Part 25 (1/2)

FOOTNOTES:

[31] 'Pfahlbauten,' Zurich, 1854-1856.

[32] Various distinguished _savants_ have taken upon themselves the task of making known to the public the results of these unceasing investigations, and of bringing before the eyes of the present generation the ancient civilisation of the Swiss valleys. Among the works which have best attained this end, we must mention Troyon's 'Habitations Lacustres des Temps anciens et modernes,' Morlot's 'Etudes Geologico-archeologiques en Danemark et en Suisse,' and M. Desor's 'Palafittes, ou Constructions Lacustres du Lac de Neuchatel.' These works, which have been translated into various languages, contain a statement of all the archaeological discoveries which have been made in Switzerland.

[33] 'Les Palafittes, ou Constructions Lacustres du Lac de Neuchatel.'

Paris, 1865.

CHAPTER III.

Lacustrine Habitations of Upper Italy, Bavaria, Carinthia and Carniola, Pomerania, France, and England--The _Crannoges_ of Ireland.

It was difficult to believe that Switzerland alone possessed the monopoly of these pile-work-constructions. It was certainly to be supposed that the southern slopes of the Alps, which were all dotted over with large and beautiful lakes, must likewise contain constructions of a similar character; this, at least, was M. Desor's opinion. After the numerous pre-historic discoveries which had been made in Switzerland, the Zurich professor proceeded in 1860 to explore the lakes of Lombardy, being well convinced that there too he should find remains of lacustrine habitations.

The hopes he had formed were not deceived. Ere long, in fact, M. Desor obtained from the peat-bogs round Lake Maggiore piles and other objects similar to those found in the Swiss lakes. These researches were continued by MM. Gastaldi and Moro, who discovered in the peat-bogs round this lake several ancient villages built upon piles.

In the Lake of Varese, also in Lombardy, which was examined in 1863 by MM. Desor, G. de Mortillet, and the Abbe Stoppani, were discovered five settlements, some of which were of the Stone Age. Subsequently, the Abbe Ranchet pointed out four others, which raise to the number of nine the pile works found in this lake. In order to render due honour to MM.

Keller and Desor, who have contributed so much to the investigation and popularity of lacustrine antiquities, the Abbe Stoppani gave the name of these _savants_ to two of the settlements.

One of these isles is very curious, as it is inhabited up to the present day. It is called _Isoletta_ (”small island”), and the Litta family possess a _chateau_ upon it.

In the peat-mosses of Brianza, a portion of Lombardy situated to the north of Milan, the remains of lacustrine constructions have been discovered, together with bones, fragments of pottery, pieces of charcoal, and carbonised stone; also weapons, both of bronze and flint.

The Lake of Garda has been searched over by various explorers, who have discovered in it the sites of several lacustrine habitations. The authors of these discoveries are Dr. Alberti, of Verona, and MM.

Kosterlitz and Silber, two Austrian officers, who presented all the objects which they collected to the antiquarian museums of Vienna and Zurich. The traces of pile-works were first perceived when the works were in progress which were excavated by the Austrians in 1855 round the fortress of Peschiera; which proves, at least, that fortresses may occasionally serve some useful purpose.

A settlement of the Stone Age, which was examined by M. Paolo Lioy, is situated in a small lake in Venetia, the length of which does not exceed half a mile, and the depth 30 feet; we allude to the Lake of Fimon, near Vicenza. M. Lioy discovered oaken piles partially charred, which proves that the village had at one time been burnt down; also slabs of timber roughly squared, a canoe hollowed out of a trunk of oak, cakes of clay which had come from the sides of huts, and still bore the imprint of the reed-stalks, and no doubt formed a kind of coating inside the huts; various instruments made of bone, flint, sandstone, granite, and stag's horn; rings or spindle-weights made of burnt earth, numerous fragments of rough pottery, merely dried in the sun, and, among all these remains, a dozen entire vessels.

There were also found stores of acorns, nuts, and water-chestnuts, the fruit of the sorb-tree, some sloe-stones, &c. A large quant.i.ty of animal bones certified to the existence of the bison, the stag, the wild boar, the fox, and several other doubtful species. All the long bones were broken, as is usually the case, for the extraction of the marrow, but not with the ordinary regularity; they had merely been cracked by blows with stones.

The investigation of lacustrine antiquities which had been inaugurated in Switzerland could hardly stop short in its path of progress. Attempts were made to discover _palafittes_ in other countries, and these attempts met with success.

Thanks to the initiative action taken by M. Desor, and the liberality of the Bavarian Government, pile-works of ancient date have been discovered in six of the Bavarian lakes. Most of them go back to the Stone Age, but some belong to the bronze epoch. Among the latter we may mention the _Isle of Roses_, in the Lake of Starnberg, which is, in fact, an artificial island, like the Isoletta in the Lake of Varese. We have previously stated that this island has never ceased to be inhabited, and that a _chateau_ now exists on it.

The movement spread from one place to another. Austria made it a point of honour not to remain in the rear of Bavaria, and Professor Hochstetter was commissioned by the Academy of Sciences at Vienna to undertake a search for _palafittes_ in the lakes of Carinthia and Carniola.

These explorations were not without result. In four lakes of Carinthia, Dr. Hochstetter discovered piles, remains of pottery, bones, nuts, &c.

In the Lake of Reutschach, which was the most closely investigated, he discovered shallows formed by stones, similar to the _steinbergs_ of Switzerland. The marshes of Laybach have also furnished instruments of stag's horn, a perforated stone, and a canoe.

Next to Austria, Prussia took the matter up. Specimens of pile-work were discovered in several provinces of this kingdom; among these were Brandenburg and Pomerania, a district rich in marshes. In the environs of Lubtow the lacustrine constructions have the same characteristics as those of Robenhausen, on the Lake of Pfaeffikon (Switzerland). Two distinct archaeological strata may be distinguished; in the lower are found, all mingled together, bronze and stone instruments, fragments of pottery, wheat, barley, and charred peas; the upper stratum belongs to the iron age.

We have not as yet said anything about France; lacustrine dwellings have, however, been discovered in some of the departments which border on Switzerland.

The Lakes of Bourget and Annecy, in Savoy, contain several of them. The former of these lakes was thoroughly explored by M. Laurent Rabut, author of an article on the 'Habitations Lacustres de la Savoie,' which obtained a silver medal at the compet.i.tion of the learned societies in 1863. In the Lake of Bourget, M. Rabut ascertained the existence of five or six settlements of the bronze epoch, three of which, those of Tresserve, Gresine and Chatillon, have been distinguished as furnis.h.i.+ng numerous ancient relics.

The Lake of Paladru (Isere) which has been searched by M. Gustave Vallier, has afforded similar results. Pile-works are thought to exist in some other small lakes in the same district--those of Sainte-Helene, on the left bank of the Isere, Saint-Martin-de-Belville, and Saint-Marcel, near Moutiers. Pile-works have also been discovered on the site of an ancient lake on the banks of the Saone; and in a totally different district, at the foot of the Pyrenees, as many as five have been pointed out.