since discovered, including 18 flint pieces--arrow-points of various forms, including one of the so-called rhomboidal type (_selce romboidale_), a magnificent lance-head, a fine saw, and one small triangular chisel. In the Museo Kircheriano at Rome there are also preserved a bronze axe of the flat type (=Fig. 51=, No. 9) and a curious knife of bronze (No. 12), similar to those from the lake-dwelling at Peschiera, which were found in this place.

Martinati (B. 279, p. 179) also describes another small torbiera in the vicinity of Lazise, in which three rows of piles were encountered, and associated with them were fragments of black pottery. It was also reported that in past years entire vessels of the same kind were found in the locality.

TERREMARE.

Shortly after the middle of last century certain artificial deposits of an earthy substance found scattered in the shape of large, flattish mounds, over the provinces of Parma, Reggio, and Modena, became known to agriculturists as possessing great fertilising power--a property which they henceforth turned to advantage by using their contents as manure. To such an extent has this practice been carried that many of these deposits, notwithstanding their great extent, covering, in most instances, many acres, have now entirely disappeared. This substance looks like a mixture of clay, sand, ashes, etc., arranged in differently-coloured strata--yellowish-brown, green or black--and goes among the peasants under the name of _marna_ or _mèrne_; but in scientific circles it is generally called terramara, more especially since the meeting of the International Congress at Bologna. In the course of these annual excavations various objects of antiquity were noticed by the workmen, such as Roman coins and tiles; implements of bone, horn, bronze, etc.; the bones of domestic and wild animals; and even human bones, were occasionally turned up. But these popular observations failed to lead to any scientific investigation, and when these mysterious mounds happened to be noticed by the early writers of this century each had a theory of his own to account for them. Thus the celebrated naturalist Venturi, in his "Storia di Scandiano," published in 1822, assigns them partly to the Boii, a Celtic race who here, according to him, cremated their dead warriors and ceremoniously threw their weapons and animals taken in war into the burning pile; and partly to the Romans, who subsequently inhabited the country, and selected these heaps for their dwellings and burial-places. Others supposed them to be the sacred or traditional cemeteries of successive races, and hence their contents are called "terrecime-teriale"; and it is a curious fact that many of these truncated mounds are to this day crowned by a modern church or convent, around which the Christians have been in the habit of burying their dead. Nor did the opinion of Gastaldi, published in 1861 (B. 43), throw much light on the matter. Seeing that the terremare were invariably situated near running streams, he considered them heaps of the remains of different, ages--Roman graves, cremations, and funeral feasts, which had been washed down and re-arranged by floods. But these and similar theories, based on the supposition that they were the abodes of the dead, were not in harmony with the domestic character of the pottery and implements turned up. The starting-point of a long series of researches which have now cleared up the problem was the announcement by Professor Strobel of Parma, in 1861 (B. 44), that the remains of a palafitte, analogous to those found in lakes and marshes, were to be seen below the true terramara deposits at Castione dei Marchesi.

This celebrated and best known of all these settlements is situated about four miles north-west of Borgo San Donino, in the province of Parma. It was discovered about seventy years ago, and continued to be excavated solely for agricultural purposes till 1861, when Gastaldi's publications directed attention to the prehistoric remains of North Italy. Till then the numerous objects of human industry disinterred by the workmen excited little or no curiosity. Things, however, were very different after the northern wave of archæological inquiry, now greatly quickened by the discovery of the Swiss lake-dwellings, had reached the Parmensian antiquaries. Henceforth instructions went forth from the proprietor, Sig. Ugolotti, that these objects were to be carefully preserved, and now they constitute a special and most interesting collection in the Archæological Museum at Parma. On visiting Castione one sees a slight elevation rising about 10 feet above the plain and surmounted by a church and convent. These buildings, which are both lofty and extensive, are approached on the west side by a stone bridge, spanning a canal-like pool of stagnant water, which lies along the margin of the mound and partly surrounds it. Elsewhere the slope from this plateau to the level plain is gradual, except where the more recent excavations have been made, which present much the same appearance as a roadside sand-pit. Of the original size and form of the mound it is now difficult to form a correct estimate, owing to the amount of stuff yearly carted away, but the portion still undisturbed or covered by buildings may be estimated at two acres.

A perpendicular section, which can be readily obtained at various points, presents the following succession of layers from above downwards:--

1. Ordinary mould or disturbed soil for a depth of 6 feet, said to contain Roman and more recent remains.

2. The terramara beds proper, arranged in thin, wavy laminations of variously-coloured earths. Sometimes a thickish bed of clay or a black band of charcoal catches the eye; in another place an overlapped bed is seen to shelve out and disappear altogether. But, notwithstanding a wavy or undulating appearance, the general horizontality of these layers is maintained. Their average total thickness amounts to 8 feet.

3. Underneath these beds lies a blackish peaty substance, some 3 feet thick, in which, as already mentioned, Strobel detected the remains of a palafitte.

Below this peaty stratum there is a greenish clayey deposit, similar in composition to that found at some depth in the surrounding plain, into which the piles were driven.

Strobel's discovery caused much speculative interest, especially when correlated with the researches initiated by Gastaldi regarding lake-and pile-dwellings, the existence of which in Italy had just been demonstrated at Mercurago and Lake Garda.

Reflecting on these novel revelations and impelled, no doubt, by the growing interest in such studies, Strobel and Pigorini, both then residing at Parma, commenced a series of observations and inquiries regarding the terremare in their vicinity, the outcome of which was a joint report, first published in 1862 as part of Gastaldi's well-known article, "Nuovi cenni sugli oggetti di alta antichità trovati nelle torbiere e nelle mariniere dell' Italia." (B. 52.)

In this report the authors discussed the works of man found in the marl-beds under the following five heads--viz. habitations, vessels, utensils, arms, and things of uncertain use. The pottery they recognised as having degrees of quality according to the uses to which the vessels were put. The larger vases were roughly kneaded, the grains of sand were larger and more visible, and the colour of the paste was ash-black inside and reddish outside. They had no glaze. The smaller dishes were made of fine homogeneous paste, with very thin walls, smooth surface, and a blackish surface approaching to varnish. According to their form they might be divided into a great many varieties, as plates, cups, basins, bottles, vases, etc. (=Fig. 68=_a_). In the makers of this pottery the authors recognised an inclination to vary their handiworks, and this was especially manifested in the various forms and different embellishments of the handles, called _appendiculati_, which turned up in large quantities. These were ordinary handles with an addition on the top, either in the form of an upright button-like process or transverse bar. To the latter the greatest interest was attached, as the ends of the bars were bent in a variety of ways so as to assume the form of ears or horns as in =Fig. 68=_b_.

Among the utensils they distinguished a variety of industrial objects such as needles, pins, ornamented combs, small wheels, handles, etc., made of bone or horn (=Figs. 69= to =74=). Of stone there were numbers of rubbers, corn-grinders, and grooved spheroidal stones (=Fig. 75=), but very few hatchets and chisels.

Of bronze they found sickles (=Fig. 76=), spear-heads (=Fig. 77=), flat celts (=Fig. 78=), awls (=Fig. 79=), chisels, pins, etc.

Among the objects of uncertain use were classified a series of spindle-whorls of different forms (=Fig. 80=).

From the existence of metal slag and stone moulds (=Fig. 81=) the authors inferred that the terramaricoli knew the art of founding in metals.

Professor Strobel gave also a minute description of the bones and other organic remains, to which I shall afterwards refer when treating of his subsequent investigations in this wide and important field of research.

In summing up, the authors used the following words:--

"As to the first _origin_ of the _marl-earths_, it is clear that the banquets, as you assert, are a considerable part; but there seems to us to appear in the scoriæ, the millstones, the heaps of grain, the palisades, the potsherds, already cited, together with the arms and utensils of all sorts which are found in these earths, something more than a mere meeting-place to banquet. It seems to us, if we do not err, that there is something of settlement and duration. Man did not meet there only to arrange and devour the feast, but to employ himself besides in domestic avocations, in preparing implements and arms, to sew garments, and make nets--in a word, to inhabit them; besides, to exercise the practices of their religious worship, and, perhaps, also to burn their dead, and all these after the fashion of barbarians, such as the people of the _marl-beds_ must have been. These people, according to the place and time, were fishermen, hunters, shepherds, and even agriculturists." (B. 91, p. 83.)

These words contain the most important feature of this report. The authors, though not absolutely free from the previous notions that floods and inundations had something to do with the stratification of the _débris_, distinctly recognise that the terremare must be considered as the remains of the _habitations of the living_, and not, as hitherto supposed, the resting-places of the dead.

Interest in the whole subject now rapidly increased, and extended to agriculturists and local observers. Yearly excavations were carefully scanned and even special researches were carried on in the interests of science. Strobel, a professed naturalist with remarkably precise and accurate habits, devoted his great energies to the elucidation of the organic remains, especially the rich and varied products of the peaty bed (_terra uliginosa_) at Castione, in which the piles were detected. Pigorini, on the other hand, was an archæologist pure and simple, but endowed with great ability and much fertility in the correlation and generalisation of facts--qualities which have since gained him the chair of archæology at Rome, which he now fills with so much distinction. Thus associated these two men may be said to have developed a new school of archæology, especially anent the terremare, having as its primary and indispensable object the collection of authenticated data, without which, they asserted, no deductions however brilliant could be scientific.

In the course of researches conducted by Strobel at Castione, during the years 1862 and 1863, he observed that the piles were placed in a sort of basin, either natural or artificial; that they supported transverse beams over which clay floorings had been placed; and that they were more thickly set towards the margin, and slanting, as if to strengthen the inner superstructures. Moreover, he proved that the supposed peaty formation (_terra uliginosa_) had nothing in common with true peat, but was simply a subaqueous deposit of ordinary earth, associated with decomposed organic _débris_. Another terramara in Parma having similar characteristics to that at Castione was investigated in the following year by Pigorini, and thus the theory of an occasional palafitte converted into a land-dwelling seemed to them to be confirmed. Previous to this the stratification of the beds--one of the most remarkable features of these deposits--had not excited any unusual surprise, but now it began to be commented upon.

These and some other noteworthy observations here and there coming to light induced Strobel and Pigorini to issue a second report on the terremare of Parma. (B. 89.) But in this _brochure_, which appeared in 1864, there does not appear to be any striking departure from the views expressed by the authors in their previous report. They asserted that the people who constructed and inhabited these dwellings were a nomadic or agricultural race, belonging to the Bronze Age, and were probably allied to the Swiss lake-dwellers; and that their habitations varied in structural character according to the exigencies of the site chosen. No significance was attached to the piles at Castione and elsewhere, beyond supplying a proof that different methods of construction had been in use, the adoption of which depended on local conditions. The composition of the strata as "earthy beds, now ashy, now yellowish, now reddish or black," and their peculiarly wavy arrangement, were supposed to mark merely a variety.

The terremare now became a controversial focus between the adherents of the old and new schools. To the former Cavedoni, Coppi, and subsequently Crespellani, lent their influence; while the latter were reinforced by Boni, Canestrini, Calegari, and Chierici. Amongst all these, during the next few years, Chierici stood pre-eminent. Already an ardent collector of the antiquities of his native country, he found in the mysterious terremare a congenial field and a new outlet for his love of practical research. For minute observation and lucid exposition of the phenomena observed in explorations, Chierici had few superiors. To him must undoubtedly be assigned the next great contributions towards the elucidation of the terremare problem. Observing in several instances that an earthy dyke of a rectangular shape, with a ditch outside, surrounded the terramara mound, and that upright beams, or traces of them, were to be seen in all parts of the deposits, he suggested that these were normal features in their structure. Although some of his contemporary explorers had incidentally noticed piles in a stratum different from that in which their original discovery was made at Castione, and even recorded the fact (B. 407, p. 7), it remained to Chierici alone to interpret the true significance of the discovery. In support of the theory of universality of the palafitte system, he showed that in many cases the piles had entirely disappeared by decomposition, and that the only traces of their existence were the holes they had occupied. Some of these, indeed, had subsequently become filled up by infiltrated matter, so that on section they presented the appearance of inverted cones. On this point he relates that in one space measuring 210 square metres he counted no less than 124 "buche di pali." (B. 206, p. 9.)

It must be remembered that, previous to this, archæologists had no clear notion of the order or relative position of the products of different ages and races, and the same confusion extended to the terremare. For instance, at Castelnuovo, Chierici seemed puzzled at finding, underneath a Bronze Age terramara, indications of an older period. At Campeggine, on the other hand, objects of the early Iron Age appeared, but chiefly in the upper strata, while Etruscan remains had been recognised in several instances.

Another point to which Chierici's attention was directed was the frequency with which rectangular enclosures were disposed so as to have their four sides facing the cardinal points; and this orientation within certain limits, varying, it would seem, according to the direction of the sunrise when the settlement was founded, he considered also applicable to all the terramara villages. On this point see also Helbig. (B. 308.)

In his famous theory of the structure of the terramara villages (B. 206) Chierici conceived the idea that they had been constructed over artificial basins to which a running stream was made to flow so as to convert the _bacino_ into a pool of water. This pool was surrounded by an earthen dyke inside of which a wooden platform was erected on piles and covered with a layer of clay. Huts were then erected over this platform at regular intervals, and the refuse from them was thrown, by means of holes here and there, into the space below. The water entering at one side of the enclosure made its exit at the opposite side. Thus the space below the platform was more or less occupied with water, and the _débris_ thrown into it became arranged into sedimentary strata, and so continued to accumulate until the entire space was filled up. When the accumulation of _débris_ reached this extent it became necessary to elevate their floorings, and this was done by repeating the same process at a higher level; and in this manner Chierici accounted for the successive platforms and palafittes which were to be met with in the terramara beds.

Thus in the hands of Chierici almost every feature of the terramara deposits excited fresh interest and an eagerness for further inquiries. Piles or their traces were found almost immediately in all the stations wherever they were carefully looked for. In 1872 Chierici and Mantovani explored two stations, one at Monte Venere and the other at Monte, in which were found not only the dyke surrounding the basin and palafitte, but, in one of them, three series of piles, one superimposed above the other, thus clearly showing that when the spaces around the piles and underneath the platform had got filled up with _débris_, a second palafitte had been resorted to, which in its turn had been succeeded by a third. (B. 233 and 247.) It was on all hands acknowledged that in many parts the peculiar stratification of the layers in certain beds could only be accounted for on the supposition that water had somehow to do with the sorting of their ingredients, as floating materials, such as bits of charcoal, were often eliminated and formed separate layers. So far Chierici's theory might be taken as offering a complete explanation of the phenomena. But the deposition of the higher portions of the mound remained to be accounted for, as it was difficult to conceive of pools of water at the requisite heights. A still more formidable objection was the impossibility of transporting water without the intervention of a system of hydraulics to sites placed on elevations far above the level of any adjacent streams, and of this class several had been known, as at Monte Venere, Roteglia, Castellaccio, etc. (B. 407, p. 9); yet, in most cases, they also contained the palafitte and dyke. This was the weakest part of the theory and found few supporters, but in other respects every additional discovery only tended to confirm it. Strobel, however, declined to believe in the universality of either dykes or palafittes. Thus, writing in 1874 (B. 267), he says: "At the conclusion of an article which I wrote in 1872 on shells of _Unio_ found in the marière, etc., I asserted that the terremare, those prehistoric settlements, were terrestrial; that in some of them man lived in pile-dwellings on dry ground, in others he dwelt in tents or huts; and that in some of the terramara beds earthworks can be seen, which may have been used as dykes or bulwarks, and which in all probability were fortified with ditches." After showing how impossible it would be for the terramaricoli of Roteglia and Castellaccio to have pools of water at such an elevation as they had been, he goes on to say: "And here I may be permitted to raise my voice against those who imagine that prehistoric men, and more especially those of the marière, and of our terremare and pile-dwellings of the Bronze Age, always and everywhere followed constantly one uniform and invariable order in arranging their abodes, as if they were inferior to the animals, nay, even to the invertebrates, who modify their constructions according to circumstances. But, in fact, there is much less uniformity in these terremare than is often found in the dwellings of animals; therefore I maintain logically, that even prehistoric men changed their mode of living according to place, time, and circumstances; and that the terramaricoli did not live solely in pools of water, as some assert, but had settlements both in the water and on dry land, and that the terramara beds are the results of the latter. In some of the terrestrial settlements they probably had pile-dwellings, while in others they lived in huts or tents. Some at least of the land settlements were defended by dykes and ditches." (B. 119, 2nd ed., p. 402.)

Pigorini, on the other hand, looked favourably on the major portion of Chierici's generalisations, and in the course of explorations conducted by him at Casaroldo in 1874 (B. 266 and 297) he found everything not only in harmony with his views but some additional facts that seemed to strengthen that portion of his theory in which he maintained that the palafitte was the normal method adopted in the structure of the terremare, whatever the nature of the locality might be in which they were constructed. Thus at Casaroldo, although there was both a ditch and a dyke surrounding the basin containing the palafitte, it had no peaty understratum (_terra uliginosa_), as at Castione, but a substance precisely identical with the superimposed deposits. Here also there were traces of piles on a higher level.

Almost coincident with the publication of Chierici's theory of the terremare, in 1871, was the International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archæology at Bologna, which gave an immense impetus to such studies. Indeed, the decade which followed may be characterised as the Augustan age in the department of prehistoric archæology in Italy. The remarkable discoveries in the old cemeteries of Bologna, and in Etruscan tombs elsewhere in the Circumpadana district, together with the increasing number of prehistoric stations in lakes, turbaries, caverns, etc., greatly widened the field of research and added to the difficulty of deciphering, from amidst the endless overlappings of their remains, the history of the various civilisations which formerly characterised the country. In order to facilitate these studies the _Bullettino Paletnologia Italiana_ was established at the commencement of 1875, under the joint editorship of Chierici, Pigorini, and Strobel. This periodical has done much good and is still in a flourishing condition.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS AT CASTIONE.

Such was the general tenor of the opinions in regard to the terremare up to 1877, when, owing to the interest then taken in these singular remains and with the view of clearing up some of the contested points, the Minister of Public Instruction ordered a fresh excavation to be made at Castione under the superintendence of Professor Pigorini. The portion selected was an oblong space at the north side of the church, beginning at the margin and stretching inwards for a considerable distance. The result of this was the disclosure of a new and remarkable feature in its structural arrangement. At the inside of the earthen dyke, and intervening between it and a forest of piles which extended towards the interior, was a series of small rectangular enclosures constructed of horizontal beams laid one above the other. These enclosures, which extended side by side like a string of log-houses, formed an abrupt facing to the dyke. The beams were roughly hewn, and partially mortised into each other at the points of crossing, from which their ends projected irregularly, some even extending from one compartment to the next. Inside these log-houses there was nothing but rubbish--clay, gravel, bits of wood, etc.--packed firmly together. But it is needless to enter upon all the details of this curious structure; suffice it to say that Pigorini came to the conclusion that their purpose was to support the inside of the earthen dyke (_contrafforte dell' argine_). The piles were in rows about two feet apart, and each pile was separated from its neighbour by an interval of one foot. When the space was cleared there was quite a forest of these piles, and it is noteworthy that they were all inclined in one direction, viz. north-east, a fact which is well shown in the first of the two photographic illustrations here given (=Fig. 82=).

From an examination of the composition of the soil outside the limits of the station Pigorini ascertained that the bluish clay bed forming the subsoil of the terramara mound corresponded to what was the surface of the surrounding plain when the terramaricoli founded their settlement, and that the thick mass of alluvial yellowish clay in which the mound is now partially buried has been subsequently deposited.

Other interesting details are given in Pigorini's exhaustive and admirable report regarding the structure of the ditch, dyke, platforms, hearths, etc., and the peculiarity and composition of the strata. But these the limits at my disposal in this work compel me to pass over, and I must be content with quoting the following summary of his conclusions in regard to the origin of the station:--

"The terramaricoli having arrived at the place now called Castione dei Marchesi did not select for their encampment a low-lying spot subject to inundations, but the top of a slight elevation of bluish clay not yet covered with the more recent alluvial deposits. The space measured out for the station was of a rectangular shape and covered about a couple of acres. This area they surrounded with a ditch, the excavated soil being thrown to the inside and so they formed a dyke 6 feet in height, which consequently enclosed a _bacino_ having its base on the original soil of the plain. The area thus defined had an orientated position with a deviation of 30° from east to north.

"Having completed the surrounding ditch and dyke, the next step was to construct along the inner margin of the dyke a series of log-houses, bound together and filled with _débris_, over which they finally laid a gravel pavement. The main object of this elaborate structure was to support the earthen dyke. Next they planted all over the _bacino_ rows of piles at regular intervals, whose tops reached to the level of the surface of the _contrafforte_, and over them they laid horizontal planks of wood which, in certain places, were covered with beds of clay (_tavole coperte d'argilla_).

"On this platform were constructed the huts of the people. The exact form of these huts has not been ascertained, but they were certainly made of wood, straw and clay, no other material having been used either at Castione or any other terramara. The village was now complete, and the inhabitants, in the course of their domestic avocations, threw the refuse of food and other _débris_ into the space below, probably by means of holes, which gradually accumulated until the space became completely filled up.

"When this stage was reached the people did not change their chosen site, but proceeded to erect a new palafitte above the old one. They elevated the dyke by extending its base, placed new _contrafforte_ along its inner side superimposed on the older ones, and thus continued to convert the surface of the first platform into the base of the new _bacino_. Here they repeated the operation of planting it with piles, and over these a new platform and huts were erected, which were occupied as before, until the accumulation of _débris_ again drove the inhabitants to construct a third dwelling-place at a still higher level." (B. 407, p. 44.)

Illustrations of some of the industrial remains found at Castione, and other places in the neighbourhood of Parma, are given on =Fig. 83=.

MONTALE.

Another instructive station, which I visited along with the distinguished archæologist, Sig. Crespellani, is that at Montale, a few miles south of Modena. Here the elevation of the mound is more marked than at Castione, as the entire mass stands clear above the surrounding plain, and, like it, the central part is occupied by a church and some other religious buildings. The discovery of this terramara was not made till 1868, but, its contents being readily accessible, the progress of its demolition has been rapid. In 1871 it was selected as the most suitable to be visited by the members of the International Congress, and, for their special benefit, a new section was then opened up. The annual explorations conducted in this mound, of course regulated by agricultural demands, are now entirely in the hands of the authorities of the Museo Civico at Modena, who appropriate all rare objects for the enhancement of their large and valuable prehistoric collection. The director of the Museum, Sig. Boni, publishes, from time to time, a report of the excavations and of the results obtained. (B. 380 and 421.)

According to Boni, the area of the mound, including the dyke, was 9,000 square mètres (about 2 acres), of which about 4,000 are occupied by the ecclesiastical buildings already referred to. Of the remaining space available for explorations about one half has been cleared away. On the north side of the church, just on the verge of the pit where the workmen were riddling and preparing the saleable stuff, stood an enormous chestnut tree, whose roots could be seen below the grassy surface projecting from the perpendicular face of the section. The priest, whose house forms part of the ecclesiastical buildings on the mound, soon joined our party, and expatiated on the fabulous age of this tree, but which Crespellani reduced to something like 150 or 200 years. The entire height of the section here exposed would be from 15 to 20 feet, the upper five of which consisted of mouldy soil, which has, of course, to be removed before the commercially valuable stuff is reached. In the course of the removal of this upper stratum the following objects were found, viz. an iron hatchet, fragments of a spur, several keys, and some much corroded coins of the Old Empire. The remains of fifteen human burials were also encountered, three of which had the bodies enclosed in cists made of large bricks. Indeed, some large tiles, apparently part of a sepulchre, were still to be seen protruding from a part of this layer. Near one of the unenclosed burials lay a terra-cotta lamp and a bone comb with a double row of teeth. Sunk into the upper part of the terramara beds was a primitive lime-kiln, "evidently," says Boni, "introduced into the _cumulo marnoso_ at a later period than its formation." (B. 386, p. 13.)

The great depth of this upper bed of mould, which exists in all the terremare, is very remarkable and most puzzling to archæologists. Boni thinks it was spread over the mound at some posterior time, either for agricultural purposes, or as hygienic precautions, or perhaps from motives of respect to the supposed sacred character of its contents.

All the rest of the section was terramara proper, whose contorted and wave-like beds could readily be distinguished. Sticking in the face of the section were innumerable fragments of black pottery, broken bones, and bits of charcoal. All the stuff, before being disposed of, was passed through riddles, and what remained was thrown aside as useless rubbish, the heaps of which could only be estimated by cart-loads. The riddlings consisted almost entirely of broken pottery, among which were occasional clay weights and more frequently spindle-whorls, together with the bones and horns of animals, many of which were converted into implements. Bronze objects were comparatively rare.

Part of a large earthen dyke which is supposed to have surrounded the entire mound is still left exposed on the north side. It measured from 20 to 30 feet in breadth at the base and 11½ feet in height. Boni, in his description of this dyke, states that a section which ought to be conical is not so, but more slanting on the outside; also, at the inner side, its contents are occasionally seen to overlap the terramara beds. From this and some other structural details he adduces evidence to show that the dyke had been subsequently added to by the terramaricoli during their occupation of the settlement. Bearing in mind what Pigorini says about Castione, the significance of these observations will be readily perceived.

For illustrations of relics from Montale see =Fig. 84= and =Fig. 85=, Nos. 1 to 6; and for its literature B. 157, 184, 186, 204, 231, 298b, 367, 386, 421, 422, 425a'. An account of the excursion to Montale by the members of the International Congress is given in their Proceedings for 1871 (Bologna).

CASALE ZAFFANELLA.

Another typical example of the terremare, which I wish to describe shortly, lies 1¼ mile north of the Po, near the town of Viadana. This station was accidentally discovered a few years ago by the brothers Pietro and Giacomo Tassoni, the peasant proprietors of a field in which they were making trenches for planting vines. In the course of their operations they dug up fragments of pottery, which they brought to the Arciprete Antonio Parazzi of Viadana (already widely known as a skilled archæologist and the founder of an excellent museum of the local antiquities of the district). Some of the fragments of pottery turned out to be Roman, while others were undoubtedly pre-Roman, and this led to a preliminary investigation of the locality, in which the experienced eye of Parazzi soon detected the site of a terramara dwelling. A full report of the subsequent excavations and results obtained was published by Parazzi in the _Bullettino_ for 1886 (B. 451)--a monograph which is a perfect model of the descriptive details of an investigation conducted on scientific methods.

First of all let me emphasise the fact that there was here no mound at all. The field was quite flat, and to reach the surface of the terramara beds a stratum of considerable thickness, varying from 1 to 2 feet, of the ordinary alluvial deposits had to be passed through. The terramara beds then continued for a depth of 8 or 10 feet, underneath which came the subsoil on which the settlement was originally constructed. It is noteworthy that in one part of the area, underneath the terramara beds proper, a peaty bed, similar to that at Castione, was discovered. To make the resemblance still more striking, this _terra uliginosa_ also contained the remains of a palafitte. These piles were very well preserved, and some of them may now be seen in the Museum at Viadana.

It was impossible, without enormous labour, to explore this settlement to a great extent; but by a few well-directed trenches Parazzi ascertained that it was of a quadrangular shape, and orientated to within 11 degrees, and that it was surrounded by a ditch and a dyke. The enclosure, exclusive of the area of the dyke, had a superficial area of about one English acre. Its four sides measured, respectively, 208 (N.), 218 (S.), 227 (W.), and 237 (E.) feet. The dyke was 26 feet broad at its base, and 11 feet 6 inches high, and showed that it had been added to on three different occasions. Its inner edge appeared to have been very steep, a fact which suggests that, as at Castione, there had been some kind of support to prevent the earth from falling in. The ditch was 34 feet wide, and its maximum depth was 6½ feet.

The underlying peaty stratum, containing the piles, occupied much of Parazzi's attention, and he goes largely into its minutiæ. One curious fact which he records is that the dyke passed over its middle, leaving a considerable portion of the _terra torbosa_ and palafitte outside the area of the terramara deposits. This undoubtedly suggests the idea that the palafitte existed prior to the terramara settlement. From the character of the relics we shall, however, see that both belonged to the same age and people.

On the surface of the terramara beds Roman remains were largely met with, and in one place they came upon a rectangular excavation, measuring 18 square mètres, containing ordinary earth, bricks, tiles, fragments of jars, and other Roman pottery. When this was cleared out there was found at the bottom, at a depth of 7 feet 6 inches, a Roman pavement, and the stratified terramara layers could be distinctly seen in the perpendicular walls. Clearly this cellar was constructed long after the deposition of the terramara beds.

Nor is the settlement of Casale Zaffanella a solitary example in the Viadana district. Already Parazzi has prepared a large map of the neighbourhood, which finds a suitable position on the wall of his museum, with no less than 12 terramara stations marked on it. Among these there is one Cogozzo (B. 372b) situated about one-and-a-quarter mile from the town and within 200 yards of the Po, which presents the same features as that at Casale Zaffanella, and also contains traces of a palafitte. Its area is an orientated quadrangle covering about an acre, but it is completely buried in mud, its highest point being 31 inches below the surface. It is surrounded by a ditch and dyke; and, moreover, the inner edge of the dyke was found to be almost perpendicular, showing that originally it must have had some kind of _contrafforte_.

Some of the objects from this group of terramara stations, now deposited in the Viadana Museum, are represented in =Fig. 86=, Nos. 1 to 13.

GORZANO (MODENA).

The old-school views advocated by Dr. Coppi, viz. that the terremare were remains of funeral pyres (_roghi_), so much biassed his mind that for many years he appeared to have paid little attention to the significance of the strata, and consequently the first two volumes of his magnificently illustrated monograph on the terramara settlement at Gorzano (B. 207 and 261) lose much of their value from having the objects of different ages indiscriminately mixed. This defect is so far removed in the third volume that he divides the deposits into upper and lower, corresponding to the historic and prehistoric periods. But, notwithstanding this defect in Dr. Coppi's earlier works, his investigations are of considerable scientific value, as his numerous matter-of-fact observations are strictly to be depended on.

The accompanying plan and sections of Gorzano will convey some idea of the position of the terramara beds in respect to their immediate surroundings. The deposits (marked c on section A) extended in length about 90 to 100 mètres from north to south, and 70 mètres in breadth, with an average thickness of 3½ mètres. The settlement was constructed on a natural elevation, rising about 9 mètres above the rest of the plain and 11 above the bed of the adjacent stream Tiepido. It was surrounded by a ditch and a dyke, and it also contained the remains of a palafitte. The existence of piles is clearly proved by Dr. Coppi himself, who gives a section (C) showing their respective positions, but at the same time he denies that they indicate the remains of a palafitte.