As early as 1856, while the Mont Cenis and Culoz railway was being
constructed, some antiquities were dredged up in the bay of Grésine,
in Lake Bourget, which the engineers surmised to be remains of a
lake-dwelling. Though this information was formally communicated to
the Société Savoissienne, it was not till 1862, in consequence of
renewed attention to these discoveries by Baron Despine and M. Desor,
that this society took steps to investigate the matter. A preliminary
investigation conducted by a committee of seven gentlemen was
considered so satisfactory that the committee was renewed, with funds
at its disposal for systematic researches among the palafittes. Since
then several archæologists have conducted independent researches,
among whom may be noted particularly Le Comte Costa de Beauregard, MM.
Rabut, Perrin, Revon, Cazalis de Fondouce, and Chantre. (B. 73, 138,
176, 179, 282.)
[Illustration: Lake-dwellings in LAKE OF BOURGET]
The combined results of these explorers have now established the fact
that there were eight settlements in this lake, all of them belonging
to the Bronze Age. The antiquities fished up have been very numerous,
but unfortunately they are widely distributed, many indeed being in
private collections. The largest proportion is, however, to be found
in the Museums of Chambery, Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, and St. Germain,
and the private collection of Count de Beauregard in his château on
the Lake of Geneva. (For relative position of these stations see
Sketch Map of Lake Bourget.)
CONJUX.--This station is 200 yards from the shore, opposite the
village of the same name. A group of piles only 50 yards from the
shore is supposed to have been the ruins of a Roman pottery business,
on account of the abundance of characteristic ware found among them.
A peculiarity of this station is the number of moulds found on it in
proportion to the other objects, no less than 13 being recorded up to
1875, representing all manner of industrial implements, as knives,
winged and socketed celts, sickles, hammers, pins, rings, and buttons.
CHATILLON.--This settlement occupied a sheltered position about 500
feet from the shore. In one part the piles project out of the mud, and
are all inclined towards the east at an angle of 45°, but in the rest
of the station they are straight. A vessel of earthenware, like the
later productions of the lake-dwellers, was found among these piles
with the name Severinus stamped on it in Roman characters. (B. 176, p.
24.) Here were found some 40 or 50 of these very remarkable vessels of
black earthenware, ornamented with tin strips forming a combination of
pleasing designs (=Fig. 193=, Nos. 4 and 5); also some fragments of
Gallo-Roman pottery, and others of a very early type. Among the relics
are eight moulds (one of which is for a lance-head) and about 320
objects of bronze.
GRESINE.--The bay of Grésine contains the sites of two
settlements--one close to the railway, and the other farther out and
of larger extent. The latter appears to have been connected with the
Pointe de Grésine, as a gravel bank runs from this part of the shore
to the site of the palafitte; and the two stations were connected with
a gangway, the remains of which have been traced. The railway just
touches the site of the inner station, to which accident the discovery
of palafittes in Lake Bourget is due. Although the stations at Grésine
have been more frequently searched than any others, owing to their
proximity to Aix-les-Bains, they have continued for a long time to
be the richest in all kinds of antiquities, carbonised fruits, etc.
Among the moulds is one for the handle of a sword on one side, and a
buckle on the other. (B. 282, Pl. liv. 2.) No less than five bronze
hammers have been found on this station, all of which are socketed and
cylindrical in shape. Last summer some remarkable objects were fished
up, which I saw in the collection of the finder at the Restaurant
Lacustre (Port Puer), some of which are here figured (=Fig. 21=, Nos.
4, 6, and 12).
MEIMART.--The _débris_ of this settlement lies about 100 yards from
the shore, under 16 to 20 feet of water, and hence it has been less
searched, although it is of considerable extent, and has yielded a few
antiquities, notably a bronze sword, moulds, fragments of pottery, and
a Roman vase.
LE SAUT.--This settlement, like the others, was on a slight elevation
some 110 yards from the shore, and at low water its relics have to
be fished from a depth of about 10 feet. The station has been well
explored, and it has been observed that the ceramic remains indicate
greater technical skill the farther out in the lake they are picked
up, and where the piles are seen to project higher above the mud. A
piece of timber 22 feet long, with numerous mortises at each end, and
a bone harpoon with one barb, like those of bronze from Peschiera, are
the only objects which distinguish the antiquities of this station,
which in general are very similar to those from Grésine.
LES FIOLLETS.--A small settlement in 15 to 20 feet of water. The few
bronze objects found here are covered with calcareous matter. Some of
the pins collected on it are of novel forms, but the most interesting
object is a small file, which may be seen in the Museum at Chambery.
Mortised beams were also fished up from this station.
CHARPIGNAT.--Some piles have been observed near the village of
Bourget, but the associated industrial remains, if any, have not yet
been revealed.
In 1875 Mr. Perrin made a series of elaborate statistics, by which he
estimated the entire number of bronze objects from the palafittes in
Lake Bourget at a little over 4,000, and tabulated them in various
categories according to their uses, indicating the stations on which
they were found, and the museums or collections in which they were
then located. (B. 282.) Since then so many additional relics have
been recovered from the palafittes that Mr. Perrin's tables can offer
no approximation to accuracy; but, nevertheless, they have a certain
value in showing the relative frequency of the different objects. I
have, therefore, taken the liberty of reconstructing from Mr. Perrin's
data the following list of the objects found in Lake Bourget, which
gives a better general idea of the culture and civilisation of its
lake-dwellers than pages of descriptive details:--