Lagozza is the name given to a small natural "bacino torbosa" situated
in an undulating plateau of morainic _débris_, about 4 miles from
Gallarate in the province of Milan. It is roughly oval in shape and
covers a superficial area of 10 or 12 acres. Till recently this basin
was a peaty bog, passable in summer, with certain precautions, to
"Cacciatori;" but in former times, as its name implies, it was a
stagnant lake. In 1875 the proprietor, Count Cornaggio, an ardent and
skilful agriculturist, determined to remove the peat altogether, and,
for this purpose, commenced operations by cutting a central canal to
carry off the water. While the workmen were thus engaged they began to
find near the middle of the bog bits of pottery, charcoal, and rotten
piles, which, on skilled attention being directed to them, turned
out to be undoubted indications of a prehistoric lake-dwelling. The
process of clearing out the peat was therefore watched with great
interest by local antiquaries, as the operation would involve a more
thorough investigation of the antiquities imbedded in the peat than
any researches that were likely to be undertaken solely from the
scientific point of view. It was not till the spring of 1880 that
the main portion of the palafitte was reached by the peat-cutters,
and then various antiquarian objects were met with. The turf is now
entirely removed, and the relics collected are deposited partly in the
Museo Civico in Milan, and partly in the Museo Archeologico at Como.
The pile-dwelling occupied a rectangular space, near the centre of
the _bacino_, about 80 yards long from north to south and 30 to 40
yards broad. The turf here varied in thickness from 1 to 2 yards,
according to the state of moisture; below which there was a muddy
stratum containing the roots of water plants (_fango con radice_),
among which the tops of the piles appeared. This layer was 16 inches
thick, and immediately below it was the _strato archeologico_, which
varied in thickness from 2 to 8 inches, and contained the usual
_débris_ of human occupancy embedded in a matrix of black peat mud and
earth. Below this again was a stratum of black earth, mixed with the
whitish clay or marl of the ancient lake bottom, in which the points
of the piles were firmly fixed. The piles were pointed at the base and
irregularly fixed, 4 or 5 to the square yard, and varied in length
from 3½ to 5 feet, with a diameter of 4 to 8 inches. Many prepared
beams either of round or split stems, some over 20 feet in length, lay
buried in the peat, as if they had fallen from a platform. Regazzoni
draws attention to some short beams having a square-cut hole at each
end. One of these beams measured 24½ inches long, 4¾ broad, and 3½
thick, and the holes were 2¾ by 1½ inches. The top of a tree whose
branches were neatly chopped off at the distance of 6 or 7 inches from
the stem was supposed to have been used as a ladder.
Castelfranco thinks the points of the piles were fashioned by some
sharp-cutting instrument of metal, as some of the cuts were 11
inches long, and such as no stone weapon could have produced ("non
credo che una scure di pietra sia mai stata capace di tanto"). This
observation is very significant in face of the fact that there is no
object of metal among the relics from Lagozza, with the exception of a
fibula (=Fig. 61=, No. 18), found in the lower part of the turf and,
therefore, outside the well-defined relic-bed. This fibula belongs
to the early Iron Age, and it is doubtful whether it belonged to the
inhabitants of the palafitte. The same author also states that where
charcoal and partially burnt wood were in greater abundance there
also the relics were more numerous, and hence he concludes that the
settlement came to an end by a conflagration ("il risultato di un
incendio generale o di parecchi parziali").
Among the industrial remains collected from Lagozza pottery takes the
chief place. The quality is of two kinds, coarse and fine, the latter
having a smooth black appearance and without any admixture of coarse
sand. The vessels, of which a considerable number are whole or nearly
so, consist of cups, bowls, plates, vases, spoons, etc. They are
generally without handles, having, instead, perforated knobs, as may
be seen from the accompanying illustrations (=Fig. 62=, Nos. 2, 6, 7,
9, and 15). The plates are sometimes ornamented with panels containing
impressions of circles, dots, and lines (Nos. 3, 10, and 13). Some of
the larger dishes have conical protuberances or finger-marks round the
margin (Nos. 1 and 4).
The spindle-whorls, about 40 of which are in the Museum at Como, are
somewhat peculiar, being flat circular cakes of burnt clay with a hole
in the centre, and often ornamented with lines or rows of elliptical
impressions (=Fig. 61=, Nos. 12 to 17).
There are some clay weights of the usual conical shape, and others
kidney-shaped with a perforation at each end (=Fig. 62=, No. 14). In
some of these weights bits of straw and grains of barley and wheat
have been detected.
There is not a single article made of bone or horn, nor any trace of
fishing or hunting gear, with the exception of one or two arrow-heads
(=Fig. 61=, Nos. 5 and 6).
[Illustration: =Fig. 61.=--LAGOZZA. All ½ real size.]
Stone celts are scarce, only about 30 in all, and none perforated (No.
10). One small implement is in the form of a double-edged axe, and
adapted for cutting at both ends (No. 8).
Flint flakes or knives (Nos. 1 to 4) are numerous, but cores and
chips are less frequent. Arrow-points are extremely few--only three
have I seen in the Museum at Como, but their authenticity seems to
be questioned by Castelfranco, who thinks they were not actually
from the relic-bed in the palafitte. Among the usual stone objects,
such as hammers, rubbers, etc., are to be noticed a number of white
quartz pebbles and eight or nine small polished stones with scratched
markings on them (=Fig. 62=, Nos. 11 and 12).
[Illustration: =Fig. 62.=--LAGOZZA. All ⅓ real size.]
A wooden comb (=Fig. 61=, No. 11), with teeth at one side, is, I
believe, the only specimen from any of the lake-dwellings in Italy.
Ornaments or charms are represented by one small pendant of green
steatite perforated for suspension (No. 7).
As evidence that the inhabitants were in the habit of spinning and
weaving, there are, besides the spindle-whorls and clay weights, bits
of thread and cord, and one small fragment of coarsely-made linen
tissue (No. 9). According to Professor Sordelli, this was made from
wild flax (_Linum angustifolium_), of which he found the seeds and
fibres in abundance, but no trace of the cultivated species. On the
other hand, there were two kinds of wheat and the six-eared barley.
Among the food-remains were the wild apple, acorns, hazel-nuts, stones
of the cornel cherry, poppy-seeds, etc.
But the most remarkable feature of Lagozza is, that no animal bones of
any description were found--not a tooth, or horn, or bone of any kind.
Neither were there any warlike weapons, with the exception of the few
questionable arrow-points. Castelfranco therefore suggests that the
inhabitants of Lagozza might have been vegetarians. (B. 354, 359b,
372d´, 387, 409, 452, 456, and 459c.)