In the neighbourhood of Padua remains of lake-dwellings presenting
in many respects similar characteristics to those in Lake Fimon,
have recently been discovered in the small lake of Arquà-Petrarca
situated in the Euganean hills. It was discovered in the autumn of
1885 by Professor Frederico Cordenons, who, with the aid of funds from
the Museums of Padua and Este, made excavations during this and the
following summer, the result of which he has just published. (B. 464.)
It appears that the lake, though now only covering some dozen acres,
was formerly of much greater extent and occupied the whole of the
present valley. In the slime of this ancient lake-basin, which is now
overlaid with a deposit of peat over 3 feet in thickness, the remains
of two stations were found, one on the eastern and the other on the
western margin of the present lake. These remains, which consist of
piles, portions of transverse beams, and a large assortment of the
industrial _débris_ of the inhabitants, are entirely confined to the
ancient mud deposit, nothing being found in the peat above it. Mr.
Cordenons does not give as minute a description of the relic-bed and
its surroundings as could be desired; but as only a fourth of the area
occupied by the piles has been excavated (1,000 square yards), the
present report may be only a first instalment of the researches.
Among the objects collected, the following will give a general idea
of its chronological position with respect to analogous remains in
the Po valley:--Several perforated stone axes, half of a perforated
hammer-axe of green serpentine beautifully polished, a large
hammer-stone, a beautiful flint saw four inches long ("un bellissimo
coltello-sega"), portion of a finely-worked laurel-leaf-shaped
lance-head of flint, a number of arrow-heads, lance-heads, saws,
knives, etc., of flint.
Objects of staghorn were not numerous, and only some perforated rings
of this material are recorded.
[Illustration: =Fig. 66.=--FIMON (1 to 8), and ARQUÀ-PETRARCA (9 to
12). All ⅓ real size except No. 2 = ⅙.]
The pottery is abundant, and with the description of it much of
Cordenons's monograph is taken up. The paste in the generality of the
vessels is mixed with sand and bits of mica, recognised to be the
_débris_ of the surrounding hills. Only one dish (=Fig. 66=, No. 11)
showed ornamentation of incised lines, but, on the other hand, raised
lines meeting in points, forming triangles, etc., were most common.
The handles were of various shapes and showed a complete series of the
progressive stages, from the single button-shaped top to the almost
perfect _ansa cornuta_.
No metal objects were found, and consequently Mr. Cordenons concludes
that the station belonged to the pure Stone Age, a conclusion which,
however, Pigorini disputes. (B. 466b.)
The pottery is very similar to that from the adjacent lake-dwellings
at Fimon, and by no means dissimilar to that from Polada.