ARQUÀ-PETRARCA.
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.
Fig. 66.—Fimon (1 to 8), and Arquà-Petrarca (9 to 12). All 1⁄3 real size except No. 2 = 1⁄6.
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.