These respective successes induced Col. Schwab and Prof. Desor to direct their attention to Cortaillod, who, in the course of a few years, made a collection of very remarkable objects. Among these the following are worthy of note:—a bronze wheel, 19¾ inches in diameter, with four spokes (Fig. 10, No. 17); the surplus jet of a bronze casting, broken off apparently after the operation was completed; several half-moon and other variously shaped pendants (Nos. 10, 12, and 21); bracelets (No. 14); a massive ring ornamented with concentric circles (No. 15); some large-headed pins, earrings (No. 7), studs (No. 22), hatchets, sickles, fish-hooks, beads of amber and glass, a spoon of terra-cotta, etc.; but the most novel were dishes, particularly a large plate ornamented with tin strips arranged in various patterns of lines, circles, and the Greek meander (Fig. 193, No. 2).

Of the four brothers Kopp, who worked for these antiquaries, one afterwards commenced on his own account and sold the finds, and in this way many of the relics went to other localities. In 1874 a necklace of bronze was found (Fig. 10, No. 3), which Mr. Vouga states is still in the possession of a gentleman at Auvernier.

In 1876 a fisherman found a sword, which he sold to the keeper of the Museum at Bale (No. 19).

Meantime the Stone Age portion of the principal station was little examined, as the relics were deeply buried. Here, however, were formerly found some iron objects of the La Tène type, viz. a sickle (B. 31, Pl. xiv. 20), and a stone anchor with iron hoops, now in the Museum Schwab. In 1878, when the Government drainage works began to tell on the lake, many articles were picked up. Thereupon Messrs. Vouga and F. Borel commenced systematic diggings, and this set an example to the authorities of the Museum of Colombier and the Société du Musée de Boudry, who likewise started operations with a gang of workmen. Among the objects collected up to 1883 Mr. Vouga particularises the following:—

Stone.—A number of sharpening-stones of sandstone; a large hollow stone for bruising corn, measuring 1 foot 6 inches by 1 foot 9 inches, and 5½ inches in thickness, having a hollow 2½ inches in depth; some hundreds of hammer-stones, corn-crushers, etc.; portions of stone showing marks of having been sawn, and perforated net-weights; also spindle-whorls, an oval hammer of serpentine ornamented with chevrons; some perforated stone axes, etc.; about 1,200 plain axes, nearly a third of which were still in their horn fixtures. Most of these horn fixtures were inserted in wooden handles, but of course all traces of the latter were generally gone; only 12 nephrite implements were among them. About 1,500 chisels or small celts, only a few of which were of jadeite. One celt was of flint, a very rare thing in this district; and an arrow-point was of polished serpentine. Many thousands of implements of various coloured flints—saws, knives, scrapers, daggers, and arrow and lance-heads. The arrow-points were generally triangular without wings, and a few were lozenge-shaped. The largest flint dagger measures 9 inches in length (Museum Colombier); and some of the saws were still fixed in their handles with asphalt when found.

Horn.—Some 3,000 fixtures for stone hatchets, of which about one-third were perfect. These implements are not bifurcated at their end, as is often the case with those found at Auvernier and elsewhere; and many are only partially made, so that one would suppose there had been here a factory for their special manufacture. There were also perforated hammers, and a great number of chisels, pointers, etc.; also some large plaques whose use is unknown. Out of twenty barbed harpoons one, 8½ inches long, has twelve barbs (No. 8), and one (now in the Museum Boudry) is unfinished. About a similar number of pendeloques or beads, and a few small objects like arrow-points.

Bone.—A great number of pointers and chisels, some of which were inserted into handles; quantities of awls, lance-points, and javelins; thirty daggers; some twenty perforated teeth of the wolf or dog; fifty tusks of the wild boar worked, and some set in handles; bundles of pointed ribs (flax-heckles).

Wood.—An oval cup of yew, 4 by 2¾ inches; others were found, but not preserved. A small hammer, and bits of basket-work.

Metal.—A small round copper armlet, and a flat bronze axe with a round cutting edge.

Pottery.—Fragments of a coarse ware, found everywhere and generally indicating roughly-made vessels; and a few perforated weights, cylindrical and round.

As the waters became lower, the bronze station became more accessible, and accordingly its investigation was begun by Messrs. Borel, of Boudry, and Kaiser, of Estavayer. Among the antiquities collected here are the following:—

Bronze.—Several hatchets and knives; four razors, of different types (one hammered from the fragment of a bracelet); five sickles; a bracelet ornamented with lines and concentric circles, and another closed (No. 13), also ornamented; three small bracelets; some buttons, studs, etc.; the tip of a scabbard (No. 5); several lance-heads, one ornamented (No. 4); two fibulæ (No. 6); many hair-pins, several hundreds of fish-hooks; a necklet made of twenty bronze rings, connected by a chain of copper; and a cup, now in the collection of Dr. Gross (No. 20).

Among other relics were fragments of cups, vases, and other dishes of ornamented pottery, some twenty clay supports, and hundreds of spindle-whorls, etc. No. 11 represents a pendant, the substance of which no one can determine, as it is neither stone, bone, horn, nor pottery.

In the autumn of 1884 the water was unusually low, and the piles, being left high and dry, presented such a singular appearance that many visitors were attracted to see the novel sight. Many objects were then picked up. One bracelet, ornamented with concentric circles, was sold for eighty francs. Among the other objects described by Vouga are the following: A large fish-hook (No. 2), 4¾ inches long; a piece of wood surrounded by two bands of copper; a bronze pin with perforated head, and another with flat head; a small vase with four holes (No. 9), a small lamp with a handle like a spoon, and a bronze pendant formed of eleven massive rings (No. 1).

Bevaix.—Several stations were known here at an early period, and some of the objects from them have been described by Troyon, Keller, and Desor. They consist of bronze celts (Nos. 16 and 18), sickles, hair-pins (Nos. 23 and 24), bracelets (No. 26), a razor (No. 25), clay rings, etc., which are now in the collections of Schwab, Desor, and others.

Since the lowering of the water in Lake Neuchâtel, the Messrs. Borel have systematically investigated and reported on the stations in the Bevaix district. (B. 445.) From La Tuilière to Treytel, a shore-line of about two miles, they describe seven separate localities containing stations, chiefly of the Stone Age. An excellent map accompanies their description; and had they added a few illustrations its value would have been greatly enhanced.

One of the greatest drawbacks to outsiders who wish to master the archæological results of the Swiss lacustrine investigations is the want of a correct map showing the area and distribution of the respective stations; and if this desideratum is ever to be supplied for those lakes that have come under the influence of the Correction des Eaux du Jura, there is no time to lose, as most of the stations are now on dry land and nearly obliterated by vegetation; and it is a work that can only be done by local archæologists, like the Messrs. Borel, who for years have had practical knowledge of the stations in their neighbourhood.

The accompanying Sketch Map (after that of Messrs. Borel) shows that, while the foundations of the two Bronze Age stations are still in the lake, all those of the Stone Age are entirely on dry land. This distinction was long ago pointed out by Desor and others, but it was only since the lowering of the lake that such a practical demonstration became possible.

The Messrs. Borel premise their acquiescence in the proposed subdivision of the lacustrine Stone Age into three periods, viz. a first or early period ("période d'établissement et de formation"), characterised by rudeness and simplicity of industrial remains; a second ("le bel âge de la pierre"), showing commercial and agricultural progress, and especially great skill in the manufacture of all manner of stone celts; and a third ("une période de transition"), which witnessed the introduction of metals among the lake-dwellers.

(2) Station des Vaux.—Between La Tuilière to the Station des Vaux the promontory "Du Grain" intervenes, where, scattered on the shore on both sides of it, Roman tiles are met with. The remains of this pile-dwelling are situated near to a small spring of water, and directly below the rising ground, which is here covered with vines. The piles are disposed in two groups, and with scarcely an interval between them; but they represent two different periods of the Stone Age. The first or more eastern group stretches for 100 yards, with a breadth of 40 yards, parallel to the lake; and though farther within the old lake basin, it is considered by Messrs. Borel the older of the two, being contemporary with La Tuilière and the earliest lacustrine settlements in the lake. A steinberg of broken stones marks its centre, but its examination has yielded only a few small stone celts, arrow and spear-heads of dark flint, and some coarse pottery. Among the osseous remains are some jaws of the beaver.

The second group occupied a smaller area than the previous one, and contained no steinberg, but, on the other hand, a well-developed relic-bed, some 12 to 16 inches thick, which was productive of relics of a decidedly more advanced character, such as well-made implements of staghorn, including a variety of handles for stone celts. The most important discovery here was a human skull of the dolichocephalic type. (Antiqua, 1884, p. 106.) The most inland piles of this group were only about 30 yards from the vineyards, whereas the corresponding ones of the first group were 70 yards distant. The anomalous statement that the second or more advanced Stone Age settlement was situated in an outer zone from the earliest (a fact which applies to all those explored on the Bevaix coast), Messrs. Borel explain by supposing that the lake area was gradually increasing since the earlier settlements were founded. We shall afterwards see that this supposition is well founded, on evidence that by careful observation could be greatly multiplied.

(3) Station de l'Abbaye.—A little farther on there is the site of another Stone Age station, presenting the same indications of an older and younger period, and also having the same relative position to each other as we have seen in the Stations des Vaux, viz. the older occupying a situation more advanced into the old lake basin. In front of these two stations, Des Vaux and De l'Abbaye, lie the remains of a large settlement of the Bronze Age, the piles of which, even when the lake is at its lowest, are still in several feet of water; it extends parallel to the shore, about 200 yards in length, and 160 in breadth. In addition to the relics found by the earlier explorers (Troyon, Desor, Vouga, Dr. Clement, etc.), and already noticed, the following bronze objects are recorded from the station, all of which are either in the private collection of the Messrs. Borel or in the scholastic museum at Bevaix:—

Six celts (one of which is socketed), portion of a sword scabbard, four chisels (some prettily ornamented), five sickles, twenty fish-hooks, three bracelets, two razors, 105 hair-pins (all sizes and forms), five pendeloques, two earrings, two buttons, two finger-rings, twelve large and 195 small rings, etc. Among the other finds are fragments of ornamented pottery, a clay support-ring, three glass beads, weights, sharpening stones, etc.

(4) Station du Chatelard.—This station contained a steinberg covering an area of 3,000 or 4,000 square yards, and was joined to the shore by a tongue of land, on which a series of stepping-stones were placed. The relics discovered on its site include some 200 stone celts (ten of which are jade), forty staghorn handles and fixers for celts, chisels, stone hammers, flint implements, etc. The special characteristic of the station is the appearance of the following bronze objects among these relics of the Stone Age, viz. a small perforated plaque, two hair-pins, four small daggers, three flat celts. Mr. Borel states that other celts of this type were found, one being to his knowledge in the possession of Mr. Rousselet, and one in each of the Museums at Neuchâtel, Bern, and Zürich. One here figured (Fig. 10, No. 18) is from the Schwab Museum at Bienne. Hence this station belongs to the period of transition, and is in many respects comparable to the Station des Roseaux at Morges.

(5) Station du Moulin.—Proceeding about 600 yards farther west we come to an isolated station of the Bronze Age, the piles of which are still over 50 yards from the present shore; and before the lowering of the water its site would be covered by about 16 feet of water. Owing to the scarcity of relics on this station, the duration of the settlement is supposed to have been short. Desor found here some ornamented specimens of the large hollow bracelet. Mr. Borel has only one small specimen and a portion of a large one of this type. The other objects of bronze are a couple of fish-hooks and a few pins and earrings. Fragments of pottery are, however, proportionally more abundant, among them being a vase, of elegant form, and polished exteriorly by graphite. To the east of this station a fine canoe was found in 1879, measuring 26 feet in length, now deposited in the Museum at Chaux de Fonds.[8]

(6) Station du Port.—The remains of this small station, which are exclusively of the Stone Age, are distributed on both sides of a small stream which enters the ancient port of Bevaix. From the character of the relics the Messrs. Borel think that the portion on the east side belonged to the first lacustrine period, while that on the west was later. It would appear that the settlement had been dwarfed by the adjacent great palafitte at Treytel.

(7) Station de Treytel.—This station presents a fine example of the second Stone Age period. Its débris is found on the exposed shore, extending upwards of 300 yards in length, and covering an area of some 8,000 to 10,000 square yards. It was first examined in 1857 by M. Rousselet, who, notwithstanding its being then submerged, made the fine collection of objects from it now in the Museum at Neuchâtel. The flint implements are particularly well made, and the raw material, which shows a fine yellowish and partially transparent flint, is supposed to have been imported from Gaul. The horn handles and fixers for the stone celts are of varied forms, and there is also a rich assortment of other relics.

Chez les Moines.—Here there is a steinberg, but the antiquities found are unimportant, only a few staghorn implements and some stone celts. Fragments of Roman tiles were also found.

St. Aubin.—This station was near the shore, and contained a vast steinberg measuring 300 feet by 200. Its investigation was chiefly due to Dr. Clement, of St. Aubin, who made a splendid collection of its antiquities, which show that the settlement belonged almost exclusively to the Stone Age. Specially noteworthy among them are flint-saws in yew and staghorn handles; arrow-points, with portion of the shaft still attached with asphalt; a few beads—one of glass and two of amber; three small gold ornaments; perforated teeth of the bear and wolf or dog. Many of the objects from Dr. Clement's collection are illustrated in the second and third volumes of Matériaux, pages 511 and 259 respectively; as well as in Keller's reports. The horn fastenings are extremely varied, and those for celts, intended to be used with wooden handles, terminate either in a split or are squarely cut. The bone implements are particularly well made, and many of the pointers are fixed into handles. The arrow-points are also well chipped, and are of a longish or triangular shape. In the Zürich Museum there is a beautifully chipped dagger of flint, over nine inches in length, from this station. (See Fig. 185, Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9.)

Concise.—Mr. Rochat, who first examined the remains of this settlement, describes a semicircular steinberg which occupied part of the station. (B. 34.) The convex part looked south and towards the lake. Its length was 459 feet, and breadth 255 feet, and when the lake was at its lowest (before the Correction des Eaux du Jura) its top was only a few inches below the surface of the water. The relic-bed was superficial, but the piles penetrated deeply into the mud. During the construction of the railway in 1859, which here passed through a small bit of the lake, a dredging machine was used, when antiquities of all kinds were collected in hundreds. These were generally sold on behalf of the workmen, and hence the objects from Concise are widely distributed, some having gone to America. On and around the steinberg the antiquities were of the Stone Age. Here the operation of dredging was carried on for six weeks amidst great archæological excitement, which led to the production of many falsifications. (B. 28, 31, and 39.) Among the vast quantity of industrial remains brought to light, there were objects of very diversified kinds, but all in this part of the station were peculiar to the Stone Age; such as saws, knives, and arrow-points of flint; hundreds of stone hatchets, mostly of serpentine, only two or three being of nephrite; perforated stone sinkers and hammer stones. Of bone and horn, there were chisels, pointers, daggers, harpoons, cups, etc. Among the pottery were circular dishes with perforated knobs, small and large vases, plates, and cups; also some vases with conical bases, with their corresponding clay rings. Clay balls, of the size of two fists and perforated, reminded Mr. Troyon of similar objects from Wangen.[9]

Among the animal remains were three fragments of human skulls and two jaws. Also one tooth of the horse.

During the last few days of these operations the dredging machine was shifted in a north-eastern direction, and here objects of bronze were turned up, such as hatchets, hair-pins, knives, buttons, spirals, beads, rings, etc.

It would thus appear that there were two stations—one of the Stone Age, and the other of the Bronze Age; or that a portion of the former survived during the Bronze Age.

It was in the vicinity of this station that Captain Pillichordy in 1832 dredged up a canoe and two beautiful bronze swords, only one of which is now known to exist in the Museum of Neuchâtel. In September, 1889, Dr. Evans showed me, among many other objects from the Swiss lacustrine dwellings, a sword from Concise, purchased by him in Paris in 1887, which at once struck me as being the other weapon which so mysteriously disappeared in 1832. The handle and the tip of the blade of this sword are here represented (Fig. 11, No. 24), and when compared with the drawings of its supposed fellow at Neuchâtel (B. 34, Pl. iii. 35; B. 119, 2nd ed., Pl. cii. 17; B. 31, Pl. xi. 11; and B. 252, Pl. v. 10), their remarkable similarity will be at once seen. That in Dr. Evans's collection has a total length of 26½ inches. The blade is of yellow bronze 21 inches long, and terminates in a somewhat rounded point.

In the months of January and February, 1885, a portion of the station hitherto unexamined became dry, and a great many objects were found, including bronze pins (Fig. 11, Nos. 2, 3, 8, 10, and 11), hatchets, bracelets, sickles, knives, pendants (Nos. 9 and 13), tin wheels (No. 4), wooden combs (No. 7), and vases, etc. Among the more remarkable objects described and figured by Mr. Vouga (B. 414d) are:—A necklace made of rolled bands of bronze, forming tubes, and ornamented with hollow lines (No. 1). Some of these tubes are of gold, and interspersed with them are three buttons of bronze and a number of small blue beads. Two bracelets or closed rings, ornamented (No. 6); a ring with a prominence inside; and a curiously-wrought pendeloque (No. 12). These objects are mostly in the possession of private collectors.

Onens.—Two stations are situated near the village of Onens—one (Stone Age) to the east of the village, and the other (Bronze Age) to the south. The former, now entirely on dry land, has been little explored, being for some time covered with vegetation. "Je crois," says M. de Meuron, "cependant qu'elle a dû être importante d'après son étendue et la quantité de cailloux éclatés que recouvrent le sol. Cette station appartient à moi; mais la végétation y est devenue si belle que je la laisse pour les générations futures." (B. 462, p. 47.)

On the bronze station several remarkable pendeloques in the form of thin discs of bronze were found some years ago, which are now deposited in the Museum at Neuchâtel; and since this discovery it has been partially explored by M. Morel-Fatio, Dr. Brière, and others. M. de Meuron states that he is in possession of a few objects from this station, viz. hatchets, chisels, bracelets, and a magnificent lance-head 10 inches in length. From Onens comes the leaden cake with suspension loops similar to those from Wollishofen (Fig. 4, No. 24). Illustrations of some of the bronze discs are given on Fig. 189, Nos. 1 to 3.

Corcelettes.—Two groups of piles were observed by the early explorers, one to the east and the other to the west of the village of Corcelettes, and a number of antiquities both of the Bronze and Iron Ages were collected. The station, however, was never systematically examined till the lowering of the waters in 1876, when it was found to be one of the most prolific and interesting in Lake Neuchâtel. The portion since then investigated is described by Dr. Gross as lying immediately before the village, and 2 kilomètres from Grandson. It extended about 200 mètres in length and 100 in breadth. The relic-bed was thinly covered with sand, and varied much in thickness, from a maximum of 3 feet in the centre, to the margin where it thinned out. The bronze relics collected here are thus estimated by Dr. Gross at the twelfth meeting of the German Anthropological Society:— [10] 60 hatchets, 4 hammers, 30 sickles, 60 to 70 knives, 10 swords (three of which are complete), 150 entire armillæ and many fragments, 20 lance-heads, 12 discs (phalères), 300 to 400 hair-pins, 3 vessels, 11 moulds (one of bronze and 10 of sandstone), besides a quantity of smaller objects, as buttons, pendants, rings, etc. Together with beads of glass and amber, small tin wheel-shaped objects, there were some 300 entire vessels of pottery, some ornamented with tin strips, crescents, etc.

The bronze hatchets were mostly of the usual type, i.e. with four wings and a side loop; four were socketed, but not one of the flat type.

Daggers were apparently rare at Corcelettes, as only one example was found, with rivet-marks and slightly ornamented on one side.

The knives were generally small, but one measured 10½ inches in length, and a few had solid handles beautifully ornamented. Razors were numerous; one was made of a broken bracelet, another was double-bladed and showed a break which had been neatly mended with bronze wire. Horse-bits were of bronze and horn. The bronze hollow armlets are beautifully ornamented, and in the interior of some of them were observed bits of wax, supposed to be the remains of a central core of this material which had been used in the operation of casting.

It is singular that among the many ornaments from this station there is not a fibula, except a portion of one which is claimed as an importation from Scandinavia (Fig. 189, No. 19).

Of wood there were:—A round oak table; a small box, 8 by 2½ inches; and a portion of an oar.

Of the three bronze dishes, one has a handle attached by rivets; and of the other two (which are in the Museum at Lausanne), one is of northern origin (Fig. 189, No. 20).

Corcelettes, like most of the other Swiss lake-dwellings, was destroyed by fire, in proof of which Dr. Gross points to a mass of bronze objects, in a half-molten condition, consisting of three hatchets, four bracelets, a lance-head, and a sickle. (Figured in B. 392, Pl. xxii. 12.)

One of the largest collections from Corcelettes is in the Museum at Lausanne, of which I have made the following jottings:—

Pottery.—The bottom of a vase marked with the tips of the potters fingers; some dishes ornamented with herring-bone patterns (Fig. 11, No. 22), and others with circular grooves, each having a small perforation like one at Constance (No. 21); small toy cups, three of which are bilocular; clay rings, with dishes to fit them; two figures of animals; bits of clay-walling with marks of round timbers.

Wood.—Fragments of basket-work, two shaped handles of wood for sickles, fragments of wooden dishes (one with handle).

Bronze.—Of about 100 large hollow bracelets more or less perfect, some 50 are ornamented with transverse lines; the rest have various designs of lines and circles. A few bracelets are solid, and more or less penannular, with pointed or expanded tips. Four bracelets are of double wires, one of which is spirally grooved and ends in a hook and eye. Of six small socketed hammers, three have side loops, and all are more or less rectangularly shaped. Among 60 hatchets, only six have sockets, and nearly all have side loops, but no terminal catch. Two have the side loop transverse to the cutting edge.

Of 78 knives, nine are socketed, three have solid handles, apparently as part of the blade, and the rest have tangs (three being bent into a loop at the top).

Among some hundreds of pins, only seven or eight have perforated heads.

Of three horse-bits, one is entire (Fig. 191, No. 8); and of the others, only the twisted central portion remains (Fig. 11, No. 23). Moreover, there are 14 perforated portions of horn, supposed to have been parts of bridles.

Among the special objects from this station is a slender bronze rod terminating at each end with a movable ring, somewhat like the beam of a balance (No. 16). In the Museum at Boudry there is a curious ornamental tube of bronze (No. 20).

In 1888 Dr. Brière communicated a short note to Antiqua (B. 463a), in which he enumerates the following objects as the most interesting among recent finds:—A bracelet of lignite (No. 14), a tin wheel (No. 5), an amulet of bronze like the casing of a pair of spectacles (No. 15), a large bronze knife with a horn handle (No. 19), an amulet of staghorn (No. 17), a bead of amber suspended by a twisted bronze wire (No. 18), and a complete bridle-bit of horn (Fig. 191, No. 1).

Les Uttins (Yverdon).—At the foot of Mount Chamblon, rather more than a mile from the lake, there are some peat deposits, which the peasants have been in the habit of utilising as fuel. Here in two spots, according to Mr. Rochat,[11] the peat-cutters are reported to have met with piles and transverse beams with mortices. The tops of the piles were 6 to 10 feet below the surface. A flint arrow-head, two stone celts of serpentine, and a bronze bracelet, were found in one of these bogs; and hence Messrs. Troyon and Rochat (B. 31, p. 70) consider that there was a palafitte here—a supposition which involves the theory that the lake formerly extended to the locality. Nor is this theory without some evidence in support of it, as the amount of débris brought down by the Thielle is very great. On the supposition that the Roman city of Eburodunum, the ruins of which are now 2,500 feet from the present shore, was built on the lake in the fourth century, Mr. Troyon calculates that the water of the lake would have been as far back as the site of the palafitte about fifteen centuries before the Christian era.

Clendy, Cheseaux, and Chable à Perron.—Along this part of the shore there were three or four settlements with steinbergs, but the piles are now destroyed, and the few antiquities collected belong apparently to the Stone Age. Chable à Perron covers an area of some 3,500 square yards, but the only antiquities found were serpentine hatchets and their horn fixings, some flints, pointed bones, and fragments of coarse pottery. (R. 336.)

Some interesting notes of the early researches and discoveries made on the various stations in the vicinity of Yverdon are given by Mr. Rochat in Kellers third report on the Pfahlbauten. (B. 34.)

Font.—On this station a cup-marked stone was found, and Troyon records several objects—a curious bronze needle, Roman tiles, and Imperial Roman money—as coming from the same place. Professor Grangier, of Fribourg,[12] found here some Roman medals, together with an iron arrow-head, iron keys, and subsequently an oar.[13] He states that the whole coast, from Font to Estavayer, was occupied with piles, and that he attempted to make a plan of the stations, but gave it up, because the configuration was constantly changing. The original conditions were also entirely altered by the number of piles extracted by the fishermen. He knew one family who for two generations had never used any other firewood but piles extracted from the lake-dwelling stations. One place, about half-way between Font and Estavayer, was well known for its antiquities, and went among the fishermen under the name of "La Pianta." (B. 178, p. 169.) In the Fribourg Museum there is a considerable number of bronze objects from Pianta, some of which are here figured (Fig. 12, Nos. 1 to 10, and 24). I have also noted three stone moulds (two of wheel pendants), and an ingot of bronze. Some pins and a knife are in the Bern Museum.

Mr. Forrer gives some notes of the station at Font,[14] and figures some nephrite implements from "several hundreds" collected here by Mr. Beck. Along with the usual chisels and hatchets, there are in Mr. Beck's collection arrow-heads, knives, etc.—objects rather rare of this material in the Lake of Neuchâtel. Some of the hatchets are remarkable for their size, one measuring 8½ inches long, and others show great variety of colours.

Estavayer.—Mr. A. Morlot describes the early investigations of the settlements at Estavayer and its neighbouring shore in Keller's third report. (B. 34.) Systematic explorations were conducted by MM. Béat de Vevey and Henri Rey, who collected a large and varied assortment of relics, especially of bronze, many of which are illustrated on Pl. v. Close to Estavayer there were two stations—one of the Stone Age; and another, farther out in the lake, of the Bronze Age. The former was parallel to the shore, about 120 yards long and 60 broad. The relics here found were of the usual Stone Age types—stone and horn hatchets, flint saws, and arrow-points, etc. One finely-finished hammer-axe has an oval perforation, an expanded cutting edge, and a raised bead running along the centre of its anterior surface.

The Bronze Age settlement was some 400 feet distant from the shore, in water six or seven feet deep. Consequently the station is now, during low water, mostly on dry land. The area of the station was estimated at 7,700 square feet. The following is a list of the bronze objects collected by MM. de Vevey and Rey, chiefly by means of pincers:—128 hair-pins (36 with spherical and ornamental heads), 26 knives, 15 bracelets, 5 sickles, 1 socketed hatchet, 1 chisel, 1 fish-hook, 27 rings of different kinds, 2 buttons, 1 dagger-blade, 1 arrow-head (socketed), and 6 flattened wires coiled in the form of a spiral.

In 1869 Dr. Keller (B. 163) gives an account of further discoveries at Estavayer, in which he mentions a small vessel of fine clay, having a funnel-like opening and a spout below (Fig. 12, No. 21); a hair-pin 5½ inches long, with the stem of bronze, and head of staghorn, intercepted in the middle with a disc of silver; a bronze spear-head, with a spur on the stem, supposed to have been used as a spear for fishing; a bronze bracelet; and two tynes of staghorn—one perforated as for a bridle-bit, and the other ornamented with concentric circles. Professor Grangier, writing in 1878 (B. 313), describes the tenevière of Estavayer as a peninsula, and gives an amusing description of the searchers for antiquities.

About a couple of kilometres to the north-east of Estavayer, and near the village of La Corbière, there was a large settlement which also belonged partly to the Stone Age and partly to the Bronze Age. The first is a steinberg, and bears the name La Creuse or La Crasaz. (B. 414c.) On it, in addition to the ordinary Stone Age objects, were found a Roman waterjug and a fibula of the La Tène type (Fig. 12, No. 26). The part that has yielded bronze implements is farther out in the lake, and from it Colonel Schwab and others collected a considerable number of objects, among which were:—A bar of tin 6 inches long, a small bronze saw, a socketed arrow-head, a thin armlet of bronze wire, a bronze nail, a discoidal stone, fragments of pottery ornamented with strips of tin, etc. Near this in 1875 Professor Grangier discovered a curious object now supposed to be the handle portion of an Etruscan chariot. (B. 270 and 336.)

There are thus three well-defined Bronze stations in the vicinity of Estavayer, besides an equal if not larger number of the Stone Age. The chief collection of relics from this part of the lake of Neuchâtel is in the Museum of Fribourg, where I have noted:—A double-legged pin (No. 11), portion of chariot handle (Fig. 191, No. 10), a small bronze cup, a perforated bronze hammer (Fig. 12, No. 20), a couple of socketed bronze axes (Nos. 17 and 19), and a well-made arrow-point of flint (No. 25).

There are also many objects from Estavayer in the Cantonal Museum at Bern, among which may be mentioned:—A bronze fibula (No. 12), part of an ornamental chain of various sorts of bronze links (No. 13), a socketed axe (No. 23), and three large knives (Nos. 18, 30, and 31). The other illustrations are a bronze pin with a spiral head (No. 28), a gold earring (No. 16), an amber bead (No. 15), a bronze knife (No. 22), a bronze fibula (No. 14), a pin with a flat head (No. 27), and a curious horn object (No. 29). Implements like the latter are frequently met with in Swiss lacustrine stations. They vary from a few inches up to twelve or more in length, and are always curved and polished. In the Bern Museum there are four from Gerlafingen, five from Schaffis, and others from Sutz, Locras, etc.

Forel.—Little was done to this station till 1883, when the Fribourg Government granted free permission to the searchers for lacustrine antiquities to collect on their portion of the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. Since then many curious objects are reported as coming from this station, but they are mostly held by private collectors. Mr. A. Vouga gives some notes of these discoveries in the Anzeiger. (B. 414.) He states that the relics are found on this station in three different strata, the most superficial of which is 1 foot 6 inches deep, and the lowest 4 feet 8 inches.

Among the objects described and figured by Vouga are:—A stone hatchet in its horn fixture, several hatchets of coloured nephrite and one of green jade, perforated hammers and a cup of horn; knives, pins, etc., of bone; a curved implement made of the jawbone of a stag (Fig. 13, No. 19). Some remarkable objects made of horn or bone and ornamented with dots, circles, etc., consisting of bracelets (No. 20), and pendeloques (Nos. 13, 17, and 18), have attracted the attention of critics, and the general opinion is that they are forgeries.[15]

Chevroux.—Troyon describes three large settlements of the Bronze Age (B. 31, p. 150), near Chevroux, farther from the shore than a Stone Age settlement, on which were found bracelets, hair-pins, sickles, knives, two swords of bronze, and a great iron fork (Fig. 13, No. 15). In 1866, an object (Fig. 191, No. 10), described by Keller as part of an Etruscan chariot, was found near this. (B. 337.)

In the Museum at Lausanne there is a large collection of objects, both of the Stone and Bronze Age settlements, from Chevroux. Among the former are:—Two beautiful flint daggers with thin handles of wood (Fig. 13, No. 1), six saws of flint in their handles, part of a wooden comb, three wooden dishes, the club handle of a stone hatchet with the implement still in position, bone pins with neatly-fashioned heads (Nos. 4 and 6), etc. There are over 300 plain stone celts, and 30 perforated tools. About 100 horn fixings, of which one-third have bifurcated tops. Some celts have been identified as belonging to the following substances:—chloromelanite five, three of which are in their horn fixings (two bifurcated); saussurite, 14 to 20, one of which is in its handle (square); jadeite 22 to 25, five in handles (two bifurcated); nephrite 23 to 26, two in their fixings. There are also a few of felsite, amphibolite, etc. About 100 flint arrow-points, and the same number of beautifully chipped flint arrow-heads (No. 5). Also of horn there is a large number of chisels, pointers, hammers, flax-hecklers, and some curiously-shaped perforated clubs of horn.

Among the pottery are some curious dishes, two of which are here figured (Nos. 8 and 14), the latter being adorned with string ornamentation.

Among the objects from the Bronze Age stations are:—Many hair-pins, two phalères, five sickles, a few bracelets, one winged and one flat hatchet, portion of a flat copper celt, a few knives with tangs, six small daggers, and two remarkable pendeloques, one of which is here figured (No. 3).

Mr. Vouga (B. 414d) describes some fine discoveries that were latterly made on the Bronze stations. Among the objects which have come under his notice are:—A razor with a curved handle, 4½ inches long (No. 11); a thick crescent, ornamented with half-moons; a fibula (No. 10); a pin with spiral stem (9½ inches long) and perforated head (1⅛ inch in diameter). Another has a very large head (2 inches diameter), with 24 holes in it (No. 12). Other objects from this station are a comb (No. 9), an amber bead (No. 7), a copper dagger (No. 16), and a copper chisel (No. 2).

Gletterens to La Sauge.—Some eight or nine stations have been noted by the earlier explorers along this part of the coast, many of which have yielded Roman tiles and pottery. At Port Alban there are the remains of a station on which bronze (No. 21) and iron objects have been found. Recently there has been brought into notice a kind of ornamental metal mirror, said to have been found here (Fig. 192).[16]

Another site is farther east, giving indications of an early Stone Age station, but on which Desor found iron objects. Among recent finds are some large horn buttons and a so-called "portemonnaie lacustre" (No. 22).[17]

At Champ Martin there is a steinberg, on which spindle-whorls and a few other things have been found.

At Cudrefin the lake-dwellings are unimportant, but the station is well known as the site of a canoe, carefully described by Professor Grangier. It measures 36½ feet long, 2 feet 9 inches broad, and 1 foot 6 inches deep. This dug-out, like so many in Ireland and Scotland, had for strengthening purposes four transverse beams left in the solid. The prow had a perforated beak, which might have been used as a means for fastening a rope. (B. 194.)

At La Sauge fragments of Roman amphoræ and tiles were found associated with some piles.

LAKE OF MORAT (MURTEN).

Lying directly between the lakes of Neuchâtel and Morat there stretches a considerable elevation called Mount Vully, which ends abruptly at its north-west end on the margin of the Gross Moos. At the base of this declivity lies the Broye, and as the widening and deepening of its channel was part of the great scheme for the Correction des Eaux du Jura, a similar effect was produced on Lake Morat as on the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. Previous to the lowering of its waters, however, the lake-dwelling stations along its shores were carefully examined by Colonel Schwab, Baron von Bonstetten, and the Count de Pourtalès, the proprietor of an estate on its western shore.

In Keller's 5th report (B. 61) the number of stations in this lake was given as 16, and since then one or two more have been added to the list. Many of these were, however, mere indications which, on the lowering of the level of the water, have turned out to be only stone cairns supposed to have been landing-places. According to the most recent researches of Mr. Süsstrunk (B. 336 and 462), the number may be reduced to 11, the positions of which are sufficiently defined on the accompanying Sketch Map. They belonged mostly to the Stone Age period, and only three, viz. Montilier, Greng-Insel, and Vallamand survived during the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age.

Montilier.—The first station of importance, beginning on the east side of the lake, was situated a little to the north of the present village of Montilier. It contained a steinberg, and the piles were stout and firmly fixed. Here Colonel Schwab found not only objects of the Stone Period, such as flint knives, stone hatchets, etc., but also an unusually large number of handsome earthenware vessels presenting a style of ornamentation which at once led him to assign the settlement to the Bronze Age—a deduction which his subsequent discoveries completely justified. These vessels were neatly finished, and had their surface sometimes rubbed over with charcoal or graphite, a process which gave them a glossy appearance. They were made without the intervention of the wheel, and from not giving out a ringing sound when struck with a hard substance, Colonel Schwab concluded they had been burnt in open fires. The ornamentation consisted of deeply incised lines, circles, triangles, etc., filled with a white chalky substance. In some instances strips of tin were plastered over the surface, which took the place of the linear incisions, and so presented a pleasing combination of the same principles of ornamentation. The forms of the vessels are extremely elegant and varied, and may be classed as cups, bowls, plates, jars, and jugs. Some have handles, others spouts springing from the middle of the bulge, and others a series of symmetrical perforations, but whether for ornament or use it is difficult to decide. One most remarkable dish like a saucer has its inner surface ornamented with linear incisions and a series of thirty symmetrically disposed groups of perforations. The colour of this pottery was either black, red, or grey, and sometimes the same dish had a combination of these colours. Spindle-whorls of diversified forms, and ornamented with dots, oval depressions, etc., were also abundant, (B. 126, Pl. iv. and v.)

Among the other Bronze Age antiquities collected here were some stone moulds, hair-pins, hatchets, knives, armlets, rings, sickles, fish-hooks, beads of glass and amber, a small flat finger-ring of gold, etc. There was also portion of an armlet of tin. The bronze knives were not numerous, but one was highly ornamented with a series of three flowing patterns of semicircles separated by incised lines which ran along its curved back.

No swords or bronze dishes are recorded from this station; and of three bronze hatchets in the Murten Museum, of the usual winged type, one has the loop transverse to the cutting edge, and a portion of its wooden handle still remains between the wings.

Murten.—This station lies a little above the monument of the battle of Murten. It is of considerable size, and has yielded a large quantity of Stone Age objects, such as large perforated stone axes, staghorn hammers, flint arrow-heads, lumps of carbonised wheat and many other seeds, weaving-weights, and also bits of burnt cloth. The station is now completely worked out. (B. 61 and 462.)

Meyriez (Merlach).—This station belongs to the early Stone period, and no perforated axes are among its relics. Among the few things collected on its site the following may be mentioned:—Bits of cloth, burnt corn, stone hatchet in wooden handle, another hatchet of jade, etc. The woodwork was very rotten, and the piles could hardly be distinguished. A canoe with ribbed floor (now in the Fribourg Museum) was found in the vicinity of the station. (B. 462.)

Greng-Insel.—This settlement was situated at the end of a low tongue of land which projected into the lake, and covered an area of 49,000 square feet. Near the shore the relics were entirely of the Stone Age, but farther out in the lake they became mixed with bronze and even iron objects. During low water, previous to the Correction des Eaux du Jura, a considerable portion of this station could be visited on dry land, but now it is entirely dry. In its vicinity are several stone cairns which have greatly puzzled antiquaries, as no relics have been found on them. Piles were observed in two of them—one lying to the north-east and the other to the south-west of it.

When this station was first investigated (1861-2), it yielded a number of perforated hammers and hatchets (some showing unfinished perforations), six flint knives, corn-crushers, a stone mortar, a bronze ring, a hair-pin, and several implements of iron. (B. 61.)

Subsequently the proprietor, Count de Pourtalès, with the co-operation of the local archæologists, made further excavations, which proved that it essentially belonged to the Stone Age. From Dr. Uhlmann's Report (1865), it appears that the relic-bed was from 1 to 4 feet below gravel and matted roots. The piles were generally of oak-stems as thick as a man's arm or leg, and some were as much as 1 foot in diameter, but when they reached this size they were generally split. They were irregularly set, and penetrated deeply into the mud below. They were of a blackish colour, well preserved, and apparently pointed with stone axes. Among the relics collected were daggers, saws, and arrow-heads of flint, beautifully made (Fig. 14, No. 9); stone celts, neatly bored; implements of bone, as chisels, pointers, etc., and staghorn haftings.

Fragments of pottery showed two qualities—a reddish thick earthenware, badly burnt, and a finer quality with some linear ornamentation.

The bones turned up were very numerous; among which Dr. Uhlmann recognised those of the following animals:—Urus (a large variety of horned cattle) and the small marsh cow. The sheep-bones indicated a large race with strong horn cores bent backwards and outwards; but those of the goat belonged to a more slender animal; stag, elk, and roe-deer. Amongst the carnivora were the great bear, the teeth of which were perforated for suspension, the dog (larger than at Moosseedorf), fox, hedgehog, and beaver. Bones of the frog, and the scales and bones of a fish, probably a species of pike. Also there were several portions of skulls and other human bones.

Among vegetal remains were hazel and beech nuts, stones of the sloe and birdcherry; seeds of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries; and carbonised masses of wheat. (B. 126.)

When the station became dry in 1874, in consequence of the drainage-works, it was again investigated by Mr. Süsstrunk, on behalf of the town of Morat and the Canton of Fribourg. Among the objects then found were two flat celts, the composition of which, according to Dr. v. Fellenberg's analysis, was a mixture of carbonate of copper and sulphur, without any traces of tin. Among other things were buttons and haftings of staghorn; a conical stone set in a long hafting of staghorn; some netting-needles of wood, etc. (B. 286.)

Since then a considerable number of the usual class of bronze objects as hatchets, knives, hair-pins, fish-hooks, rings, etc., have been found on this station. (B. 462.) Noteworthy is a knife, partly of bronze and partly of iron (Fig. 14, No. 1).

Among the objects in the Museum at Morat are clay weights, dishes of pottery (Nos. 13 and 15), staghorn haftings (some with a slit at their handle-end); a curious object of staghorn, like a large earring (No. 17); beautifully worked flint daggers (No. 9), and a large number of bone chisels, pointers, etc. In the Museum at Bern there is a mould for a flat celt, with the casting still in its case, like one in the Museum at Stuttgart from the Ueberlingersee.

Greng-Mühle.—The next station following in the same direction is a large and prolific station of the Stone Age, with staghorn implements predominating among its relics. The perforated stone axes are wanting. (B. 462.)

Faoug (Pfauen).—Near the railway station, in the course of digging a well, the relic-bed of a pile-dwelling belonging to the Stone Age was encountered, but its contents have not yet been excavated. A little to the west of this in the lake some bronze objects were found associated with piles, but these relics are supposed to have come from Vallamand. (B. 462.)

Near Faoug there was observed a curious wooden structure, which Dr. Keller suggested might have been a circular lake-dwelling, like the Irish crannogs. Mr. Süsstrunk wrote a short notice of it (B. 336), in which he comes to the conclusion that it was more likely to be in connection with fishing than with the Pfahlbauten. It consisted of seven concentric circles of slender piles, separated by an interval of from 2 to 3 feet. The diameter of the largest circle was hardly 14 yards, so that little space was left in the interior for any supposed dwelling. The outer circle was formed of boards, about 10 inches broad and 2 inches thick, standing on end, and penetrating the soil to the depth of 3 feet or so, and so closely set as to be almost touching. The piles in the other circles were round and small, and their ends penetrated only 18 inches into the earth.

Vallamand.—This station was extremely rich in Bronze Age objects, and was known to Colonel Schwab, who found many vessels, clay rings, discoidal stones, a bronze earring, and a bronze shallow plate, about 10 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. One of the fictile dishes (No. 16) is shaped like a water-bottle, and has its neck perforated with a number of small holes arranged at uniform distances and so as to be in perpendicular line. From each hole a circular line runs round the neck. (B. 61, p. 49.)

The station was finally explored in the interests of the Museum of Lausanne, where there is now a splendid collection of its relics. Some things, however, have gone to the Museum at Bern and to that in the castle ruins at Avenches. One of the most interesting objects from this station is a razor in its wooden case (No. 8). In the Lausanne Museum the objects are marked Guévaux, and among them are the following:—Of bronze—four winged celts with side loops (two of which have a terminal catch), three large hollow rings with linear ornamentations, one bracelet, two cups ornamented with small repoussé prominences, six sickles (two with a back spur and one with an upright spur), a large cup-shaped head of a pin like the one from Wollishofen (Fig. 3, No. 9) several pendants (Fig. 14, No. 10), involved rings (Nos. 2 and 4), gouges, buttons (No. 7), studs, 1,300 rings found together, combs (Nos. 11 and 12), and a curious rod hooked at the ends and perforated (No. 5). A fish-hook with attachments (No. 3), a pin with attached chain (only a portion of which is here represented, No. 21), and a curious ornamented dagger, are from other collections.