Leaving the great Jura chain of lakes we come, after a short journey
through an upland glacial valley, to the Rhone basin and the Lake of
Geneva. On the supposition that this was the route followed by the
lake-dwelling founders, the first and most natural position for a
settlement would be the bay of Morges; and it is somewhat singular
that in this very place one of the largest and most instructive
settlements on this lake flourished for successive ages. Here,
within a few hundred yards of each other, three sites have been
discovered, whose respective remains mark the progressive stages of
civilisation evinced in the Stone Age, the transition period, and the
most flourishing period of the Bronze Age. It will be therefore of
importance to examine carefully the facts disclosed by the repeated
examination of these typical stations before referring to the others
in this lake. Nor in selecting it am I deviating from the order of
discovery, as it was the earliest known and first examined in this
part of Switzerland, after Keller's observations and researches at
Ober-Meilen had roused the curiosity of antiquaries in the matter.
The existence of piles in the bay of Morges was known to fishermen
for a long time, but of course their significance was not understood.
However, on the 22nd of May, 1854, Messrs. Morlot and Troyon examined
the locality, and speedily demonstrated, by the finding of actual
industrial remains, that this had been the site of a _habitation
lacustre_. The part of the bay in which these piles were observed was
about 500 feet from the shore, and in a depth of water which varied
from 8 to 10 feet, even when the lake was at its lowest. Under these
circumstances it will be readily seen that it was no easy matter to
make investigations; but, notwithstanding the difficulties involved,
there was no lack of energy among the local archæologists, who for
many years systematically prosecuted the work of fishing up, by
means of hand-dredgers, nippers, etc., the submerged remains of these
lacustrine villages. Foremost among these explorers were the MM.
Forel, of Morges, father and son, whose reports and rich collection of
antiquities have chiefly supplied the facts now communicated.
When Troyon (1860) published his well-known book on the lake-dwellings
(B. 31), considerable progress had been made in the exploration of
the station, and from the richness of the finds it got the name of
"La grande Cité de Morges;" but it had not yet been ascertained that
there were three separate stations, much less that these stations
represented different periods. According to Troyon, most of the piles
were of oak, and some had planchettes to prevent them sinking too far
in the mud. A portion of one of these supports measured 13½ inches
long, 4 inches broad, and 1 inch thick; and contained two square-cut
holes 1½ inch in diameter and 4 inches apart. The relics found up to
this period were of much interest. Among them were bronze hatchets 4
to 7 inches long, mostly of the winged type, only one having a socket.
Of 13 knives, nine had tangs and four had sockets. Two swords, one of
which, with flat handle, was whole; two socketed lance-heads; several
bracelets of different kinds; and a bronze mould for casting celts[20]
(=Fig. 17=, No. 8). Pottery, clay rings for supports, discoidal
stones with marginal grooves, spindle-whorls, a couple of canoes,
etc. Subsequently the MM. Forel began to distinguish the respective
stations, to which they gave the following names:--(1) "La grande
Cité de Morges," (2) "La Station des Roseaux," and (3) "La Station de
l'Église."
[Illustration: =Fig. 17.=--Morges, Thonon (1, 2, 9, 10, and 16 to 18),
and St. Prex (12). Nos. 7 and 8 = ¼, the rest = ½ real size.]
(1) The Grand City was some 500 feet from the shore, and occupied
an area 1,200 feet long by 100 to 150 feet broad. The stumps of its
thickly-studded piles were visible in the water never less than 8 to
10 feet deep, and among them were detected some cross-beams, and a
canoe, 2 feet wide, with its prow sticking out of the mud. A large
and miscellaneous assortment of relics was also collected. Over 450
bronze objects, says Dr. Forel, writing in 1876 (B. 286), were found
on this station, and they all belong to the purest type of what Desor
calls "le bel Age du Bronze," including swords, knives, sickles,
hair-pins, bracelets, etc. One remarkable observation then made was
that among 60 bronze winged celts (Nos. 13 and 14) there was not one
single specimen of the flat kind. In 1866 two large reniform rings,
one ornamented (=Fig. 17=, No. 3) and the other plain, were added to
the list of objects from Morges. Only one object of iron, viz. a
poignard, analogous to one from Lake Bourget, was found. Among the
osseous remains the stag, goat, sheep, horse, and pig, were identified.
The bronze objects from this station up to the present date are thus
enumerated by Dr. Forel (B. 462, p. 55):--
Winged celts, 66; socketed celts, 6; chisels and gouges, 6; swords, 4;
lance-heads, 19; knives, 61; sickles, 23; bracelets, 95; rings, 79;
hair-pins, 256; divers, 23. In this total of 633 objects are included,
probably under the head "épingles," five curious objects of bronze
with handles similar to those from Wollishofen and Grosser Hafner at
Zürich. (B. 280, p. 699.)
(2) About 450 yards from the northern extremity of the Grand City
there was another settlement (Roseaux), of smaller dimensions, which
has yielded objects essentially different from those of the former.
Here, in marked contradistinction to the Grand City celts, there were
18, all of which were of the flat type (No. 15), and not one with
wings or sockets. But, on the other hand, there were a few polished
stone celts and flint objects, three small lances, and one hair-pin of
bronze, and a few iron sickles of modern type. The pottery was also of
a mixed character, showing fragments of dishes of a coarse and fine
kind. The piles showed marks as if produced by metal tools.
(3) The third station (l'Église) lies between the shore and the Grand
City, and is separated from the latter by a sterile band 220 yards
wide. Here there is a decided steinberg, presenting the unusual
feature of having 20 or 30 rectangular or oval spaces measuring 13
to 20 feet in diameter without any stones. The antiquities from this
station were stone celts (of which 86 are recorded by Dr. Forel up to
the present date), stone spindle-whorls, sharpening stones, and some
fragments of coarse pottery; but no objects of metal of any kind.
(4) A fourth station is named by Dr. Forel as lying opposite the
ancient _poudrière_ of Morges, and containing a small steinberg, on
which six stone celts and a few other objects of the Stone Age have
been found.
The search for lacustrine remains in other parts of the lake was
so actively prosecuted that Troyon could enumerate no less than 26
stations discovered during the six years prior to 1860. (B. 31, p.
31.) Since then their number, as recently corrected by Dr. Forel (B.
462), has increased to 44, notwithstanding that eight localities (viz.
Villeneuve, Creux de Plan, Lutry, Pully, St. Sulpice, Yvoire, Amphion,
and Evian) where supposed lake-dwelling remains have been found are
excluded as doubtful or not verified by subsequent investigations.
Though no such fortuitous circumstance as the "Correction des Eaux du
Jura" has come to the assistance of the _lacustreurs_ of Geneva, they
have amassed a very considerable quantity of relics. Only at a few
stations, as Thonon and the Port of Geneva, have they benefited from
dredging operations carried out for public works. From the results
obtained during these favourable conditions, it is quite clear that an
enormous quantity of antiquities, especially of the Bronze Age, still
lies buried in the waters of this lake.
[Illustration: LAKE DWELLINGS in LAKE OF GENEVA]
We shall now make a tour of the lake, jotting the various
characteristics of the lake-dwelling stations as we move along. (See
accompanying Sketch Map.)