In 1851, while the harbour of Peschiera was being deepened, numerous
bronze implements, associated with piles deeply buried in the bed
of the lake, were found at a particular spot near the north mole of
the fortress; but no special attention was paid to them. The bronze
objects were laid aside by the workmen, and it is said that a quantity
of them, weighing some 15 or 20 pounds, was sold as old metal. Of this
find a very few were sent to the K. K. Antiken Cabinet in Vienna. In
1860 further deepening of the harbour became necessary, and again
similar objects were found in the dredged-up stuff. These operations
were conducted under the supervision of M. Lorenz and Col. von Silber,
who, in the interests of archæology, collected and preserved the
bronze objects. Subsequently, on its being suggested that this was a
palafitte like those recently discovered in the Swiss lakes, Col. von
Silber forwarded an assortment of the relics to Dr. Keller at Zürich,
with the following explanatory notice of the circumstances in which
they were found:--
"In deepening the entrance of the harbour at Peschiera for the
newly-built gunboat, which was done by means of a mud-machine (called
a 'paternoster') to a depth of 7 or 8 feet below the usual level of
the water, the workmen found amongst the mud and sand brought up by
the machine a great number of bronze implements. These were carefully
preserved, for the sake of archæology, by Mr. Lorenz, the marine
engineer, now residing at Pola, and myself. I was so uninitiated in
this science, that when I found that the greater part of the objects
had been taken up from a space of a very few square fathoms, I had
the notion that a ship, laden with bronze, had been wrecked here, and
it was not till a conversation which I had with Dr. Freudenberg, of
Bonn, that I was led to believe that a lake-dwelling probably existed
on this spot. This idea was corroborated by the fact that just in this
place the working of the mud-machine was very much impeded by a number
of burnt piles which were quite covered with the mud. Unfortunately,
I fancied at first that these piles came from the fishermen's huts,
which abound in this neighbourhood at the present day, so that I paid
no attention to their position or arrangement. The piles which were
drawn up were, on an average, 4 or 5 feet long, quite hidden under the
sand, and burnt to such a degree that it is quite impossible for me to
say with certainty what kinds of wood they were made of. I imagine,
however, that the wood was chiefly that of the stone oak (_Quercus
ilex_). The piles were 4 or 5 inches in diameter.
"Besides the bronze implements one of stone was found, which I believe
to be a sling-stone. Lately, when reading the reports of the Swiss
lake-dwellings, I remember the occurrence of a great number of pieces
of burnt clay found in the mud. These pieces were of a blackish
colour, remarkably thick, and without any definite form. I do not
doubt that they have been fragments of the clay covering the huts of
the lake-dwellings." (B. 119, 2nd ed., p. 364.)
These discoveries induced the eminent archæologist, Dr. E. Freiherr
von Sacken, to visit Peschiera for the purpose of investigating into
the reported Pfahlbau. In addition to his own special researches he
had correct details of the results already obtained from Captain von
Kostersitz, who was present, and carefully watched the excavations
during the years 1860-1-2, and from these he drew up an admirable
report, published in 1864 (B. 75), which clearly proved that there was
here a true pile-dwelling of the Bronze Age.
In this report the following sectional description of the sedimentary
strata is given:--
(1) In a depth of about 5 feet of water there was first a sandy layer
from 2½ to 3 feet thick in which no relics were found.
(2) Beneath this layer of sand was the relic-bed, from 2 to 3½ feet
thick, composed of a mossy deposit containing the remains of plants,
organic _débris_, the industrial objects already referred to, and the
tops of numerous piles.
(3) Underlying the relic-bed was a thick bed of stiff loam and sand,
into which the piles deeply penetrated. These piles were generally of
pine and oak, the former predominating in the proportion of two to one.
The dimensions of the lake-dwelling were not accurately ascertained,
but the area covered by the dredging operations exceeded 10,000 square
yards, and in most of this space piles were found. No stone implements
were found, with the exception of the polished discoidal stone sent to
Dr. Keller; but the number of bronze objects amounted to 250, most of
which were sent to Vienna.
Professor Franz Unger made a careful study of the organic remains,
and amongst the various fruits, plants, and wood identified by him
the most interesting are rye (_Secale cereale_) and the vine (_Vitis
vinifera_). The former has not yet been found in any of the terremare
or lake-dwellings of North Italy.
The osseous remains represented the ordinary domestic animals--dog,
sheep, goat, ox, horse, and pig--as well as the stag, roe, wild boar,
etc.
Besides the bronze objects there were fragments of pottery and one or
two Roman coins--one of Trajan and one of Domitian.
Meantime archæologists were on the look out for palafittes in other
parts of the lake. It appears that as early as 1861 Cav. Martinati
detected piles at a place called Rocca di Garda, near Bardolino, on
the eastern shore of the lake, which he considered to be the remains
of a pile-dwelling. Dr. Alberti also discovered similar evidence in
two localities farther south, Il Bor and Porto di Pacengo, which
he described in a letter to Martinati in 1864. (B. 77 and 355.)
This stimulated the Accad. d'Agricoltura, Arti, e Commercio di
Verona to appoint a Commission to investigate the matter; but their
labours were soon afterwards discontinued owing to the political
disturbances of 1866, and it was not till ten years later that these
proposed archæological researches were resumed and the Commission
re-constituted. Although on this occasion no bronze objects were
found, it cannot be said that the explorations were altogether devoid
of interest, as the existence of the reported palafittes was not only
confirmed, but a considerable quantity of the osseous remains of the
ordinary domestic animals, fragments of pottery (including handles
known as _anse lunate_), and a wooden spoon were collected. But the
Commission soon abandoned the work as profitless. Then it was that Mr.
Alberto Cavazzocca, of Verona, commenced to search Il Bor on his own
account, and succeeded in a couple of seasons in securing from it a
small collection of antiquities, including objects of stone and bronze.
On the western and more sheltered shores of Lake Garda Professor
Stoppani, of Milan, found traces of several stations, particularly in
the Gulf San Felice di Scovolo, three of which were situated close
to its northern shore, and two close to the Isola Lecchi on the
landward side of the island. As few relics were found--only a few
flint objects--and as the piles in all these stations were near the
shore and in comparatively shallow water, Stoppani concluded they
belonged to the Stone Age. These explorations were a sequence to the
first researches in Lake Varese, so auspiciously initiated by Desor
and Mortillet, and which Stoppani followed up by making an exploratory
tour of the lakes of North Italy. The observations of Stoppani,
however, have not been confirmed by any subsequent researches,
though this particular locality is pre-eminently the most fitted for
lake-dwellings in the whole of this extensive sheet of water. (B. 87.)
In 1879, under the skilful management of Cav. Stefano de Stefani (R.
Ispettore degli Scavi, Verona), dredging operations were resumed at
the old place in the harbour of Peschiera, which considerably added to
the number of relics from this station.
In the spring of the following year De Stefani transferred his
operations to an entirely new locality in the river Mincio, below the
railway bridge, where the stream divides into a number of separate
channels. Among the islands thus formed he had reason to suspect
the existence of pile-dwellings, and in this expectation he was not
disappointed, as he succeeded in finding not only the submerged piles
and transverse beams, but also a large number of flint, and some
bronze objects, and even a few Roman remains.
As both these investigations were undertaken by orders from the
Minister of Public Instruction and at the expense of Government
the relics were sent to enrich the prehistoric department of the
Kircherian Museum at Rome.
The people of Verona were greatly chagrined to find that these
successive discoveries, which had now attained much celebrity in
archæological circles, were constantly slipping out of their hands,
and that in their own local museum there was scarcely a single article
illustrative of the culture and social condition of these early
lake-dwellers. To rectify this state of matters and make some amends
for their past neglect the Academical Commission was induced to order
a fresh investigation under De Stefani, whose recent success was
characterised as "risultati splendidissimi." Again the excavations of
De Stefani were crowned with great success. In 1881 his attentions
were directed to Peschiera, which yielded him a considerable number
of articles, being the fourth important supply since its discovery
in 1851. In 1883 the station in the Mincio was subjected to further
explorations, and De Stefani's labours were rewarded by a rich
harvest of relics, mostly of the Stone Age, which included many flint
implements, as knives, hatchets, saws, arrow-points, etc.
The relics collected on both these occasions are now deposited in
the Museo Civico at Verona, and at last this town shares with Rome,
Vienna, and Zürich, the honour of possessing a collection of these
remarkable remains. (B. 342, 358, 370, 424, and "Notizie degli Scavi,
1880 and 1884.")
From these general remarks it will be seen that there are only three
lake-dwellings in Lake Garda that have yielded remains sufficiently
comprehensive in quantity and variety to enable us to form some idea
of the period to which they belonged, viz. the station close to the
fortress of Peschiera, that in the Mincio, and that known as Il Bor on
the south-east shore of the lake.
PESCHIERA.--Since the report of Baron v. Sacken the various
researches conducted here have not thrown additional light on the
general condition and distribution of the piles. De Stefani bears
testimony to the accuracy of the facts as to the archæological stratum
in which the relics were found, and observes that the overlying bed of
sand and gravel sometimes attained a depth of over 4 feet. (B. 424,
p. 9.) In it were found decomposed organic matter, bits of charcoal,
fragments of pottery, and bronze objects. In the previous discoveries
only one stone implement was recorded, so that the station was
considered to be exclusively of the Bronze Age. Nor was its character
in this respect much altered by the recent researches, as only a few
implements of stone were found, viz. two knives or scrapers, one
arrow-point and a few chips of flint, a round sling-stone of granite,
and another of an oval form with marks of having been used. Nothing of
importance was added as regards its _flora_ and _fauna_. De Stefani
describes a curious object like a biscuit, picked out of the dredged
stuff, which he considered might have been a cake of bread. It was
made of viscous matter and measured 4 inches in diameter and ¾ of an
inch thick, and contained bruised cereals; but, as he was examining
it, it slipped through his fingers and again fell into the water. (B.
424, p. 10.)
This settlement appears to have flourished exclusively in the Bronze
Age, as may be seen from a glance at the accompanying illustrations
(=Figs. 63=, =64=, and =65=).
_Pottery._--The fragments of earthenware indicate a great variety of
vessels made of two kinds of paste--a coarse and a fine quality. Of
the latter, Nos. 26 to 30, =Fig. 65=, are sufficient to show that the
ceramic art of the lake-dwellers was identical at one period of their
existence with that of the terramaricoli in which the _anse lunate_
(No. 26) are so characteristic.
_Bronze._--Weapons, implements, and ornaments of this material are
extremely numerous, numbering upwards of 300 objects. Among the
weapons we find socketed lance-heads (=Fig. 64=, No. 10), daggers (No.
1 to 7), single-edged knives (No. 11), and a remarkable series of
double-edged dagger-knives with riveted tangs or sword-like handles
(=Fig. 65=, Nos. 10, and 12 to 14).
The implements include three kinds of hatchets (=Fig. 63=, No.
30; =Fig. 64=, No. 32, and =Fig. 65=, No. 11), chisels and gouges
(=Fig. 63=, No. 36), sickles (No. 33), various forms of razors with
handle and double cutting edges (Nos. 1 to 5), needles (No. 7), and
fish-prongs and hooks (=Fig. 64=, Nos. 18 to 21, 30 and 31).
[Illustration: =Fig. 63.=--PESCHIERA. All ½ real size.]
[Illustration: =Fig. 64.=--PESCHIERA. No. 32 = ¼, and all the rest =
½ real size.]
The ornamental objects are hair-pins, combs, pendants, bracelets,
fibulæ, and a torque. Hair-pins are in great numbers and of extreme
elegance both in form and ornamentation (profusely illustrated in
=Figs. 63=, =64=, and =65=); among them are some with amber heads
(=Fig. 63=, Nos. 9 and 10); some have flat, others disc-shaped, heads
(Nos. 17, 18, and 25); especially interesting are those with heads
made of various combinations of spirals (Nos. 21 to 27), as being
identical with the hair-pins of the terremare. Combs are of bone (No.
29) as well as of bronze (No. 28). Pendants of curious and varied
forms are also abundant (=Fig. 64=, Nos. 27 to 29), among which one
(=Fig. 63=, No. 34) is of lead. The small ornamental cross represented
by No. 26, =Fig. 64=, is of tin. The fibulæ are also of diversified
forms, as may be seen from the illustrations (=Fig. 64=, Nos. 8, and
22 to 25). The bracelets are of two kinds, made of thin bands (=Fig.
63=, Nos. 31 and 32), one closed with a hook and the other open. Only
one torque (No. 19) has been found at Peschiera, and in form it is
similar to the few recorded from the Swiss lake-dwellings (=Fig. 10=,
No. 3).
Finally there are a few spirals, bits of wire, and one special object
of unknown use (=Fig. 64=, No. 17).
The relationship which these objects have to analogous remains
in foreign countries is most exhaustively and ably dealt with by
Professor Pigorini. (B. 310.)
MINCIO.--As the surplus water of Lake Garda, under the name Mincio,
passes beyond the railway-bridge, it divides into two larger channels
and some smaller ones, forming a series of acutely-pointed islands.
The bed is here irregular, and at various points the tops of piles
were seen in groups projecting from the bed of the river. The first
explorations were in the larger channel to the left. Here De Stefani
found several objects of antiquity, among which the following are the
principal (B. 358):--
_Bronze._--The corroded blade of a knife-dagger (double-edged),
portion of a dagger-blade with a mid-rib, portion of another with deep
longitudinal grooves, portion of a small disc and portion of a spiral.
_Flint._--Two rectangularly-shaped hatchets, a saw (curved), a
javelin, an arrow-point, a lance-head, small knives, and a large
quantity of chips, cores, and crude flints.
_Pottery._--Two spindle-whorls, a quantity of handles and fragments of
dishes.
[Illustration: =Fig. 65.=--PESCHIERA (10 to 14, 21, 26 to 29, and
31.), IL MINCIO (1 to 9, 17 to 19, 22, 23, 25, and 30), and IL BOR
(15, 16, 20, and 24). All ½ real size.]
_Staghorn._--A portion converted into the form of a hatchet, a
hair-pin, and several other worked bits.
_Bones, etc._--A large quantity of teeth and bones of the ordinary
domestic animals.
At another spot, 200 yards lower down in the central canal, amidst a
group of piles he collected:--
_Bronze._--A knife (=Fig. 65=, No. 17), two small dagger-blades with
rivet-holes, the point of a sickle, two bits of the cutting-ends of
axes (paalstabs), two hair-pins 10 inches long and three smaller ones,
a disc-shaped head of a pin, portions of a fibula, together with
fragments of various other undetermined objects. One interesting relic
is supposed to be the knob of a handle (No. 25).
_Stone._--One portion of a polished stone of basalt (No. 19).
_Flint._--The implements of this material were here in great abundance
(Nos. 1 to 9). Eighteen hatchets, mostly of a rectangular form (No.
9); 60 saws (Nos. 5 and 6); 49 arrow-points (Nos. 1 to 4), of which
one (No. 4) has four barbs and another is chisel-shaped (No. 8); 13
lance-heads (No. 7), etc.
_Amber._--Two beads, one reddish and the other yellow.
_Pottery._--Various fragments, especially handles of vessels of
different forms--_cornuta_, _lunata_, _lagotis_, _bitubercolata_,
etc. Some of the dishes were of fine black ware, among which I may
note a spoon (No. 30), but generally the coarser kinds predominated.
Spindle-whorls were also numerous and varied in form, not less than 31
being collected. There were also two large net weights, one round and
the other ring-shaped.
_Staghorn._--Several worked bits: one was a portion of an ornamented
comb and another part of a handle of some sort.
_Money._--Four coins, much corroded, supposed by De Stefani to be of
the second half of the third century.
In 1883 De Stefani resumed his researches in the same place. (B.
424.) On this occasion the bronze objects were limited to one or two
insignificant fragments; but, on the other hand, the flint implements
increased--knives, saws, javelins, lance-heads and arrow-heads being
in abundance. Among the other things I may mention two small stone
discs perforated, probably used as spindle-whorls; a small bit of
green glass, together with portions of worked and unworked horn, bone,
etc.
The ornamental blade (=Fig. 65=, No. 18), a neat spiral-headed pin
(No. 22), and a stud (No. 23), all of bronze, are in the collection of
Dr. Rambotti, and said to be from the station in the Mincio.
IL BOR.--Previous to the investigations of Il Bor by Cavazzocca (B.
355), Dr. Alberti had estimated the number of heads of piles visible
on this station at 500, but this number the former considers rather
high. The station stretched parallel to the shore, from which its site
is now distant about a hundred yards; but it is supposed that the
present level of the water stands higher than it was in the days of
the lake-dwellers. One reason for this opinion is that a triple row of
piles which runs shorewards, and is considered to be the remains of a
gangway, was found to terminate suddenly about half-way. The _strato
archeologico_ lies under a thin covering of sand and gravel, which
Cavazzocca explains to be the débris of the disintegrated morainic
coast carried outwards by the boisterous action of the waves.
The principal relics collected by Cavazzocca are as follows, most of
which are illustrated in his monograph:--
_Bronze._--Four knife daggers similar to those from Peschiera; three
pin-heads, "_capocchie di aghi crinali_" (=Fig. 65=, No. 24), like
those from the terremare; one axe-head with wings, like No. 30,
=Fig. 63=; one conical button; two chisels (=Fig. 65=, No. 15);
four hair-pins; two fragments of spiral tubes (No. 20), and six
undetermined objects.
_Pottery_ showed diverse forms, including _anse lunate_, and fragments
of vessels, spindle-whorls, etc.
_Stone._--Three fragments of stone moulds, several whetstones, and an
arrow, knife, and several chips of flint.
An arrow-point of bronze (No. 16) and a couple of small daggers from
Il Bor are in the Museum of Rome.