The art of manufacturing cutting implements of bronze, when once
known, must have come quickly into general use, owing to their vast
superiority over those in previous use, whether of stone or copper.
Not only was there a great impulse given to the ordinary affairs of
life, but actually new industries must have been developed. In lieu
of the primitive weapons and tools previously in use, we have now
a splendid array of swords, daggers, lances, axes, knives, rasors,
chisels, gouges, sickles, etc. The simple dagger of bone or flint,
which could only be used by a thrusting blow, became not only more
specialised and a more powerful weapon, but developed into a new
weapon--the double-edged sword. The first form of this weapon which
found its way to the lake-dwellers appears to have been that with a
flat handle (=Fig. 186=, Nos. 1, 7, and 9), with a series of rivet
holes for attaching plates of bone or wood, so as to give a better
grip to the wielder. Subsequently the handle was cast separately
of solid bronze, and the blade was then attached to it by means of
rivets. One of the most elegant of these forms was that terminating
at the hilt in a couple of spirals, several examples of which are
illustrated on =Figs. 11=, =19=, and =186=. From Moeringen there is
a very rare sword of this type, but portion of the handle is broken
off. The blade is of iron and the handle of bronze ornamented with
encrusted bands of iron (=Fig. 186=, No. 6).
Such sharp-edged weapons entailed the necessity of caution when
carried about the person, and accordingly sheaths were used, probably
in the first place made of wood and tipped with bronze. Objects
supposed to be these tips have been found at various places, as
Moeringen, Auvernier, Champreveyères, Luissel (=Fig. 19=, No. 4),
Bourget, etc. (=Fig. 21=, No. 20).
[Illustration: =Fig. 186.=--BRONZE WEAPONS AND COPPER CELT. Nos. 10
and 11 = ⅙, and all the rest = ⅓ real size.]
While daggers were riveted to handles of solid bronze, horn, or other
materials (=Fig. 186=, No. 8), a form which they retained during the
whole Bronze Age, lance-heads were from the earliest times made with
sockets. Arrow-points were subject to greater variations, as we find
them tanged, socketed, or merely triangularly-shaped flat pieces.
The latter had generally two or four small holes by means of which
they were fastened to the stem by a wire or thread (=Fig. 21=, Nos.
22 to 26). Hatchets display a series of evolutionary improvements,
the various stages of which can be readily traced. Thus the primitive
stone form, which was alone adhered to in the few copper examples
hitherto found, was also continued in bronze, and in this form the
bronze axe spread largely over Europe. But it gradually gave way
to that with flaps, or wings, with or without loops for fixing the
instrument more firmly to its handle. Finally we have the socketed
hatchet, which appears to have been considered the best form in use
during the Bronze Age. It was only when iron superseded bronze in
the use of cutting implements that the modern type, _i.e._ with a
transverse hole for the handle, came into general use, although the
principle was well known in previous ages, and, indeed, acted upon, as
in the perforated stone hammers and axes. Bronze saws (=Fig. 6=, No.
7) appear to have been used to an extremely limited extent, as only
some half-a-dozen examples have been found on the whole lake-dwelling
area of Central Europe. Their rarity in comparison with the
superabundance of flint saws in the Stone Age may be accounted for by
the large number of sharp cutting instruments that were now prevalent,
and which were better adapted for many of the purposes to which the
saws were formerly put, such as the making of arrow-stems, wooden
handles, etc. The ordinary knives of the palafittes are extremely
elegant in form, the blade being always more or less curved, and
frequently ornamented with parallel or wavy lines and running patterns
of concentric circles and dots. They were generally hafted by means
of a tang or socket, but sometimes the blade and handle were made in
one solid casting. Numerous examples of all these different forms are
given in our illustrations.
It is interesting to note that the socketed knives are very rare in
Eastern Switzerland, not a single example being recorded from the
great find at Wollishofen, while, as we move westward, they increase
relatively, till in Lake Bourget they become the rule and not the
exception.
The blades which go under the name of razors, though of diversified
forms, may be divided into two kinds, according as they are single-or
double-bladed. The former have a ridged back, which generally
projects at one end, so as to become a short handle, often assuming
the form of a terminal ring, as shown in =Fig. 20=, Nos. 22 and 23.
One in the Gross collection has a handle of staghorn. The latter,
or double-bladed, have the handle placed intermediately between
the blades, and are common in the terremare and the palatfitte of
Peschiera (=Fig. 63=), but they do not occur in Lake Bourget. The
small pincers supposed to be for epilation, so common in La Tène and
in Gallo-Roman times, appear to have come into use towards the close
of the Bronze Age, as they are extremely rare in the palafittes of
Central Switzerland, but more common in those of Lake Bourget. One
is figured by Dr. Gross, from Moeringen, similar to the one here
represented from Lake Bourget (=Fig. 20=, No. 24).
Sickles were also widely distributed over the lake-dwelling area of
the Bronze Age, including the terremare. They are flat on the under
side, but on the upper side they have two or more ridges running
lengthways, the object of which was to strengthen the implement. By
means of a raised knob, or rivet-hole, and sometimes a projecting
spur, it was firmly fixed into a wooden handle, as seen in =Fig.
187=. That represented here was found at Moeringen, and is adroitly
fashioned by hollows and rounding ridges, adapted for the right hand.
That this was the normal condition of these handles is probable from
the fact that other two similar objects were found at Corcelettes,
which are now preserved in the Museum at Lausanne.
As regards hammers, chisels, gouges, punches, awls, needles, hooks,
and spears for fishing, etc., it is unnecessary to add to the
descriptive details already given, and their general characters are
sufficiently patent from the illustrations.
In the category of objects used for the toilet and personal ornament
we have a large assortment of new and fanciful forms, such as
bracelets, pendants, necklaces, fibulæ, pins, combs, belt-clasps,
finger-rings, buttons, studs, earrings, chains, as well as a few
ornaments of gold, amber, and glass.
[Illustration: =Fig. 187.=--Wooden Handle with Bronze Sickle (⅓).
The smaller figure shows the manner of using this implement.]
First in importance are the armlets or anklets, which greatly differ
as regards size, form, and ornamentation (=Fig. 188=, etc.). They are
closed or open. The former are solid or hollow rings, and either plain
or ornamented with the usual geometrical figures of incised lines,
circles, and dots variously combined. The open bracelets are more
numerous, and have a wider range of style and pattern. Some consist
of a stout wire, spirally grooved, in single or double ply (=Fig. 3=,
No. 15), or a flat band with a terminal hook and eye for fastening
when worn over the arm. Others are penannular, with flat expansions
at each end, and the more massive are hollowed in the centre so as to
reduce their weight. These latter are peculiar to the palafittes of
Western Switzerland, having their greatest development in the lakes of
Neuchâtel, Bienne, and Morat. They occur in Lake Bourget, but not to
the same extent as the solid forms. Jet bracelets are rare, only one
or two being recorded from the Swiss palafittes (=Fig. 11=, No. 14);
but they are more numerous in Lake Bourget. One is of tin (=Fig. 188=,
No. 3).
Pendants and such like ornaments affect so many different forms that
it would be idle here to attempt to classify them. They have all one
common element, viz. a perforation or ring at the top for suspension,
and it is probable that many of them are merely individual parts of
a compound ornament, like that found at Auvernier, and figured by
Dr. Gross (B. 392, Pl. xxiii. 33), in which there are no less than
fourteen different pendants hanging from a central wheel. But no doubt
many of them, especially the larger forms, such as those found on the
palafitte at Onens (=Fig. 189=, Nos. 1 to 3), must have been used as
single decorations.
[Illustration: =Fig. 188.=--BRONZE AND TIN BRACELETS. All ½ real
size.]
Necklaces formed by stringing together beads of various materials,
such as that represented on =Fig. 11=, No. 1, were probably a common
method of personal adornment; but of course they are seldom met with
except as individual beads. Solid rings for the neck, or torques, are
extremely rare, their entire number recorded from the lake-dwellings
of the Bronze Age being less than half-a-dozen. They are all of one
type, and similar to the two illustrations given in =Fig. 10=, No. 3,
from Cortaillod, and =Fig. 63=, No. 19, from Peschiera.
[Illustration: =Fig. 189.=--PENDANTS, ORNAMENTS, etc., of Bronze and
Tin. Nos. 1 to 3, and 17 to 20 = ⅓, and the rest = ⅔ real size.]
Fibulæ were not quite so rare as the torques, and they appear to have
been pretty equally distributed over the lake-dwelling area, both
north and south of the Alps. Though well represented at Peschiera,
their existence in the true terramara deposits is still a matter of
contention among archæologists. From a glance at the various examples
given in our illustrations (=Fig. 3=, No. 20; =Fig. 6=, Nos. 4, 9,
and 10; =Fig. 12=, Nos. 4, 12, 14, and 26), etc., it will be seen that
they occupy an intermediate place between the straight pin and the
more highly developed and elaborate forms found among relics of later
ages.
Pins are the most common objects among the industrial remains of the
lake-dwellings, the total number found in the Swiss stations alone
being approximately over 10,000. Their principal function was to adorn
the hair, but no doubt some were used for other purposes, such as
the fastening of garments, and so they took the place of the fibulæ.
They are extremely varied in size and style of manufacture, being
of all grades from an inch up to 30 inches in length, and from the
simple unadorned stem with a mere knob for a head up to the highly
decorated examples so numerously represented in our illustrations,
such for example as those with massive heads in the form of a hollow
globe (=Fig. 13=, No. 12), or cup (=Fig. 3=, No. 9), or expanded disc
(=Fig. 10=, No. 24). Some had a loose ring for a head, to which in
some instances bits of chains were attached (=Fig. 3=, No. 6). In Lake
Bourget a few were found with flat wheel-shaped heads (=Fig. 189=,
Nos. 4 and 5).
Bronze combs are fairly well represented both in the terremare and the
lacustrine dwellings. They are almost invariably small, with a single
or double row of teeth. Clasps for girdles like the one figured from
Bourget (=Fig. 20=, No. 25) are in the Gross collection, as well as
a few others of a slightly different form. Buttons, studs, chains,
finger-rings of single or more coils, earrings, glass and amber beads
are also so numerous and widely spread as to show that they were not
merely exceptional objects among the lake-dwellers.
Several bronze dishes, not exceeding a dozen in all, have been found
on several of the Swiss stations. They are in the form of small
wide-mouthed cups of beaten bronze, with or without handles, and often
ornamented with slightly raised knobs of repoussé work (=Fig. 10=, No.
20), or like small jars of cast bronze (=Fig. 3=, No. 22, and =Fig.
6=, No. 2). Fragments of larger dishes, like the Etruscan situlæ made
of thin sheets riveted together, with massive handles also attached by
rivets, have been found at Wollishofen (=Fig. 4=, Nos. 17 and 22).
Gold is only sparingly met with, and the objects are generally small
or fragmentary. In this condition specimens of the precious metal
are among the relics from Nidau, Moeringen (=Fig. 189=, No. 8),
Auvernier, Concise, Cortaillod, Montilier, Wollishofen, and Lake
Bourget, etc. A few objects are of tin, the most frequently met
with being small wheels with four, five, or eight spokes, which are
recorded from several stations, portion of a ring and a bracelet from
Montilier (=Fig. 188=, No. 3), a small bar pierced with 16 holes from
Corcelettes (=Fig. 189=, No. 12), and a pendant from Auvernier (No.
7), a small cross from Lake Garda (=Fig. 64=, No. 26), etc. Tin is
also represented in small ingots and, as we shall afterwards more
particularly notice, it was used to decorate the inside of various
dishes of earthenware.
To these industrial objects, many of which had their prototypes in
the Stone Age, we have to add a variety of appliances for carrying
on the metallurgical art. Stone anvils gave place to bronze ones,
and of these the most remarkable is that from Wollishofen (=Fig. 4=,
No. 21). Moulds were generally made of sandstone or hardened clay,
the former being the most numerous, and specimens may be seen in all
the collections from the stations both north and south of the Alps.
It will be recollected that the two valves of a mould for a winged
celt made of bronze were found at Morges at a very early stage in
lacustrine investigations (=Fig. 17=, No. 8). For many years this
apparatus remained as a solitary and unique example of this kind of
mould, but now three other valves, similar to those from Morges, have
been found, one on each of the stations of Auvernier, Corcelettes, and
Estavayer (=Fig. 9=, No. 22). Crucibles are abundantly represented.
They are of various shapes and sizes, sometimes with a solid handle,
as those from Rohenhausen and St. Blaise, and at other times with a
short projection having a perforation through which a wooden stick
could be inserted as a handle (=Fig. 184=, No. 3, and =Fig. 45=, No.
14). As further evidence that the founder practised his art _in situ_
we have various records of the finding of ingots of copper, tin, and
lead; also slag, defective castings, scoriæ and refuse of smelting
furnaces. In the Gross collection there is a circular cake of tin with
a small ring for suspension similar to a leaden cake figured from
Wollishofen (=Fig. 4=, No. 23). The huge mass of copper in the form of
a double celt (=Fig. 186=, No. 10) was probably for the same end, and
not intended as an implement at all.
In Dr. Evan's collection there is a remarkable bronze knife (=Fig.
190=) from Bourget, having the handle and blade made of one solid
casting, which appears as if it had just been freshly extracted from
the mould. It has evidently undergone no subsequent polish, and
still retains a thin irregular rim all round, corresponding with the
junction of the two halves of the stone mould.
It is not, however, to be supposed that I claim all the multifarious
objects found in the _débris_ of the lake-dwellings as products
of native art; on the contrary, I believe there are many objects,
especially the more complicated and ornamental, which can be traced
to foreign sources. But on the other hand the mere inspection of the
extensive assortment of foundry materials, especially the variety of
moulds which include swords (B. 282, Pl. liv. Fig 2, and B. 392, Pl.
xxix. Fig. 11), daggers, spears, knives, sickles, all kinds of celts
and chisels, bracelets, buckles, pins, rings, wheels, etc., leaves
no doubt that the home industry in the manufacture of bronze was
extensive and skilfully conducted. Indeed, the skill and ingenuity
displayed in casting such a variety of objects can only excite our
astonishment. How the series of involved and massive rings of cast
bronze represented on =Fig. 10=, No. 1, was produced, is really a
mystery. A model of such an object made of wax if embedded in soft
clay, and subsequently hardened by exposure to heat so as to melt
the wax and thus allow it to escape, might supply the founder with
the requisite mould. But that this was the method adopted by the
lacustrian founder is, of course, a mere conjecture.
[Illustration: =Fig. 190.=--Bronze Knife (⅓).]
[Illustration: =Fig. 191.=--BRIDLE-BITS, HORSE TRAPPINGS, etc. All ⅓
real size.]
That the horse was now domesticated and under the control of the
lake-dwellers we have very circumstantial evidence in the discovery of
bridle-bits, various ornaments for harness, and even a wheel and other
mountings of a chariot or biga. For many years some curious and highly
polished portions of horn from 4 to 7 inches in length, and perforated
with three or more holes, one in the centre and the other at the
extremities, were among the unexplained relics of the Bronze Age
stations (=Fig. 191=, Nos. 3 and 4). The holes in these objects had a
worn appearance, and it was noticed that the direction of the central
aperture was always at right angles to those at the extremities. Their
use however, remained a complete puzzle till the year 1872, when a
remarkably fine and well preserved horse-bit of bronze was discovered
at Moeringen (No. 7). The similarity of these horn objects to the side
pieces of the bronze bit led to the conjecture that they were the
analogous parts of horse-bits made of horn. The subsequent discovery
of several other bronze bits, all of the same type, gradually
strengthened this opinion; but whatever doubt might remain as to their
function is now dispelled by the discovery at Corcelettes, in 1888, of
a complete specimen made of two tines of staghorn with a transverse
mouthpiece of bone (No. 1). Of the bronze bridle-bits found up to
this time only three are entire, but there are several isolated side
and centre pieces from the stations of Nidau, Moeringen, Auvernier,
Corcelettes, and Estavayer (Nos. 5, 6, and 9). It will be observed
that all the examples here figured (which include the most diverse
forms), though differing in some details, are of the same type. The
only marked difference in the two entire specimens is that one (No. 7)
has the mouthpiece divided in the middle, whereas the other (No. 8) is
one solid piece. This latter was found at Corcelettes and is now in
the Lausanne Museum. The third entire specimen, which was also found
at Corcelettes, appears from its illustration (B. 462) to be identical
with No. 8.
According to Dr. Gross, No. 7 was made in one casting, thus proving
the perfection to which bronze working was carried. All these
specimens of horse-bits, so far as can be judged from the breadth of
the mouthpiece, indicate very small horses, No 7 being 3½ inches
between the side pieces, and No. 8 rather less than 4 inches.
The entire bridle-bit of horn is even still smaller, being only 2¾
inches wide. It is thus described by Dr. Brière (B. 461):--
"Cette intéressante pièce, en parfait état de conservation, se compose
de 2 branches en bois de cerf, percées chacune de 3 trous evidées à
la partie supérieure sur un profondeur de 3 centimètres et mesurant
18 centimètres de longeur, reliées entre' elles par la barre du mors
qui est en os et mesure exactement 7 centimètres entre les 2 branches.
Cette barre en os est creuse et pour assujettir la pièce aux branches,
on a enfoncé de petits coins en corne de cerf pour combler le vide et
pour la rendre solide."--_Antiqua_, 1888, p. 37.
Judging from the frequency with which the isolated side-pieces of
bridle-bits made of horn have been found on almost all the bronze
stations, no less than 12 being now preserved in the Munich Museum
from Starnberg, and 14 in the Lausanne Museum from Corcelettes, the
horse must have been common among the lake-dwellers. It will also be
remembered that similar objects have been found in the terremare, and
Dr. Carlo Boni thinks that a piece of rope was used instead of the
stiff mouthpiece in the manner shown in No. 2.
There are various other objects which are supposed to have been used
as ornaments for horse harness, such as the _phaleræ_ or bronze discs,
rings, knobs, etc. The former (Nos. 11 to 13) are often slightly
convex on one side and decorated with circles or small knobs formed
in repoussé work, and on the other side there is a small loop for
fastening it. Several horn and bone discs, especially those from
Starnberg (=Fig. 36=, Nos. 24 and 30) suggest a similar usage.
Two curious bronze objects (=Fig. 191=, No. 10) found on the eastern
shore of Lake Neuchâtel, one at Chevroux and the other at Estavayer,
together with portion of a hollow tube of a similar style of
ornamentation, remained for a long time unexplained. However, coupled
with the bronze wheel found at Cortaillod (=Fig. 10=, No. 17) Dr.
Keller showed that they were the handles and part of the top railing
of an Etruscan biga or war chariot. (B. 336.)
The use of the long pins of brass with sword-like handles
(_Säbelnadeln_) found on the stations of Wollishofen (=Fig. 4=, Nos.
9 and 10), Grosser Hafner (=Fig. 2=, No. 32), and the Grand City
of Morges, is not yet sufficiently understood. In 1886 Major v.
Tröltsch,[137] in a note to the Society of Anthropology in Berlin,
directed attention to the fact that an object of the same kind was
preserved in the Museum at Donaueschingen, which had been found in a
Burgwall (_Lagerplatz_) on the Hohenhöwen, "einem der vulkanischen
Bergkegel des Hegau's bei Singen." The object thus described by Major
v. Tröltsch is precisely similar to that here figured from the Grosser
Hafner (=Fig. 2=, No. 32). Its total length is 16½ inches, of which
the pin takes up 13 inches and the terminal ring 1⅜ inch. The stem
presents a square section, and in this respect it agrees with the
examples found at Zürich and Morges. Subsequently Dr. L. v. Rau,[138]
Mr. R Forrer,[139] and Mr. Heierli[140] contributed to the Society
some further notes on these singular implements, but without coming to
any agreement as to their function.
In addition to these bronze relics so numerously described and
illustrated in the previous pages, there are many objects which cannot
be classified under any of the previous headings, as their use is
unknown. Fragments of small hollow globes are supposed to have been
used as children's rattles. Examples of these have been found at
Moeringen made of pottery, two of which, now in the Museum at Berne,
are still perfect (=Fig. 193=, No. 9). Both objects are ornamented,
and contain inside a piece of hardened clay which, when shaken,
makes a jingling noise. In the Museum at Zürich there is, also from
Moeringen, a small pendant like a bell now used on horse harness
(=Fig. 189=, No. 17). Dr. Gross (B. 392, p. 75) describes a similar
object found at Auvernier (=Fig. 189=, No. 18) as a perfume-box
(cassolette). Among the more recent finds is the object represented
on =Fig. 192=, which is supposed to be part of a mirror similar to
those so frequently met with among Etruscan and Roman remains. (B.
420, p. 167.) We have already observed that on several of the Scottish
crannogs there were found some thin stones, highly polished and
circular or square, which are supposed to have been used for the same
purpose. These stones, when moistened with water and looked at in
certain conditions as regards light, are by no means a bad substitute
for the more perfect reflecting mirrors of the present day.
[Illustration: =Fig. 192.=--BRONZE MIRROR FROM PORT ALBAN (⅓).]
These great innovations following in the wake of the metals could
hardly fail to influence such a plastic art as that of the potter.
Accordingly we find a better quality of paste, greater variety and
elegance of form, and some approach to systematic decoration. There is
one new form quite characteristic of this age which, were it not for
the extreme elegance and harmony of all its parts, one would suppose
indicated a retrograde movement. This was a small water-bottle-shaped
vase, which, having a conical base, could not be made to sit upright
upon a flat surface without some kind of support. This support is
supposed to be a clay ring (=Fig. 2=, Nos. 2, 5, and 31), great
numbers of which have been found in the Bronze Age stations.
Ultimately colouring materials were introduced which considerably
enhanced the effect of ornamentation on the dishes. Besides systematic
patterns of recurring geometrical figures formed by lines in the soft
clay, we sometimes find similar patterns traced on the surface of the
vessels by means of thin strips of tin-foil made to adhere by means
of a kind of gum or asphalt. The vessels thus manipulated were of
extremely elegant forms, and made of a fine paste with a smooth black
surface. This custom was particularly prevalent in Lake Bourget, but
specimens have been found in some of the other lakes, as at Nidau,
Hauterive, Cortaillod, Montilier, Estavayer, etc., but it is extremely
rare in Eastern Switzerland. On =Fig. 193= I have shown a few
additional specimens of pottery. No. 1 is the quarter of a dish shaped
like a milk plate having a small flat base. It is perforated with
groups of holes arranged systematically as shown in the illustration,
and the inside is ornamented with a few incised circles. This dish, or
rather percolator, was found in Lake Bourget, and formed part of Mr.
Rabut's collection now in the British Museum. Another percolator, of
similar shape and size, differently ornamented, and having a slight
variation in the disposition of the grouped perforations, was found
at Montilier, and is figured by Keller. (B. 126, Pl. v. 26.) No. 2
represents the quarter of a dish of the same form as the above, but
without perforations. Its interior is adorned with strips of tin-foil
(here represented in white) producing a wonderfully complicated
design. This dish was found at Cortaillod, and is now in the Schwab
Museum, along with an extremely handsome wide-mouthed vase, also
from Cortaillod, the outside of which is similarly ornamented. In
the latter case the upper part of the vessel is surrounded by small
panels all having different designs made of circles, lines, and
crosses. (See B. 126, Pl. xvi. 1.) No. 6 is a vase with conical base,
from Hauterive, also adorned in the same fashion. In looking at these
vessels ornamented with tin it is difficult to make out the designs,
as the tin is now even blacker than the pottery. Hence, in Nos. 4 and
5, both of which are from Lake Bourget, the tin is represented by the
dark lines. No. 3 represents a fragment of pottery, now preserved in
the Museum at Aix-les-Bains, which shows how a broken dish had been
mended by passing two or three plies of a tough grass or rush through
a perforation on each side of the crack. After the fragments were thus
brought together one of the rushes was twisted in a spiral manner
round the others, evidently for protecting them from wear and tear.
The remaining Nos. (7 to 10) illustrate some toy dishes and children's
playthings from Moeringen and Auvernier.
[Illustration: =Fig. 193.=--Specimens of POTTERY of the Bronze Age.
Nos. 1 and 2 = ¼, and the rest = ½ real size.]
The spindle-whorls of the Bronze Age are generally made of
earthenware, and often highly ornamented, thus showing the improved
taste of the people.
Among the more notable objects peculiar to the Bronze Age are
certain polished stones, in the form of circular or oval discs with
a marginal groove (=Fig. 194=). These stones were formerly reckoned
to be sling-stones, but now they are generally recognised as potters'
implements, used probably for fashioning the bases of the dishes.
[Illustration: =Fig. 194.=--Discoidal Stone (⅓).]
There are many problems worthy of careful consideration suggested by
the facts disclosed in these pages, but in this rapid sketch I can
only refer to one or two in a cursory manner. First of all we have to
inquire if the lake-dwellers practised religious rites. In support of
the affirmative to this inquiry there are some indications, and the
few objects capable of such an interpretation are illustrated on =Fig.
195=. In this category I include the following:--
(1) The highly ornamented wooden sticks or _bâtons de commandement_,
from Castione (Nos. 1 and 2), and from Moeringen (No. 3). The only
perfect example (No. 1) is rather less than sixteen inches in length,
and the others do not appear to have been larger.
(2) The four remarkable bronze tubes with ring appendages from Lake
Bourget (Gresine). These, though differing in size and some other
respects, are all of one type, and were clearly conceived and wrought
out on a uniform plan, and for some specific purpose. The most perfect
of these objects (see page 102) appears to be complete, and consists
of an ornamental tube, surrounded by three rows of fixed loops, three
in each row, placed at regular distances, and to each loop there are
three loose rings appended, as shown in the illustration (No. 4). The
two previously illustrated (=Fig. 21=, Nos. 1 and 2) have only one
ring in each of the nine loops, and it does not appear that there had
been any more. The fourth, now preserved in the Museum at Chambery,
is nearly as large as the perfect one; but it is greatly worn, and
retains now only a few rings, some of the loops being broken or worn
through. It is illustrated by Perrin. (B. 282, Pl. lxiv. 1.)
(3) The ornamental reniform rings (_Schwurring_) from Morges and
Thonon (=Fig. 17=, Nos. 2 and 3), could not have been used as
bracelets, and Dr. Forel suggests that they are analogous to the
_armilla sacra_ on which the ancient Germans were wont to place their
hands when about to swear a solemn oath. (B. 286, p. 46.)
[Illustration: =Fig. 195.=--Objects suggestive of Religious Ideas.
Nos. 4, 9 to 13, 15 and 16 = ½; 1 to 3, 5 to 8, 14 and 19 = ¼; and
17 and 18 = ⅛ real size.]
In the Museum at Brunswick, in Germany, I noticed three of these
rings, one of which is almost identical with the one from Morges,
differing from it only in the details of the ornamentation; but of
their history and origin nothing seems to have been known. Another
is in the Museo Civico, at Turin, as well as a large circular ring
like that from the lacustrine station at Wollishofen (=Fig. 188=, No.
2), both of which have been figured by Gastaldi. (B. 294, Pl. xii.)
I believe it more probable that these large circular rings, though
generally considered to be bracelets, were used for the same purpose
as the reniform rings. Among the objects in the prehistoric and Roman
collection of antiquities in St. Ulric, at Regensberg (Ratisbon),
there is a large hollow ring of bronze, ornamented with three lines of
concentric circles, which measures six inches in external and three
inches in internal diameter, thus leaving one and a half inch for the
thickness of the ring. It was found, along with several other things,
in a pre-Roman grave (_Hügel-grab_) near Velburg.
(4) The clay images of animals found on several stations in different
parts of the lake-dwelling area, as well as those of the terremare
(=Fig. 84=, Nos. 23 and 24), and more especially the human images
from Laibach, are probably idols. On =Fig. 195=, along with four clay
figures from the lakes of Neuchâtel and Bourget (Nos. 9, 10, 13, and
14), I represent two of bronze (Nos. 15 and 16), which I noticed in a
collection from Bodmann, in the Steinhaus Museum, at Überlingen. One
of these was evidently used as a pendant, and the other appears to
have been intended for a human being. The clay figures from Laibach
(Nos. 5 to 8), though fragmentary, are undoubtedly representations of
the human body. Nos. 5 and 6 represent the back and front view of the
trunk of a female, while No. 7 shows a human body with a prominent
nose. These two figures are hollow in the interior, and richly
ornamented exteriorly with designs which are supposed to be imitations
of embroidered garments. Another of these human figures from Laibach,
as well as the image of a small animal, is represented on =Fig. 42=,
Nos. 11, 23 and 24.
The extraordinary number of implements and chips of nephrite found at
Maurach, and the equal predominance of flint refuse and implements
in all stages of manufacture at some of the other stations, as
Wallhausen, Nussdorf, etc., suggest the idea that the various
industries prosecuted by the inhabitants of the lake-villages had
already developed to such an extent as to become localised in certain
centres. Again, the localisation of certain industries, as comestibles
in one place, flax in its various preparatory stages in another, the
complete kit of foundry tools in a third, etc., all point to the
knowledge and practice of the principles of the division of labour.
That the lake-dwellers kept up commercial relations with foreign
countries is proved by their possessing materials, not only peculiar
to distant or limited areas, such as amber, jade, flint, etc., but
also certain objects having such peculiarities in form or style of
ornamentation as have enabled experienced archæologists to trace them
to their original areas of evolution. Thus at Corcelettes were found
an ornamental bronze dish, and portion of a fibula (=Fig. 189=, Nos.
19 and 20), which, when seen by Montelius in the Museum at Lausanne,
were at once recognised by him as of northern origin. (B. 348.) Dr.
Keller has also shown, as already stated, that certain bronze objects
found in the Lake of Neuchâtel, which for a long time remained a
puzzle to archæologists, belonged to an Etruscan carriage or biga. The
few fibulæ found in the Swiss lake-dwellings have also been traced to
their native habitats in Northern Italy.[141] The half-moon-shaped
flint knives, so characteristic of Scandinavia and Northern Germany,
have been found as far south as the Mondsee, and one solitary
representative (=Fig. 34=, No. 20), now in the Museum of Natural
History at Stuttgart, is said to have come from Schussenried station.
One notable fact about the distribution of lake-dwellings is
that their relics conform in style, ornamentation, and general
characteristics, to contemporary antiquities in the surrounding
districts; and I find no special characters in their industrial
remains that bind the lake-dwellers together as one clannish people.
The relics from the lake-dwellings of the Stone Age in Northern
Germany are readily seen to be closely related with those of the
Scandinavian archæological area. Whatever the original resemblances
and points of agreement of the founders may have been, they were soon
modified and adapted to the physical conditions and requirements of
their environments.
That continued attention was paid to the rearing and breeding of
domesticated animals during the Bronze Age is attested by their
osseous remains, which have been critically examined by such competent
authorities as Rütimeyer (B. 42), Studer (B. 404), Uhlmann (B. 336),
and others. While the lake-dwellers of the earlier Stone Age had
only as domestic animals one small species of dog, a small ox, a
horned sheep, and the goat, we find that towards the end of this
period and during the succeeding Bronze Age not only new and large
breeds were developed, but another was added to the list, viz. the
horse. From the remains of the domestic horse found at Moeringen
and elsewhere it appears to have been a small and slender-limbed
animal with small hoofs, and altogether much inferior to the wild
horse as hunted and eaten by the cave men of palæolithic times,
from which it is supposed to have been a direct descendant. When
the Aar canal was being excavated the bones of the smaller or
domestic horse were found associated with bronze objects in no less
than nine different localities, all of which agree with the above
characteristics. (B. 404.) The horse of the terremare, according to
Professor Strobel, presents the same characters as that of the Swiss
lake-dwellings, and as we have already seen from the bridle-bits and
other horse trappings, there can be no doubt it was also in a state
of domestication. I may also mention that a skull found at Auvernier
was believed by Rütimeyer, after most careful deliberation, to be
that of the ass. Professor Strobel has also recognised the osseous
remains of the ass in the terremare. (B. 389b.) The sheep diverged
considerably from its earlier form, and lost much of its goat-like
appearance, being now larger, and developed into various breeds. Still
more varied were the breeds of cattle, especially in the vicinity of
the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. The Bos primigenius appears to
have been tamed and crossed with the earlier type, giving rise to
a variety of breeds, such as _trococeros_ and _frontosus_, one of
which had wide branching horns, as is proved from its remains found
at Concise, Chevroux, Locras, etc. The small dog of the Stone Age
(_Canis domesticus palustris_, Rüt.) gave place to a much larger
kind, somewhat resembling our modern greyhound. The domestic pig also
appears to have passed through various evolutionary phases; but the
wild boar still retained its individuality intact. Dr. Uhlmann in his
report on the osseous remains from the Grosser Hafner, at Zürich (B.
336), describes three varieties of the pig, as well as three of cattle.
With the exception of the domestic fowl and the tame cat, the domestic
animals reared by the lake-dwellers were similar to those now extant.
Nor is there much change as regards the wild animals and birds then
prevalent. The animals that now frequent the higher Alps, such as the
marmot, chamois, and wild goat, are very scarce in the lake-dwellings,
showing that already nature had consigned them to the zone of their
present habitation. Altogether, with the more improved weapons of
the Bronze Age, there ensued, according to Rütimeyer, a marked
diminution in the relative proportion of the ordinary wild animals
of the chase, and a corresponding increase in those of the domestic
breeds. The great wild oxen, the urus and bison, disappeared from the
neighbourhood altogether.
Such progressive strides in agricultural pursuits are, however, not
discernible in the vegetable remains, notwithstanding the minute
investigations of Professor Heer. (B. 123.) From the very commencement
the lake-dwelling colonists cultivated flax, two or three varieties
of barley and wheat, millet and peas. The only addition that appears
to have been made in the Bronze Age were the oat (_Avena sativa_),
and the dwarf field bean (_Faba vulgaris_) of a strikingly small
size. On the other hand we have to note the absence of winter wheat,
rye, hemp, and most of the culinary and garden vegetables. Fruits
and berries were largely used as food, but there is no evidence
to show that they were cultivated. Among these the following have
been identified:--apples, pears, plums, sloes, one or two species
of cherry, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, hazel and
beech nuts, water-chestnuts, poppies, etc. Grape-stones from Wangen
were hesitatingly included in Professor Heer's list of fruits from
the lake-dwellings; but, as already mentioned, this doubt is now
diminished by the finding of grape-stones at Steckborn, another
station of the Stone Age. Stones of the grape were early recognised
among the _débris_ of the palafittes of Lake Garda, and quite recently
Mr. A. Goiran has identified those of the olive (_Oleo europæa_) and
peach.[142]
Bread was made only of wheat and millet, that of the latter generally
containing some grains of wheat and linseed. Cakes made of the seeds
of the poppy were also found at Robenhausen.
Various portions of the osseous remains of man, comprising the skull
and other portions of the skeleton, have been found in several
stations, as Meilen, Wollishofen, Grosser Hafner, Schaffis, Sutz,
Locras, Vinelz, Nidau, Wauwyl, Bevaix, Insel Weerd, etc. All these
remains have been more or less critically examined and reported on by
Virchow (B. 305 and 433), Studer (B. 419 and 432), and Kollmann (B.
420), but notwithstanding a number of minute measurements and learned
disquisitions, contradictory opinions are held by these scientists as
to the race or races of men that inhabited the lake-dwellings. Dr.
Studer advocates the theory of Troyon, that with the introduction
of bronze there was also a new race of people, and this opinion he
bases on the fact that at Sutz and Vinelz two kinds of human skulls
were found, viz. _brachycephalic_ and _dolichocephalic_, whereas in
the pure Stone Age stations only _brachycephalic_ skulls were met
with. Segments of the upper parts of human skulls supposed to have
been used as drinking cups were found at Gerlafingen (B. 392, p. 107),
Sutz, Schaffis, and Locras, and from the latter there was also a skull
having a circular portion of it cut out, as if trepanning had been
performed. (B. 336, p. 31.)
Although it is now pretty well established that in these prehistoric
times trepanning was practised as far back as the Stone Age,[143] it
does not appear that this skull from Locras (B. 336, Pl. v. 28) had
been operated on during the lifetime of the individual. Roundlets,
cut out of skulls, are supposed to have been used as charms, and
they are frequently met with in the graves of the period. From the
lake-dwellings two of these objects have been recorded; one from
Concise (=Fig. 185=, No. 20)[144] has two small perforations for
suspension, and another, with one hole, is figured by Dr. Gross.
(B. 392, Pl. xxiii. 65.) On the Trajan column a Dacian village is
represented having human skulls set on poles before the walls. (B.
164.) The finding of skulls of a different race in the lake-dwellings
might therefore be accounted for on the supposition that they were
trophies of their enemies and not those of the occupiers of the
lake-dwellings. Anatomical deductions from the few long bones of
skeletons that have come to light indicate, so far as the evidence
goes, that the Bronze Age men were of small stature--a conclusion
which is also supported by the small size of the handles of the swords
and other weapons of the period.
Professor Virchow in a long review of the craniology of the Swiss
lake-dwellers comes to the following conclusions (B. 433, p. 300):--
(1) In the stations of the pure Stone Age, brachycephalic skulls only
are known to a certainty to have existed.
(2) In the Transition period, both brachycephalic and dolichocephalic
are known.
(3) In the full Bronze period the skulls are more inclined to the
dolichocephalic type.
(4) The people of La Tène were of a highly mixed character, among
whom, however, brachycephalic types predominated.
The eminent Berlin anthropologist thinks that during the Bronze Age a
new people joined the original lake-dwellers by degrees, but not as
one great immigration subverting the previous order of things. This
opinion seems to be greatly strengthened by collateral circumstances.
We have already seen how gradually bronze was introduced among the
lake-dwellers. No violent disturbance of the previous conditions of
life is anywhere to be detected. The original system of constructing
lake-villages is continued exactly the same, and the only changes
are such as can be accounted for by the use of better implements.
The lake-dwellings of the Bronze Age are built in deeper water, and
consequently farther from the shore than those of the Stone Age, and
the piles are more slender, often stems split into two or four. The
steinbergs appear to have been discontinued, or were only used over a
hard and stony shore into which piles could not be easily driven. The
sites of the latest villages are on the same ground as, or in close
proximity to, those of the earliest ones. Remains of cottages are
still the same, viz. bits of plaster, with marks of round timbers,
and some hearth-stones. From Lake Bourget there are portions of clay
plaster of this character, ornamented with incised lines and the
impressions of groups of concentric circles (=Fig. 21=, No. 15) or
the swastika (=Fig. 195=, No. 12). Also from the same place there are
bits of clay tubes, the interiors of which are blackened with soot,
supposed to have been small chimneys (=Fig. 184=, No. 8).
In Eastern Switzerland and the Danubian valley the number of stations
greatly decreased during the Bronze Age, while in the Lake of Geneva
they rather increased, and in Lake Bourget its eight stations belonged
almost exclusively to this period.
The stations at Laibach, the Mondsee, Attersee, and Schussenried came
to an end in the Transition period, and to the east of Lake Constance
only one, viz. that in the Starnbergersee, continued during the
Bronze Age. In the lakes of Constance, Zürich, Neuchâtel, Morat, and
Bienne, they were also greatly reduced in numbers; but, on the other
hand, they occupied larger areas, and show a greater concentration to
selected localities, often the outlets of the lakes.
It was not till 1876 that any sepulchral remains bearing on the
question--how the lake-dwellers disposed of their dead--came to light.
In this year some workmen engaged in digging the foundation for a
house in the vicinity of the site of the lake-dwelling at Auvernier,
and some 50 yards from the shore, came upon a large flagstone
measuring 5¼ by 4¼ feet, which turned out to be the covering of
a stone coffin containing the remains of 15 or 20 skeletons. The
grave was constructed in the usual way by setting four large flags
on edge, which formed its sides, and over them a fifth was laid as
a covering. These upright flags were of granite and gneiss, and the
largest measured 6¼ feet long, 6 feet wide, and 11 inches thick. The
rectangular space thus enclosed measured 5 feet 3 inches long, 3 feet
8 inches wide, and 5 feet 10 inches deep. Dr. Gross, who superintended
the clearing out of its contents, states that the bodies had been
placed in a sitting posture round the grave, with the heads to the
walls and the feet directed towards the centre. External to this cist,
on two of its sides, there was another series of upright flags, which
formed two smaller chambers, and in one of them there were also human
bones.
The relics associated with this burial consisted of some perforated
teeth (boar, bear, and wolf); a small polished bone disc, perforated
(=Fig. 196=, No. 3); two small stone celts--one with a perforation for
suspension in the end opposite the cutting edge. Of bronze objects,
found actually in the grave, there were only three, viz. a plain pin
6¼ inches long (No. 1), a small ring (No. 6), and a bead which looked
like copper (No. 2).
Six feet to the east of this tomb, and about the same depth, the
workmen subsequently came upon the skeleton of a child buried simply
in the earth without any stone coffin, and near it were found the
following objects:--Two pairs of small oval bracelets (Nos. 4 and 5),
a curious pendant like a stud (No. 7), and an amber bead.
Two of the human skulls were sent to Rütimeyer, who pronounced them
to be of the _Type de Sion_, and identical with those he had already
examined from several lake-dwellings at Nidau, Meilen, Robenhausen,
and Wauwyl.
From these data it would appear that the tomb of Auvernier belonged to
the Transition period. (B. 286.)
In 1876 and 1877 several interments were found near the quay at
Montreux, some with, and some without, stone cists, and along with
them were associated various relics, as bracelets (Nos. 10 and 11),
hair-pins (Nos. 12 and 13), some pottery ornamented with geometrical
figures (No. 14), flint knives, a small stone crescent, and a horse's
tooth much smaller than those of our modern horse. (B. 336.) Again,
in 1884, some more tombs were discovered near the same place which
yielded objects of the Bronze Age, viz. a bronze pin, six bronze
bracelets (Nos. 8 and 9), and two or three urns (_Antiqua_, 1884, p.
101).
[Illustration: =Fig. 196.=--Objects from Tombs of the Lake-Dwellers of
the Bronze Age. No. 14 = ⅕, and the rest = ½ real size.]
Dr. F. A. Forel (B. 286, p. 48) describes "cimetières de l'époque
lacustre" in the vicinity of Morges and St. Prex. In the former
group some skeletons were found in stone cists, one of which had two
bracelets still adhering to the bones. "Ces bracelets," says Dr.
Forel, "qui sont actuellement au musée cantonal de Lausanne, et à
la bibliothèque de Morges, appartiennent incontestablement par leur
beau travail et leur ornamentation riche et très-caractéristique à la
belle époque du Bronze, à l'époque de la grande cité de Morges." In
the cemetery near St. Prex were found some thirty skeletons deposited
in free earth, and associated with them were some bronze ornaments
(une vingtaine de bracelets, épingles à cheveux, anneaux, etc.),
which, according to Dr. Forel, incontestably belonged to the _bel Age
du Bronze_. Moreover, in the very same place, and almost alternating
regularly with the free burials, there were urns containing ashes
and charcoal. One of these urns (still preserved at the date of Dr.
Forel's description, 1876), which measured 6¼ inches in diameter and
5 inches in height, presented all the characters of the pottery of the
lake-dwellings of the Bronze Age.
It is interesting to note here the association of the two modes of
burial in the same cemetery. That both systems were prevalent in
Switzerland, at least as far back as the Transition period, has
recently been shown by Mr. Heierli in his description of "Eine Gruppe
prähistorischer Gräber," and "Vorrömische Gräben im Kanton Zürich."
As the result of these investigations he proves that burnt bodies
were deposited under mounds, associated with clay vessels which were
ornamented with dots, lines, and string marks, precisely similar to
those on the vessels found at Vinelz.
As a further contribution to the subject, we have the prehistoric
graves at Chamblandes, near Pully, which, according to the late
Morel-Fatio, who describes them (B. 377),[145] belonged to the
lake-dwellers of the Stone Age. It appears that a cultivator, while
digging the foundations of a house, came upon a series of ancient
graves, at a depth of six or seven feet, formed of four flags set on
edge, with a fifth as a covering. Along with each skeleton were found
40 flakes of the tusks of the wild boar, pierced at each extremity.
In one a marine shell, also pierced by two holes, was noted. In the
following year further discoveries of similar graves were made in
the same place, and this time their contents were more carefully
examined. The sides were formed of four flags set on edge with an
additional one as a covering. On the average these cists measured a
mètre in length, and half this in breadth and depth, but one or two
of smaller dimensions were noted. When a single skeleton was found it
always lay with the feet towards the east. One, however, contained
four skeletons, and in this case the heads were in the four corners.
About the position of the breast some 40 doubly-perforated boar's
teeth were found, which must have been attached to the garments.
Besides these there were some perforated shells and two portions of
colouring matter, one yellow and the other red. Another tomb contained
a complete skeleton, and on the neck lay five doubly-perforated
marine shells, while near the head were four pieces of yellow and red
colouring matter, and two amulets of human skulls. Dispersed in this
grave were beads which looked like amber, but, according to some,
were coral. One grave contained a spherical hammer-stone, slightly
flattened; another had a perforated and beautifully made axe of
serpentine, 6½ inches long; and a third, that of a child (27 inches
by 13), had three small, flat, and circular pebbles, like unperforated
spindle-whorls, placed in the form of a triangle, and at one of the
corners of the grave were some charcoal and fragments of burnt bones.
According to Mr. Morel-Fatio everything found in these graves had
their exact analogues in the early lake-dwellings such as Chevroux.
Not far off, at Pierra-Portay and Châtelard sur Lutry, other burials
of the Stone Age were discovered, which also, in his opinion, belonged
to the Lake-dwellers (_Lacustres_).