The Lake of Clairvaux is situated on the first rising plateau of the
Jura mountains, not far from the town of Lons-le-Saulnier, and covers
an area of about 200 acres. At its north-west extremity there is a
tongue of land projecting into the lake called La Motte-aux-Magnins,
which is believed to have been an island in former times, but is now
continuous with a tract of marshy ground which extends between the
Motte and the town of Clairvaux.
It has been recorded that at various times prior to 1870 diverse
antiquities were found in the course of drainage operations in this
marshy ground, such as horn implements, stone axes of flint and
jade, boars' tusks, bits of pottery, bronze celts, a fibula, and an
armilla; also Gallo-Roman remains, including a Gaulish gold coin and
Roman coins. In the lake itself there were no discoveries made, with
the exception of a group of five piles known to fishermen. But none
of these discoveries had ever suggested to any one the idea of a
lake-dwelling, the common and accepted opinion being that they were
remains of Druidical times and customs.
On the 27th of June, 1870, when the water was about its lowest, Mr. Le
Mire happened to be walking on the shore and accidentally stumbled on
the top of a black pile of oak. His attention being thus directed to
such a curious object, he looked about and detected many others just
protruding from the lake-bottom. He then determined to investigate the
matter, and at once employed some labourers to make excavations. The
place selected was 100 yards to the west of the Motte-aux-Magnins,
and 25 yards to the east of the canal which forms the outlet of the
lake. Trenches were dug about 1 yard in width and the same in depth (a
greater depth being prevented by the oozing up of water). During these
operations piles were abundantly met with, but no relics were found,
and it was remarked that there was no change in the stuff thrown up
from the trenches, it being the ordinary whitish deposits similar to
what is seen on the present surface of the strand. The piles were of
oak, fir, yew, poplar, willow, and hazel, and measured from 4 to 6
inches in diameter.
Mr. Le Mire then shifted his operations to the south side of the
Motte-aux-Magnins, and after passing through 6 to 8 inches of
the whitish surface deposits he came upon a blackish peaty layer
containing roots of water-plants and other organic _débris_, which
turned out to be the veritable relic-bed of the lake-dwellers.
Here he continued the excavations for about three weeks with a couple
of workmen, and in this way an area of about 120 square yards was
examined, which he thinks was not more than a twentieth part of the
total site of the lake-dwelling. The piles did not reach the surface,
but they were met with abundantly, no less than 150 being counted in
the space examined. The breaking-out of the war put a stop to these
excavations, and the subsequent return of the water to its ordinary
level prevented their renewal.
[Illustration: =Fig. 23.=--CLAIRVAUX. Nos. 5, 7, and 15 = ¼, the
rest = ½ real size.]
Mr. Le Mire has published an illustrated report of his investigations
(B. 219), from which these notes are taken, but the accompanying
illustrations (=Fig. 23=) are from a selection of objects exhibited
in the anthropological section of the Paris International Exposition
of 1889. In this collection I note that there are a few relics, such
as the two bronze objects, to which Mr. Le Mire does not refer in his
report; probably these may have been found since its publication.
Among the relics staghorn implements take a prominent place. Handles
and fixers for stone weapons amounted to 49, and the two here
illustrated (of five exhibited in Paris) still retain their celts
(Nos. 6 and 8). There are several perforated horn hammers, one of
which (No. 7) retained portion of its wooden handle when found;
another is a foot long, and the perforation is nearer the burr of
the horn which forms the hammer-end. A tyne 11 inches long forms the
handle to a small stone chisel. Another object (No. 5) is a _unicum_
of its kind. It is a chisel of horn formed from the tyne, with the
body of the horn forming a neatly-polished handle.
The polished daggers or pointers are also finely made, and almost
remind one of those at Laibach. Twenty-six were exhibited in Paris,
three of which are here represented, including the largest and
smallest (Nos. 9, 13, and 14).
About a dozen triangular or leaf-shaped arrow-points, and one or two
spear-heads of flint. Of the latter, one (No. 2) is remarkable for its
size and elegant workmanship.
Wooden dishes formed out of the solid, all having a round base, were
collected to the number of 15, and some large globular pieces of wood
were supposed to be the primary stage of their manufacture. One dish
figured by Le Mire is here reproduced, and shows a neat handle (No.
15). There were also wooden mallets perforated for a handle. Three
bits of a bow, one showing the tip with a notch for the string. An
axle-tree for a waggon Le Mire considers interesting, as showing a
knowledge and use of traction by wheels.
Besides a few stone celts and chisels, most of which were still in
their horn handles, there were a few flint knives (No. 1), three
sharpening stones, two curious and novel objects of polished stone,
one of which is illustrated (No. 10).
The pottery includes 140 fragments of dishes, showing various forms of
handles and linear ornamentation.
Of bronze there are just two objects, a small awl or chisel and a
much-worn dagger (Nos. 11 and 12).
Animal bones collected to the amount of 150 kilogrammes were not
reported on by a skilled person; but, according to Le Mire, they
belonged chiefly to the ox, stag, boar and pig; among them was a fine
specimen of a bear's skull. Among other organic remains were a few
grains of wheat and acorns.