Chapter XXI: Part 21

That the horse was now domesticated and under the control of the lake-dwellers we have very circumstantial evidence in the discovery of bridle-bits, various ornaments for harness, and even a wheel and other mountings of a chariot or biga. For many years some curious and highly polished portions of horn from 4 to 7 inches in length, and perforated with three or more holes, one in the centre and the other at the extremities, were among the unexplained relics of the Bronze Age stations (=Fig. 191=, Nos. 3 and 4). The holes in these objects had a worn appearance, and it was noticed that the direction of the central aperture was always at right angles to those at the extremities. Their use however, remained a complete puzzle till the year 1872, when a remarkably fine and well preserved horse-bit of bronze was discovered at Moeringen (No. 7). The similarity of these horn objects to the side pieces of the bronze bit led to the conjecture that they were the analogous parts of horse-bits made of horn. The subsequent discovery of several other bronze bits, all of the same type, gradually strengthened this opinion; but whatever doubt might remain as to their function is now dispelled by the discovery at Corcelettes, in 1888, of a complete specimen made of two tines of staghorn with a transverse mouthpiece of bone (No. 1). Of the bronze bridle-bits found up to this time only three are entire, but there are several isolated side and centre pieces from the stations of Nidau, Moeringen, Auvernier, Corcelettes, and Estavayer (Nos. 5, 6, and 9). It will be observed that all the examples here figured (which include the most diverse forms), though differing in some details, are of the same type. The only marked difference in the two entire specimens is that one (No. 7) has the mouthpiece divided in the middle, whereas the other (No. 8) is one solid piece. This latter was found at Corcelettes and is now in the Lausanne Museum. The third entire specimen, which was also found at Corcelettes, appears from its illustration (B. 462) to be identical with No. 8.

According to Dr. Gross, No. 7 was made in one casting, thus proving the perfection to which bronze working was carried. All these specimens of horse-bits, so far as can be judged from the breadth of the mouthpiece, indicate very small horses, No 7 being 3½ inches between the side pieces, and No. 8 rather less than 4 inches.

The entire bridle-bit of horn is even still smaller, being only 2¾ inches wide. It is thus described by Dr. Brière (B. 461):--

"Cette intéressante pièce, en parfait état de conservation, se compose de 2 branches en bois de cerf, percées chacune de 3 trous evidées à la partie supérieure sur un profondeur de 3 centimètres et mesurant 18 centimètres de longeur, reliées entre' elles par la barre du mors qui est en os et mesure exactement 7 centimètres entre les 2 branches. Cette barre en os est creuse et pour assujettir la pièce aux branches, on a enfoncé de petits coins en corne de cerf pour combler le vide et pour la rendre solide."--_Antiqua_, 1888, p. 37.

Judging from the frequency with which the isolated side-pieces of bridle-bits made of horn have been found on almost all the bronze stations, no less than 12 being now preserved in the Munich Museum from Starnberg, and 14 in the Lausanne Museum from Corcelettes, the horse must have been common among the lake-dwellers. It will also be remembered that similar objects have been found in the terremare, and Dr. Carlo Boni thinks that a piece of rope was used instead of the stiff mouthpiece in the manner shown in No. 2.

There are various other objects which are supposed to have been used as ornaments for horse harness, such as the _phaleræ_ or bronze discs, rings, knobs, etc. The former (Nos. 11 to 13) are often slightly convex on one side and decorated with circles or small knobs formed in repoussé work, and on the other side there is a small loop for fastening it. Several horn and bone discs, especially those from Starnberg (=Fig. 36=, Nos. 24 and 30) suggest a similar usage.

Two curious bronze objects (=Fig. 191=, No. 10) found on the eastern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, one at Chevroux and the other at Estavayer, together with portion of a hollow tube of a similar style of ornamentation, remained for a long time unexplained. However, coupled with the bronze wheel found at Cortaillod (=Fig. 10=, No. 17) Dr. Keller showed that they were the handles and part of the top railing of an Etruscan biga or war chariot. (B. 336.)

The use of the long pins of brass with sword-like handles (_Säbelnadeln_) found on the stations of Wollishofen (=Fig. 4=, Nos. 9 and 10), Grosser Hafner (=Fig. 2=, No. 32), and the Grand City of Morges, is not yet sufficiently understood. In 1886 Major v. Tröltsch,[137] in a note to the Society of Anthropology in Berlin, directed attention to the fact that an object of the same kind was preserved in the Museum at Donaueschingen, which had been found in a Burgwall (_Lagerplatz_) on the Hohenhöwen, "einem der vulkanischen Bergkegel des Hegau's bei Singen." The object thus described by Major v. Tröltsch is precisely similar to that here figured from the Grosser Hafner (=Fig. 2=, No. 32). Its total length is 16½ inches, of which the pin takes up 13 inches and the terminal ring 1⅜ inch. The stem presents a square section, and in this respect it agrees with the examples found at Zürich and Morges. Subsequently Dr. L. v. Rau,[138] Mr. R Forrer,[139] and Mr. Heierli[140] contributed to the Society some further notes on these singular implements, but without coming to any agreement as to their function.

In addition to these bronze relics so numerously described and illustrated in the previous pages, there are many objects which cannot be classified under any of the previous headings, as their use is unknown. Fragments of small hollow globes are supposed to have been used as children's rattles. Examples of these have been found at Moeringen made of pottery, two of which, now in the Museum at Berne, are still perfect (=Fig. 193=, No. 9). Both objects are ornamented, and contain inside a piece of hardened clay which, when shaken, makes a jingling noise. In the Museum at Zürich there is, also from Moeringen, a small pendant like a bell now used on horse harness (=Fig. 189=, No. 17). Dr. Gross (B. 392, p. 75) describes a similar object found at Auvernier (=Fig. 189=, No. 18) as a perfume-box (cassolette). Among the more recent finds is the object represented on =Fig. 192=, which is supposed to be part of a mirror similar to those so frequently met with among Etruscan and Roman remains. (B. 420, p. 167.) We have already observed that on several of the Scottish crannogs there were found some thin stones, highly polished and circular or square, which are supposed to have been used for the same purpose. These stones, when moistened with water and looked at in certain conditions as regards light, are by no means a bad substitute for the more perfect reflecting mirrors of the present day.

These great innovations following in the wake of the metals could hardly fail to influence such a plastic art as that of the potter. Accordingly we find a better quality of paste, greater variety and elegance of form, and some approach to systematic decoration. There is one new form quite characteristic of this age which, were it not for the extreme elegance and harmony of all its parts, one would suppose indicated a retrograde movement. This was a small water-bottle-shaped vase, which, having a conical base, could not be made to sit upright upon a flat surface without some kind of support. This support is supposed to be a clay ring (=Fig. 2=, Nos. 2, 5, and 31), great numbers of which have been found in the Bronze Age stations. Ultimately colouring materials were introduced which considerably enhanced the effect of ornamentation on the dishes. Besides systematic patterns of recurring geometrical figures formed by lines in the soft clay, we sometimes find similar patterns traced on the surface of the vessels by means of thin strips of tin-foil made to adhere by means of a kind of gum or asphalt. The vessels thus manipulated were of extremely elegant forms, and made of a fine paste with a smooth black surface. This custom was particularly prevalent in Lake Bourget, but specimens have been found in some of the other lakes, as at Nidau, Hauterive, Cortaillod, Montilier, Estavayer, etc., but it is extremely rare in Eastern Switzerland. On =Fig. 193= I have shown a few additional specimens of pottery. No. 1 is the quarter of a dish shaped like a milk plate having a small flat base. It is perforated with groups of holes arranged systematically as shown in the illustration, and the inside is ornamented with a few incised circles. This dish, or rather percolator, was found in Lake Bourget, and formed part of Mr. Rabut's collection now in the British Museum. Another percolator, of similar shape and size, differently ornamented, and having a slight variation in the disposition of the grouped perforations, was found at Montilier, and is figured by Keller. (B. 126, Pl. v. 26.) No. 2 represents the quarter of a dish of the same form as the above, but without perforations. Its interior is adorned with strips of tin-foil (here represented in white) producing a wonderfully complicated design. This dish was found at Cortaillod, and is now in the Schwab Museum, along with an extremely handsome wide-mouthed vase, also from Cortaillod, the outside of which is similarly ornamented. In the latter case the upper part of the vessel is surrounded by small panels all having different designs made of circles, lines, and crosses. (See B. 126, Pl. xvi. 1.) No. 6 is a vase with conical base, from Hauterive, also adorned in the same fashion. In looking at these vessels ornamented with tin it is difficult to make out the designs, as the tin is now even blacker than the pottery. Hence, in Nos. 4 and 5, both of which are from Lake Bourget, the tin is represented by the dark lines. No. 3 represents a fragment of pottery, now preserved in the Museum at Aix-les-Bains, which shows how a broken dish had been mended by passing two or three plies of a tough grass or rush through a perforation on each side of the crack. After the fragments were thus brought together one of the rushes was twisted in a spiral manner round the others, evidently for protecting them from wear and tear. The remaining Nos. (7 to 10) illustrate some toy dishes and children's playthings from Moeringen and Auvernier.

The spindle-whorls of the Bronze Age are generally made of earthenware, and often highly ornamented, thus showing the improved taste of the people.

Among the more notable objects peculiar to the Bronze Age are certain polished stones, in the form of circular or oval discs with a marginal groove (=Fig. 194=). These stones were formerly reckoned to be sling-stones, but now they are generally recognised as potters' implements, used probably for fashioning the bases of the dishes.

There are many problems worthy of careful consideration suggested by the facts disclosed in these pages, but in this rapid sketch I can only refer to one or two in a cursory manner. First of all we have to inquire if the lake-dwellers practised religious rites. In support of the affirmative to this inquiry there are some indications, and the few objects capable of such an interpretation are illustrated on =Fig. 195=. In this category I include the following:--

(1) The highly ornamented wooden sticks or _bâtons de commandement_, from Castione (Nos. 1 and 2), and from Moeringen (No. 3). The only perfect example (No. 1) is rather less than sixteen inches in length, and the others do not appear to have been larger.

(2) The four remarkable bronze tubes with ring appendages from Lake Bourget (Gresine). These, though differing in size and some other respects, are all of one type, and were clearly conceived and wrought out on a uniform plan, and for some specific purpose. The most perfect of these objects (see page 102) appears to be complete, and consists of an ornamental tube, surrounded by three rows of fixed loops, three in each row, placed at regular distances, and to each loop there are three loose rings appended, as shown in the illustration (No. 4). The two previously illustrated (=Fig. 21=, Nos. 1 and 2) have only one ring in each of the nine loops, and it does not appear that there had been any more. The fourth, now preserved in the Museum at Chambery, is nearly as large as the perfect one; but it is greatly worn, and retains now only a few rings, some of the loops being broken or worn through. It is illustrated by Perrin. (B. 282, Pl. lxiv. 1.)

(3) The ornamental reniform rings (_Schwurring_) from Morges and Thonon (=Fig. 17=, Nos. 2 and 3), could not have been used as bracelets, and Dr. Forel suggests that they are analogous to the _armilla sacra_ on which the ancient Germans were wont to place their hands when about to swear a solemn oath. (B. 286, p. 46.)

In the Museum at Brunswick, in Germany, I noticed three of these rings, one of which is almost identical with the one from Morges, differing from it only in the details of the ornamentation; but of their history and origin nothing seems to have been known. Another is in the Museo Civico, at Turin, as well as a large circular ring like that from the lacustrine station at Wollishofen (=Fig. 188=, No. 2), both of which have been figured by Gastaldi. (B. 294, Pl. xii.) I believe it more probable that these large circular rings, though generally considered to be bracelets, were used for the same purpose as the reniform rings. Among the objects in the prehistoric and Roman collection of antiquities in St. Ulric, at Regensberg (Ratisbon), there is a large hollow ring of bronze, ornamented with three lines of concentric circles, which measures six inches in external and three inches in internal diameter, thus leaving one and a half inch for the thickness of the ring. It was found, along with several other things, in a pre-Roman grave (_Hügel-grab_) near Velburg.

(4) The clay images of animals found on several stations in different parts of the lake-dwelling area, as well as those of the terremare (=Fig. 84=, Nos. 23 and 24), and more especially the human images from Laibach, are probably idols. On =Fig. 195=, along with four clay figures from the lakes of Neuchâtel and Bourget (Nos. 9, 10, 13, and 14), I represent two of bronze (Nos. 15 and 16), which I noticed in a collection from Bodmann, in the Steinhaus Museum, at Überlingen. One of these was evidently used as a pendant, and the other appears to have been intended for a human being. The clay figures from Laibach (Nos. 5 to 8), though fragmentary, are undoubtedly representations of the human body. Nos. 5 and 6 represent the back and front view of the trunk of a female, while No. 7 shows a human body with a prominent nose. These two figures are hollow in the interior, and richly ornamented exteriorly with designs which are supposed to be imitations of embroidered garments. Another of these human figures from Laibach, as well as the image of a small animal, is represented on =Fig. 42=, Nos. 11, 23 and 24.

The extraordinary number of implements and chips of nephrite found at Maurach, and the equal predominance of flint refuse and implements in all stages of manufacture at some of the other stations, as Wallhausen, Nussdorf, etc., suggest the idea that the various industries prosecuted by the inhabitants of the lake-villages had already developed to such an extent as to become localised in certain centres. Again, the localisation of certain industries, as comestibles in one place, flax in its various preparatory stages in another, the complete kit of foundry tools in a third, etc., all point to the knowledge and practice of the principles of the division of labour.

That the lake-dwellers kept up commercial relations with foreign countries is proved by their possessing materials, not only peculiar to distant or limited areas, such as amber, jade, flint, etc., but also certain objects having such peculiarities in form or style of ornamentation as have enabled experienced archæologists to trace them to their original areas of evolution. Thus at Corcelettes were found an ornamental bronze dish, and portion of a fibula (=Fig. 189=, Nos. 19 and 20), which, when seen by Montelius in the Museum at Lausanne, were at once recognised by him as of northern origin. (B. 348.) Dr. Keller has also shown, as already stated, that certain bronze objects found in the Lake of Neuchâtel, which for a long time remained a puzzle to archæologists, belonged to an Etruscan carriage or biga. The few fibulæ found in the Swiss lake-dwellings have also been traced to their native habitats in Northern Italy.[141] The half-moon-shaped flint knives, so characteristic of Scandinavia and Northern Germany, have been found as far south as the Mondsee, and one solitary representative (=Fig. 34=, No. 20), now in the Museum of Natural History at Stuttgart, is said to have come from Schussenried station.

One notable fact about the distribution of lake-dwellings is that their relics conform in style, ornamentation, and general characteristics, to contemporary antiquities in the surrounding districts; and I find no special characters in their industrial remains that bind the lake-dwellers together as one clannish people. The relics from the lake-dwellings of the Stone Age in Northern Germany are readily seen to be closely related with those of the Scandinavian archæological area. Whatever the original resemblances and points of agreement of the founders may have been, they were soon modified and adapted to the physical conditions and requirements of their environments.

That continued attention was paid to the rearing and breeding of domesticated animals during the Bronze Age is attested by their osseous remains, which have been critically examined by such competent authorities as Rütimeyer (B. 42), Studer (B. 404), Uhlmann (B. 336), and others. While the lake-dwellers of the earlier Stone Age had only as domestic animals one small species of dog, a small ox, a horned sheep, and the goat, we find that towards the end of this period and during the succeeding Bronze Age not only new and large breeds were developed, but another was added to the list, viz. the horse. From the remains of the domestic horse found at Moeringen and elsewhere it appears to have been a small and slender-limbed animal with small hoofs, and altogether much inferior to the wild horse as hunted and eaten by the cave men of palæolithic times, from which it is supposed to have been a direct descendant. When the Aar canal was being excavated the bones of the smaller or domestic horse were found associated with bronze objects in no less than nine different localities, all of which agree with the above characteristics. (B. 404.) The horse of the terremare, according to Professor Strobel, presents the same characters as that of the Swiss lake-dwellings, and as we have already seen from the bridle-bits and other horse trappings, there can be no doubt it was also in a state of domestication. I may also mention that a skull found at Auvernier was believed by Rütimeyer, after most careful deliberation, to be that of the ass. Professor Strobel has also recognised the osseous remains of the ass in the terremare. (B. 389b.) The sheep diverged considerably from its earlier form, and lost much of its goat-like appearance, being now larger, and developed into various breeds. Still more varied were the breeds of cattle, especially in the vicinity of the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. The Bos primigenius appears to have been tamed and crossed with the earlier type, giving rise to a variety of breeds, such as _trococeros_ and _frontosus_, one of which had wide branching horns, as is proved from its remains found at Concise, Chevroux, Locras, etc. The small dog of the Stone Age (_Canis domesticus palustris_, Rüt.) gave place to a much larger kind, somewhat resembling our modern greyhound. The domestic pig also appears to have passed through various evolutionary phases; but the wild boar still retained its individuality intact. Dr. Uhlmann in his report on the osseous remains from the Grosser Hafner, at Zürich (B. 336), describes three varieties of the pig, as well as three of cattle.

With the exception of the domestic fowl and the tame cat, the domestic animals reared by the lake-dwellers were similar to those now extant. Nor is there much change as regards the wild animals and birds then prevalent. The animals that now frequent the higher Alps, such as the marmot, chamois, and wild goat, are very scarce in the lake-dwellings, showing that already nature had consigned them to the zone of their present habitation. Altogether, with the more improved weapons of the Bronze Age, there ensued, according to Rütimeyer, a marked diminution in the relative proportion of the ordinary wild animals of the chase, and a corresponding increase in those of the domestic breeds. The great wild oxen, the urus and bison, disappeared from the neighbourhood altogether.

Such progressive strides in agricultural pursuits are, however, not discernible in the vegetable remains, notwithstanding the minute investigations of Professor Heer. (B. 123.) From the very commencement the lake-dwelling colonists cultivated flax, two or three varieties of barley and wheat, millet and peas. The only addition that appears to have been made in the Bronze Age were the oat (_Avena sativa_), and the dwarf field bean (_Faba vulgaris_) of a strikingly small size. On the other hand we have to note the absence of winter wheat, rye, hemp, and most of the culinary and garden vegetables. Fruits and berries were largely used as food, but there is no evidence to show that they were cultivated. Among these the following have been identified:--apples, pears, plums, sloes, one or two species of cherry, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, hazel and beech nuts, water-chestnuts, poppies, etc. Grape-stones from Wangen were hesitatingly included in Professor Heer's list of fruits from the lake-dwellings; but, as already mentioned, this doubt is now diminished by the finding of grape-stones at Steckborn, another station of the Stone Age. Stones of the grape were early recognised among the _débris_ of the palafittes of Lake Garda, and quite recently Mr. A. Goiran has identified those of the olive (_Oleo europæa_) and peach.[142]

Bread was made only of wheat and millet, that of the latter generally containing some grains of wheat and linseed. Cakes made of the seeds of the poppy were also found at Robenhausen.

Various portions of the osseous remains of man, comprising the skull and other portions of the skeleton, have been found in several stations, as Meilen, Wollishofen, Grosser Hafner, Schaffis, Sutz, Locras, Vinelz, Nidau, Wauwyl, Bevaix, Insel Weerd, etc. All these remains have been more or less critically examined and reported on by Virchow (B. 305 and 433), Studer (B. 419 and 432), and Kollmann (B. 420), but notwithstanding a number of minute measurements and learned disquisitions, contradictory opinions are held by these scientists as to the race or races of men that inhabited the lake-dwellings. Dr. Studer advocates the theory of Troyon, that with the introduction of bronze there was also a new race of people, and this opinion he bases on the fact that at Sutz and Vinelz two kinds of human skulls were found, viz. _brachycephalic_ and _dolichocephalic_, whereas in the pure Stone Age stations only _brachycephalic_ skulls were met with. Segments of the upper parts of human skulls supposed to have been used as drinking cups were found at Gerlafingen (B. 392, p. 107), Sutz, Schaffis, and Locras, and from the latter there was also a skull having a circular portion of it cut out, as if trepanning had been performed. (B. 336, p. 31.)

Although it is now pretty well established that in these prehistoric times trepanning was practised as far back as the Stone Age,[143] it does not appear that this skull from Locras (B. 336, Pl. v. 28) had been operated on during the lifetime of the individual. Roundlets, cut out of skulls, are supposed to have been used as charms, and they are frequently met with in the graves of the period. From the lake-dwellings two of these objects have been recorded; one from Concise (=Fig. 185=, No. 20)[144] has two small perforations for suspension, and another, with one hole, is figured by Dr. Gross. (B. 392, Pl. xxiii. 65.) On the Trajan column a Dacian village is represented having human skulls set on poles before the walls. (B. 164.) The finding of skulls of a different race in the lake-dwellings might therefore be accounted for on the supposition that they were trophies of their enemies and not those of the occupiers of the lake-dwellings. Anatomical deductions from the few long bones of skeletons that have come to light indicate, so far as the evidence goes, that the Bronze Age men were of small stature--a conclusion which is also supported by the small size of the handles of the swords and other weapons of the period.

Professor Virchow in a long review of the craniology of the Swiss lake-dwellers comes to the following conclusions (B. 433, p. 300):--

(1) In the stations of the pure Stone Age, brachycephalic skulls only are known to a certainty to have existed.

(2) In the Transition period, both brachycephalic and dolichocephalic are known.

(3) In the full Bronze period the skulls are more inclined to the dolichocephalic type.

(4) The people of La Tène were of a highly mixed character, among whom, however, brachycephalic types predominated.

The eminent Berlin anthropologist thinks that during the Bronze Age a new people joined the original lake-dwellers by degrees, but not as one great immigration subverting the previous order of things. This opinion seems to be greatly strengthened by collateral circumstances. We have already seen how gradually bronze was introduced among the lake-dwellers. No violent disturbance of the previous conditions of life is anywhere to be detected. The original system of constructing lake-villages is continued exactly the same, and the only changes are such as can be accounted for by the use of better implements. The lake-dwellings of the Bronze Age are built in deeper water, and consequently farther from the shore than those of the Stone Age, and the piles are more slender, often stems split into two or four. The steinbergs appear to have been discontinued, or were only used over a hard and stony shore into which piles could not be easily driven. The sites of the latest villages are on the same ground as, or in close proximity to, those of the earliest ones. Remains of cottages are still the same, viz. bits of plaster, with marks of round timbers, and some hearth-stones. From Lake Bourget there are portions of clay plaster of this character, ornamented with incised lines and the impressions of groups of concentric circles (=Fig. 21=, No. 15) or the swastika (=Fig. 195=, No. 12). Also from the same place there are bits of clay tubes, the interiors of which are blackened with soot, supposed to have been small chimneys (=Fig. 184=, No. 8).

In Eastern Switzerland and the Danubian valley the number of stations greatly decreased during the Bronze Age, while in the Lake of Geneva they rather increased, and in Lake Bourget its eight stations belonged almost exclusively to this period.

The stations at Laibach, the Mondsee, Attersee, and Schussenried came to an end in the Transition period, and to the east of Lake Constance only one, viz. that in the Starnbergersee, continued during the Bronze Age. In the lakes of Constance, Zürich, Neuchâtel, Morat, and Bienne, they were also greatly reduced in numbers; but, on the other hand, they occupied larger areas, and show a greater concentration to selected localities, often the outlets of the lakes.

It was not till 1876 that any sepulchral remains bearing on the question--how the lake-dwellers disposed of their dead--came to light. In this year some workmen engaged in digging the foundation for a house in the vicinity of the site of the lake-dwelling at Auvernier, and some 50 yards from the shore, came upon a large flagstone measuring 5¼ by 4¼ feet, which turned out to be the covering of a stone coffin containing the remains of 15 or 20 skeletons. The grave was constructed in the usual way by setting four large flags on edge, which formed its sides, and over them a fifth was laid as a covering. These upright flags were of granite and gneiss, and the largest measured 6¼ feet long, 6 feet wide, and 11 inches thick. The rectangular space thus enclosed measured 5 feet 3 inches long, 3 feet 8 inches wide, and 5 feet 10 inches deep. Dr. Gross, who superintended the clearing out of its contents, states that the bodies had been placed in a sitting posture round the grave, with the heads to the walls and the feet directed towards the centre. External to this cist, on two of its sides, there was another series of upright flags, which formed two smaller chambers, and in one of them there were also human bones.

The relics associated with this burial consisted of some perforated teeth (boar, bear, and wolf); a small polished bone disc, perforated (=Fig. 196=, No. 3); two small stone celts--one with a perforation for suspension in the end opposite the cutting edge. Of bronze objects, found actually in the grave, there were only three, viz. a plain pin 6¼ inches long (No. 1), a small ring (No. 6), and a bead which looked like copper (No. 2).

Six feet to the east of this tomb, and about the same depth, the workmen subsequently came upon the skeleton of a child buried simply in the earth without any stone coffin, and near it were found the following objects:--Two pairs of small oval bracelets (Nos. 4 and 5), a curious pendant like a stud (No. 7), and an amber bead.

Two of the human skulls were sent to Rütimeyer, who pronounced them to be of the _Type de Sion_, and identical with those he had already examined from several lake-dwellings at Nidau, Meilen, Robenhausen, and Wauwyl.

From these data it would appear that the tomb of Auvernier belonged to the Transition period. (B. 286.)

In 1876 and 1877 several interments were found near the quay at Montreux, some with, and some without, stone cists, and along with them were associated various relics, as bracelets (Nos. 10 and 11), hair-pins (Nos. 12 and 13), some pottery ornamented with geometrical figures (No. 14), flint knives, a small stone crescent, and a horse's tooth much smaller than those of our modern horse. (B. 336.) Again, in 1884, some more tombs were discovered near the same place which yielded objects of the Bronze Age, viz. a bronze pin, six bronze bracelets (Nos. 8 and 9), and two or three urns (_Antiqua_, 1884, p. 101).

Dr. F. A. Forel (B. 286, p. 48) describes "cimetières de l'époque lacustre" in the vicinity of Morges and St. Prex. In the former group some skeletons were found in stone cists, one of which had two bracelets still adhering to the bones. "Ces bracelets," says Dr. Forel, "qui sont actuellement au musée cantonal de Lausanne, et à la bibliothèque de Morges, appartiennent incontestablement par leur beau travail et leur ornamentation riche et très-caractéristique à la belle époque du Bronze, à l'époque de la grande cité de Morges." In the cemetery near St. Prex were found some thirty skeletons deposited in free earth, and associated with them were some bronze ornaments (une vingtaine de bracelets, épingles à cheveux, anneaux, etc.), which, according to Dr. Forel, incontestably belonged to the _bel Age du Bronze_. Moreover, in the very same place, and almost alternating regularly with the free burials, there were urns containing ashes and charcoal. One of these urns (still preserved at the date of Dr. Forel's description, 1876), which measured 6¼ inches in diameter and 5 inches in height, presented all the characters of the pottery of the lake-dwellings of the Bronze Age.

It is interesting to note here the association of the two modes of burial in the same cemetery. That both systems were prevalent in Switzerland, at least as far back as the Transition period, has recently been shown by Mr. Heierli in his description of "Eine Gruppe prähistorischer Gräber," and "Vorrömische Gräben im Kanton Zürich." As the result of these investigations he proves that burnt bodies were deposited under mounds, associated with clay vessels which were ornamented with dots, lines, and string marks, precisely similar to those on the vessels found at Vinelz.

As a further contribution to the subject, we have the prehistoric graves at Chamblandes, near Pully, which, according to the late Morel-Fatio, who describes them (B. 377),[145] belonged to the lake-dwellers of the Stone Age. It appears that a cultivator, while digging the foundations of a house, came upon a series of ancient graves, at a depth of six or seven feet, formed of four flags set on edge, with a fifth as a covering. Along with each skeleton were found 40 flakes of the tusks of the wild boar, pierced at each extremity. In one a marine shell, also pierced by two holes, was noted. In the following year further discoveries of similar graves were made in the same place, and this time their contents were more carefully examined. The sides were formed of four flags set on edge with an additional one as a covering. On the average these cists measured a mètre in length, and half this in breadth and depth, but one or two of smaller dimensions were noted. When a single skeleton was found it always lay with the feet towards the east. One, however, contained four skeletons, and in this case the heads were in the four corners. About the position of the breast some 40 doubly-perforated boar's teeth were found, which must have been attached to the garments. Besides these there were some perforated shells and two portions of colouring matter, one yellow and the other red. Another tomb contained a complete skeleton, and on the neck lay five doubly-perforated marine shells, while near the head were four pieces of yellow and red colouring matter, and two amulets of human skulls. Dispersed in this grave were beads which looked like amber, but, according to some, were coral. One grave contained a spherical hammer-stone, slightly flattened; another had a perforated and beautifully made axe of serpentine, 6½ inches long; and a third, that of a child (27 inches by 13), had three small, flat, and circular pebbles, like unperforated spindle-whorls, placed in the form of a triangle, and at one of the corners of the grave were some charcoal and fragments of burnt bones.

According to Mr. Morel-Fatio everything found in these graves had their exact analogues in the early lake-dwellings such as Chevroux. Not far off, at Pierra-Portay and Châtelard sur Lutry, other burials of the Stone Age were discovered, which also, in his opinion, belonged to the Lake-dwellers (_Lacustres_).

IV.--IRON AGE.

In reviewing the salient features of the Iron Age we have still more complicated problems to deal with. There are, in reality, no lake-dwellings of the early Iron Age in Central Europe, showing a Transition period, as we have seen to have been the case between the Stone and Bronze Ages; nor, indeed, any which can be said to have a continued sequence to the great system of pile-dwellings which prevailed so extensively in earlier times. No doubt iron shows itself in a few objects characteristic of the Bronze Age, such as a few swords and bracelets encrusted with ornamental bands of this material, but there are no tools or weapons made of iron at all analogous to those which characterise the Bronze Age. No Transition period such as we find in the relics from the graves at Hallstadt, where iron is seen, as it were, competing with bronze. On the contrary, in the Swiss lake-dwellings iron-working appears in a state of great perfection. The few objects found on their sites are mostly of the La Tène type, which we have seen to be entirely different in character, manufacture, and style of ornamentation, from anything known in the previous ages. In some stations we find not only La Tène types, but Roman tiles, pottery, and coins, and even objects of a still later period, such as Gallo-Roman, Allemanisch, and Merovingian remains. Thus, at Starnberg, we have of iron, two spear-heads, a horseshoe, and a remarkable kind of knife (=Fig. 37=, No. 1). In the investigations conducted during the winter of 1864-5 in the Überlingersee, Dr. Lachmann records the following iron objects from the bronze station of Unter-Uhldingen:--one lance-head, five arrow-points, one axe, two chisels, 12 knife-blades, two sickle-like objects, one dagger-knife, one ring, one triangular plate with attached ring, one fibula, one pin, part of a two-edged sword, a short sword with a wooden handle, a fork, a stamp, a pair of pincers, etc.--in all 40 objects. Also at Sipplingen there were three arrow-heads, two sickles, one lance-head, a one-edged sword, and a Roman key. In the Museum at Friedrichshafen are several objects of iron taken from Uhldingen, viz. two knives like pruning-hooks (_hippen_), a hammer-hatchet, a fibula (La Tène) 9 inches long, two harpoons, several arrow-heads, six horseshoes, one dagger, and a girdle-hook. Still more interesting are fragments of fine glass found on both these stations, as well as at the Rauenegg in the Bay of Constance. One bit of this glass, of a grey greenish colour, had been ornamented with gold enamel. According to the opinion of Mr. Hofrath Klemm, of Dresden, this glass belongs to the sixth or seventh century. (B. 378.)

In Lake Zürich on the station of Grosser Hafner were found an iron spear-head like those from La Tène, Roman tiles, and pottery of the kind known as terra sigillata, and coins of the time of Augustus, Tiberias, and Vespasian, etc., thus bringing the station down to the end of the first century of the Christian era. From Nidau and Sutz there are some curious iron spear-heads, and from Chevroux a three-pronged harpoon identical with analogous objects from La Tène (=Fig. 13=, No. 15). Moeringen has yielded an iron horse-bit, an iron sword (La Tène), a curious iron fork, etc. On the south side of St. Peter's Island, in the Lake of Bienne, Colonel Schwab found among some piles objects of the stone, bronze, and Gallo-Roman periods, together with 40 Roman coins. From the same place there is in the Berne Museum an iron hatchet with a wooden handle of the La Tène type (=Fig. 197=). On several stations in Lake Neuchâtel similar objects have occasionally turned up. In Lake Morat iron objects and Roman remains were found at Greing, Faoug, Guevaux, and Motier. Also a knife, the blade of which was partly of iron and partly of bronze (=Fig. 14=, No. 1).

Iron objects have also been occasionally found on a few stations in the Lake of Geneva, as at Plongeon and Morges; from the latter of which Dr. Forel records a number of sickles of various forms, some of which were like those of La Tène. In Lake Bourget a knife with a bronze handle and an iron blade (International Congress, Paris, p. 266), and a piece of pottery with the name _Severinus_ stamped on it. (B. 176, p. 24.) In the Museum of Chambery there is a large spear-head of iron encrusted with broad lines of copper or bronze from this lake (=Fig. 198=) which is very similar to one found near the Pont de la Thiele.

But in all these instances the occurrence of iron is so exceptional that only probable deductions can be founded on them. Most of the iron objects have undoubtedly the same origin as those of La Tène. The rare bronze objects with encrusted iron bands, such as a few bracelets (Moeringen, Auvernier, Cortaillod, and Corcelettes), and one or two swords (Moeringen), need not cause surprise when we remember the extent to which commercial intercourse seems to have been carried on by the lake-dwellers with eastern nations; and that both iron and bronze were in use in Greece at least 1,200 years before the Christian era, while in Egypt and Central Asia these metals were known some 1,500 years earlier. Between those objects in which iron is used as an ornament (all of which are of the same style as the bronze objects), and the La Tène weapons, there is a wide gap which is not bridged over by any relics found in the lake-dwellings. In short, the evolutionary stage between the smelting of bronze and the forging of iron is here represented by a corresponding _hiatus_ between the styles of art of the two periods more striking than that which distinguishes the neolithic from palæolithic industrial remains.

So far as I have looked into these matters I can only conclude that, with the introduction of iron into general use in Switzerland, we have a new people who conquered and subjugated the lake-dwellers and gave the death-blow to their system of lake-villages. Henceforth these villages fell into decay, and in the general destruction which ensued these La Tène implements might have been introduced by the invaders. In Roman times there remained only the ruins of a few stations. One thing is clearly established, that the conquerors of the lake-dwellers had a full knowledge of the working of iron in all its phases. The important point here is not the date of the discovery of this metal, but that of its application to the manufacture of all weapons and cutting implements. It is not likely that an art so complicated and requiring so much metallurgical and technical skill as that of the smelting and forging of iron had a sudden origin; and consequently we must look for its birthplace and evolutionary stages elsewhere. The remarkable collection of weapons, implements, and ornaments found at La Tène, to which I specially directed attention in a previous lecture, gives us a striking picture of the metallurgical skill to which their owners had attained prior to any influences from Roman art. So important are these antiquities considered by archæologists that the name La Tène has now become a generic expression, and represents a special group which, both in form and style of ornamentation, cannot be confounded with any other, either Greek, Roman, Etruscan or Phoenician. Who were these new comers into Switzerland who so suddenly intruded themselves on the peaceful lake-dwellers? To this question there is no response from the skulls and other portions of human skeletons found at La Tène. Out of ten skulls submitted to Professor Virchow he found that five were brachycephalic and two dolichocephalic, while the other three had intermediate cranial indices. We must therefore fall back on the character of the antiquities; and for this purpose I place before you some typical examples of this remarkable group (=Fig. 199=) culled from various sources for the purpose of showing their complete identity with those from the oppidum La Tène. Having satisfied ourselves on this point I proceed to glance rapidly over the geographical area in which such objects are found, with the view of showing to what people they belonged.

In the course of making the high-road from Berne to the bridge of Tiefenau in 1849-50 the workmen came upon a large quantity of weapons and implements of iron which, though very much rusted and decayed, can be clearly identified as belonging to the La Tène group. These objects, now preserved in the Museum at Berne, consist of the _débris_ of arms, coats of mail, chariots, bridle-bits, bones of horses, pottery fine and coarse, some thirty pieces of money (_massaliotes et celtiques_), glass beads, iron and bronze buttons, sickles, knives, hatchets, etc. These objects, which were all mixed together in a miscellaneous manner, some two or three feet below the surface, had no appearance of ordinary burial, and are therefore considered to be the huddled up _débris_ of a battle-field. The objects, so far as they can be made out, are described and figured by Baron de Bonstetten in his "Supplément au Recueil d'Antiquités Suisses, 1860," and "Notice sur les Armes et Chariots de Guerre découverts à Tiefenau, 1851."

During the excavations for the "Correction des Eaux du Jura," some remarkable discoveries were made, especially while deepening and rectifying the lower Thielle between Nidau and Meyenried. Immediately below the village of Port the _débris_ of a pile-village was encountered, to which I have already alluded. Above this village the dredgers came in contact with a row of piles which Dr. v. Fellenberg concluded to have been the supports of a bridge. These piles were from 8 to 12 inches thick, and near them were collected over 100 weapons of the La Tène types, including swords, spears, etc. Another locality was a little below Brügg, where traces of two bridges were encountered, one of the Gallo-Roman period and the other supposed to be of later date. Near the former a large collection of antiquities was made, including objects, not only of the La Tène type, but also others of Etruscan and Roman origin. Amongst the La Tène objects collected during these operations are swords and sheaths (one of the latter being of bronze), spear-heads, axes, sickles, etc., which are identical with those figured from La Tène. One of the spear-heads is ornamented with incised lines producing two designs, one on the right side of each surface, as shown in _Fig. 199_, No. 7.

In France similar antiquities have been collected on the Helvetico-Romano battle-fields, such as Alise St. Renne (Alesia of Cæsar), and Mont Beuvray (Bibracte), as well as in some graves in northern France, particularly in the valleys of the Marne and the Aube. Some of these graves were evidently the final resting place of Gaulish chiefs, and contained in addition to the body a complete suite of military equipments. For comparison I have given here some illustrations of these discoveries. No. 1 represents the famous bronze helmet known as the Casque de Berru, described by Bertrand, which is particularly interesting on account of the ornamental designs which it displays.[146] No. 2 is a similar helmet ornamented with a kind of fretwork, and along with it in the same grave were a great many objects, weapons, ornaments, the bronze mountings of horses' harness, and the _débris_ of a chariot.[147] A few of these are here illustrated, viz. an iron spear (No. 8), a sword and its sheath both of iron (No. 16), two bronze fibulæ (Nos. 10 and 11), a gold bracelet (No. 13), a bronze horse-bit (No. 12), and some specimens of mountings for a chariot (Nos. 14 and 15), and harness (No. 9).

Characteristic finds of this period have also been found in Savoy, the Alpine Passes, and North Italy. In the Museums of Bologna, Este, Milan, Turin, etc., are deposited the contents of numerous warrior-graves, which show unmistakable examples of the characteristic swords and scabbards and other objects of La Tène civilisation. Its central home, however, appears to have been the middle and upper Rhine districts, Baden, Bavaria, and eastwards to Bohemia and Laibach. Northwards sporadic examples are found as far as the Baltic.

One of the most important finds of this character in Europe was discovered, investigated, and described some ten years ago.[148] Near the village Stradonic in Bohemia there is a truncated eminence known under the name "der Berg Hradischt," which, owing to the precipitous nature of its slopes, is only accessible on one side. By nature this rocky eminence is admirably adapted for a military camping place, and that it was occupied in such a capacity in prehistoric times is evident from the mass of industrial remains of all ages found at various depths on its summit. Among these, however, by far the largest number were of the La Tène type, including a large quantity of money precisely similar to that found on La Tène. Gold pieces were particularly numerous, some 200 being found in one place. Others were of silver and potin, some imitating the coins of Philip of Macedon, and others bearing impressions of the fantastic horse with the long tail and horn (=Fig. 92=, Nos. 5 to 8). Roman coins were also present, but very sparingly. Among industrial and ornamental remains were fragments of glass bracelets of a yellow, blue, or red colour (Nos. 3 and 4), pincers, torques, grotesque figures of animal heads, iron axes, bridle-bits, etc. Upwards of 100 dice pieces of bone (Nos. 17 and 18). The characteristic fibulæ were of iron and bronze, the former, however, predominating. I have here placed side by side two bronze fibulæ precisely alike except in dimensions, one (No. 5) being from La Tène and the other (No. 6) from Hradischt. The former is after Vouga (B. 428, Pl. xvi. 17), who describes it as of the Hallstadt type, and probably of an older date than the ordinary La Tène objects. The presence of two objects so similar in style and ornamentation in such distant localities not only proves that they are forms of fibulæ then prevalent, but also becomes a striking confirmation of the contemporaneity of oppidum La Tène and the occupation of the camp on Hradischt. That they were the same people who occupied both places there can be little doubt.

The repeated incursions of the Gauls into North Italy, prior to its conquest by the Romans, so often referred to in classical writers, have been strikingly confirmed by recent archæological researches. In the cemeteries of Benacci, Villanova, and Marzabotto, in the vicinity of Bologna, the Gallic element has been for some time recognised by many of the most competent archæologists. During the excavations at Benacci three series of graves were observed, at different depths, the contents of which clearly prove that they were the cemeteries of different races. The first, or uppermost, were burials of the Roman period. Underneath them was a group of twelve graves which, from the long iron swords and characteristic fibulæ found along with the bodies, are now universally accepted as Celtic or Gaulish. Below these, again, was a third group which in every respect corresponded with the Etruscan cemetery of Villanova.[149] Helbig assigns the date of the Celtic graves at Marzabotto to the end of the fifth or beginning of the fourth century B.C. (B. 335, p. 35.)

In 1878 Castelfranco investigated a cemetery at Soldo, in the Brianza district, in which, among other things, he found the following relics:--A bronze fibula and an iron knife, precisely similar to those here figured from the Starnberg lake-dwelling (=Fig. 36=, No. 22, and =Fig. 37=, No. 1); an iron shears like those from La Tène: a Celtic silver coin; a vase with the word VITILIOS scratched on it in rude _graffiti_, which Fabretti ascribes to a Celtic source ("La direi celtica per la desinenza, come pure per la forma del T"). See B. 343, pp. 6 to 28, and Pl. i.

More recently (1886) the same author described several groups of cemeteries scattered over Lombardy, particularly on the left side of the Po, in which he found characteristic examples of the La Tène civilisation--swords, spears, knives, fibulæ, saws, shears, nodulated rings, etc.[150]

During the earlier discoveries of objects of this peculiar phase of art there was considerable diversity of opinion as to the people and period to which they should be referred. The Tiefenau "find" was assigned by Mr. Albert Jahn to the old Helvetians ("Canton Bern"), while Baron de Bonstetten referred it to the German races who invaded Helvetia in the fourth century. M. Veschère de Reffye, in describing the discoveries at the ancient fortress of Alesia, assigned the weapons found in the trenches, which turned out to be of the same character as those of La Tène, to the Helvetians.[151] Acting on this suggestion, Desor expressed the opinion that the La Tène iron weapons and other implements were introduced into Switzerland by the Helvetians, who hailed from Germany, and entered the country as conquerors. Dr. Keller, apparently prejudiced by his preconceived notion that the lake-dwellings of the Stone and Bronze Ages were due to the Celts, had a difficulty in believing that the advanced civilisation of La Tène was a direct evolutionary product of the Bronze Age; but yet he would not agree with the opinion that these civilisations indicated different races.

But perhaps the most important contribution to the subject was by Mr. Franks,[152] who demonstrated by an analysis of the style of ornamentation, together with an array of historical references bearing on the customs of the ancient Celtic races, that to them alone must be assigned the remarkable remains now in question. The few additional notices of later discoveries here introduced only strengthen this opinion. In my investigations of the British lake-dwellings, almost the only instance in which analogous remains have come to light is the "find" at Lisnacroghera; but the prevalence of such antiquities in Britain from about the second century B.C. till the introduction of Christianity, when the spiral and trumpet-shaped ornamentation became modified, and to a considerable extent superseded, by the addition of interlacements, has been so fully established by Mr. Franks that on this point nothing remains to be said.