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.
[Illustration: =Fig. 14.=--VALLAMAND AND GRENG-INSEL (1, 9, 13, 15,
and 17). Pottery = ¼, the rest = ½ real size.]
A few specimens of pottery (Nos. 14 and 18) and an ornanamented horn
(No. 20) complete the illustrations from this station.
GUÉVAUX, ETC.--The four stations on this part of the coast--viz.
Guévaux, Mür, Motier, and Sugiez-Zollhaus--have furnished only a
few traces of their existence, from which it would appear that they
belonged to the pure Stone Age.
The group of well-preserved piles at the mouth of the Chandon was
probably a Roman landing-stage, as Roman tiles have been found along
with them.
At Nant were found two kettles, one of bronze and the other of copper
with an iron ring, two daggers, some iron arrow-heads, and a piece of
sculptured marble, evidently of a later period than the lake-dwellings.
Of the remaining eight or nine cairns whose tops were occasionally
above water, none have yielded industrial relics, and there is
consequently no evidence as to their age and use. They are too small
to admit of even a single hut. (B. 462.)