LAKE OF GENEVA.
Leaving the great Jura chain of lakes we come, after a short journey through an upland glacial valley, to the Rhone basin and the Lake of Geneva. On the supposition that this was the route followed by the lake-dwelling founders, the first and most natural position for a settlement would be the bay of Morges; and it is somewhat singular that in this very place one of the largest and most instructive settlements on this lake flourished for successive ages. Here, within a few hundred yards of each other, three sites have been discovered, whose respective remains mark the progressive stages of civilisation evinced in the Stone Age, the transition period, and the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age. It will be therefore of importance to examine carefully the facts disclosed by the repeated examination of these typical stations before referring to the others in this lake. Nor in selecting it am I deviating from the order of discovery, as it was the earliest known and first examined in this part of Switzerland, after Keller's observations and researches at Ober-Meilen had roused the curiosity of antiquaries in the matter.
The existence of piles in the bay of Morges was known to fishermen for a long time, but of course their significance was not understood. However, on the 22nd of May, 1854, Messrs. Morlot and Troyon examined the locality, and speedily demonstrated, by the finding of actual industrial remains, that this had been the site of a habitation lacustre. The part of the bay in which these piles were observed was about 500 feet from the shore, and in a depth of water which varied from 8 to 10 feet, even when the lake was at its lowest. Under these circumstances it will be readily seen that it was no easy matter to make investigations; but, notwithstanding the difficulties involved, there was no lack of energy among the local archæologists, who for many years systematically prosecuted the work of fishing up, by means of hand-dredgers, nippers, etc., the submerged remains of these lacustrine villages. Foremost among these explorers were the MM. Forel, of Morges, father and son, whose reports and rich collection of antiquities have chiefly supplied the facts now communicated.
When Troyon (1860) published his well-known book on the lake-dwellings (B. 31), considerable progress had been made in the exploration of the station, and from the richness of the finds it got the name of "La grande Cité de Morges;" but it had not yet been ascertained that there were three separate stations, much less that these stations represented different periods. According to Troyon, most of the piles were of oak, and some had planchettes to prevent them sinking too far in the mud. A portion of one of these supports measured 13½ inches long, 4 inches broad, and 1 inch thick; and contained two square-cut holes 1½ inch in diameter and 4 inches apart. The relics found up to this period were of much interest. Among them were bronze hatchets 4 to 7 inches long, mostly of the winged type, only one having a socket. Of 13 knives, nine had tangs and four had sockets. Two swords, one of which, with flat handle, was whole; two socketed lance-heads; several bracelets of different kinds; and a bronze mould for casting celts[20] ([Fig. 17], No. 8). Pottery, clay rings for supports, discoidal stones with marginal grooves, spindle-whorls, a couple of canoes, etc. Subsequently the MM. Forel began to distinguish the respective stations, to which they gave the following names:—(1) "La grande Cité de Morges," (2) "La Station des Roseaux," and (3) "La Station de l'Église."
Fig. 17.—Morges, Thonon (1, 2, 9, 10, and 16 to 18), and St. Prex (12). Nos. 7 and 8 = 1⁄4, the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
(1) The Grand City was some 500 feet from the shore, and occupied an area 1,200 feet long by 100 to 150 feet broad. The stumps of its thickly-studded piles were visible in the water never less than 8 to 10 feet deep, and among them were detected some cross-beams, and a canoe, 2 feet wide, with its prow sticking out of the mud. A large and miscellaneous assortment of relics was also collected. Over 450 bronze objects, says Dr. Forel, writing in 1876 (B. 286), were found on this station, and they all belong to the purest type of what Desor calls "le bel Age du Bronze," including swords, knives, sickles, hair-pins, bracelets, etc. One remarkable observation then made was that among 60 bronze winged celts (Nos. 13 and 14) there was not one single specimen of the flat kind. In 1866 two large reniform rings, one ornamented ([Fig. 17], No. 3) and the other plain, were added to the list of objects from Morges. Only one object of iron, viz. a poignard, analogous to one from Lake Bourget, was found. Among the osseous remains the stag, goat, sheep, horse, and pig, were identified.
The bronze objects from this station up to the present date are thus enumerated by Dr. Forel (B. 462, p. 55):—
Winged celts, 66; socketed celts, 6; chisels and gouges, 6; swords, 4; lance-heads, 19; knives, 61; sickles, 23; bracelets, 95; rings, 79; hair-pins, 256; divers, 23. In this total of 633 objects are included, probably under the head "épingles," five curious objects of bronze with handles similar to those from Wollishofen and Grosser Hafner at Zürich. (B. 280, p. 699.)
(2) About 450 yards from the northern extremity of the Grand City there was another settlement (Roseaux), of smaller dimensions, which has yielded objects essentially different from those of the former. Here, in marked contradistinction to the Grand City celts, there were 18, all of which were of the flat type (No. 15), and not one with wings or sockets. But, on the other hand, there were a few polished stone celts and flint objects, three small lances, and one hair-pin of bronze, and a few iron sickles of modern type. The pottery was also of a mixed character, showing fragments of dishes of a coarse and fine kind. The piles showed marks as if produced by metal tools.
(3) The third station (l'Église) lies between the shore and the Grand City, and is separated from the latter by a sterile band 220 yards wide. Here there is a decided steinberg, presenting the unusual feature of having 20 or 30 rectangular or oval spaces measuring 13 to 20 feet in diameter without any stones. The antiquities from this station were stone celts (of which 86 are recorded by Dr. Forel up to the present date), stone spindle-whorls, sharpening stones, and some fragments of coarse pottery; but no objects of metal of any kind.
(4) A fourth station is named by Dr. Forel as lying opposite the ancient poudrière of Morges, and containing a small steinberg, on which six stone celts and a few other objects of the Stone Age have been found.
The search for lacustrine remains in other parts of the lake was so actively prosecuted that Troyon could enumerate no less than 26 stations discovered during the six years prior to 1860. (B. 31, p. 31.) Since then their number, as recently corrected by Dr. Forel (B. 462), has increased to 44, notwithstanding that eight localities (viz. Villeneuve, Creux de Plan, Lutry, Pully, St. Sulpice, Yvoire, Amphion, and Evian) where supposed lake-dwelling remains have been found are excluded as doubtful or not verified by subsequent investigations.
Though no such fortuitous circumstance as the "Correction des Eaux du Jura" has come to the assistance of the lacustreurs of Geneva, they have amassed a very considerable quantity of relics. Only at a few stations, as Thonon and the Port of Geneva, have they benefited from dredging operations carried out for public works. From the results obtained during these favourable conditions, it is quite clear that an enormous quantity of antiquities, especially of the Bronze Age, still lies buried in the waters of this lake.
We shall now make a tour of the lake, jotting the various characteristics of the lake-dwelling stations as we move along. (See accompanying [Sketch Map].)
Above Morges are four stations, as follows:—
Station de Cully.—Some piles to the east of the town, but in water from 10 to 13 feet deep. Only a few isolated objects of stone and bronze have been recorded.
Station de la Pierre de Cour.—Near Lausanne, at a large erratic block known to bathers as Pierre de Cour, there are a few rows of piles in a depth of 13 feet, and at a distance of nearly 300 yards from the shore. A hair-pin and two small bits of bronze are the only relics recorded.
Station du Flon (Vidy).—A number of discoidal stones with marginal grooves, and some stone rubbers and polishers, are recorded from this station. (B. 22.)
Station de la Venoge.—To the east of the embouchure of the river, near St. Sulpice, and greatly covered by detritus.
Morges.—Four stations, already noticed.
Frai d'Aïgue.—In the gulf of Frai d'Aïgue, a little to the north of St. Prex, are three stations—viz. De Terreneuve, De Monnivert, and De Frai d'Aïgue—extending over a length of one kilomètre. They all belonged to the Stone Age, and represent probably parts of one and the same village. Mr. Colomb has collected more than 200 stone celts in various grades of manufacture in a space of 150 square mètres. From the same station there are in the Museum of Lausanne some 40 stone celts, a few flint flakes and knives, and a spindle-whorl.
St. Prex.—In the gulf to the south of St. Prex there is a station of the Bronze Age, the piles of which are to be seen in a depth of 10 or 11 feet of water. The station has yielded a considerable number of relics, some of which are deposited in the Lausanne Museum, viz. a flat bronze celt ([Fig. 17]. No. 12), clay support-ring, portions of clay crescents, seven stone celts, three or four fragments of pottery ornamented with curved lines and cable pattern (one fragment of black pottery is ornamented with tin strips), a bronze pin with spherical head, a large block for sharpening tools. The other bronzes known from the station are four knives, one bracelet, five rings, and 11 pins.
Rolle.—Situated opposite this town there appears to have been a lacustrine village of considerable size, which has yielded objects characteristic of both the Stone and Bronze Ages. Part of the area occupied with piles has been covered over by an artificial island, now bearing a monumental obélisque. Fragments of pottery of the same character as those from Morges, discoidal stones, hammer and sharpening stones, were among the relics.
Dr. Forel enumerates the bronze relics from this station as follows:—Two winged hatchets, one chisel, one lance, two knives, one sickle (now in the Lausanne Museum), one bracelet, 15 rings, and nine hair-pins. (B. 462.)
To the south of this is the Station de Beaulieu, of considerable extent, but poor in relics, only some 10 bronze objects having been found on it. (Ibid.)
Station du Châtaignier.—A small Stone Age station before the village of Dully. (Ibid.)
Station du Creux de la Dullive.—A great circular station of the Bronze Age, on which two winged celts, two bracelets, and a few rings and hair-pins have been collected. (Ibid.)
Nyon.—According to Dr. Forel (B. 286), there are two stations in the bay of Nyon—one at Promenthoux (Stone Age), to the right of the embouchure of the river; and the other (Bronze Age) to the north of the town of Nyon. Mr. A. Revilliod found on the latter station a remarkable object, consisting of 300 rings of bronze, from 7 to 8 inches in diameter, which became adherent to each other by a concretionary deposit from the lake. The total number of bronze relics from Nyon is 62, thus relegated:—Seven winged celts, one chisel, one lance-head, 10 knives, two sickles, 15 bracelets, 23 hair-pins, and three undefined objects.
We now enter the lower portion of the lake, where its breadth becomes suddenly contracted from 8 to 3 miles; and here it would appear that the lake-dwellers had thickly planted their peculiar villages on both sides of the lake. Along the shore, from Nyon downwards to where the Rhone makes its exit, and then up on the other side to the opposite point of Ivoire, Dr. Forel (B. 462) enumerates no less than 22 stations, in the following order:—
Station de Céligny.—Just before the landing-pier. Bronze Age.
Station de Coppet.—Discovered in 1874 by M. Magnin. Bronze Age.
Station de Mies.—Discovered in 1877, opposite the Château des Crenées. Bronze Age.
Station de Versoix.—A great station near the landing-pier. Bronze Age. Hatchets and knives of iron are said to have been found on this station.
Station de Bellevue.—Discovered in 1880, to the north of landing-pier. Bronze and Stone Ages.
Station des Pâquis.—Extends southwards from the jetty of the new port. Stone Age.
Station des Eaux-Vives.—Outside the port, along the suburb of this name. Stone Age.
Cité de Genève.—A vast station occupying the present port. Bronze Age.
Station de Plongeon.—At the northern end of the Station des Eaux-Vives, in a contracted spot, Dr. Gosse has found some 30 objects of iron, some of which resemble those of La Tène.
The last four are generally known as the Stations of Geneva, so that the lower extremity of the lake must have been actually studded with settlements. At the foot of the largest of the two well-known and superstitiously-revered boulders called Pierres à Niton were found, about the middle of last century, a knife ([Fig. 18], No. 5) and a celt of bronze of the flat type, which are still preserved in the Museum of the town. Near this was the Bronze Age station called by Dr. Forel "Cité de Genève," but sometimes described as the Station des Eaux-Vives. It would appear that there are two stations described under the latter name—one of the Stone Age, about 100 yards nearer the shore; and the other of the Bronze Age ("Cité de Genève").
The Cité de Genève is now the richest bronze station hitherto investigated in the Lake of Geneva. It occupied a horseshoe-shaped area, filling the entire space presently forming the port, and even sent a prolongation down to Rousseau's island. Dr. Forel estimates the number of bronze objects collected here at 1,500, being rather more than the total number from all the other stations in the Lake of Geneva.
At its northern extremity, next the Station des Eaux-Vives, Dr. Gosse came upon what must have been the site of a foundry. Here, in a confined space not exceeding 100 square yards, he fished up no less than 50 stone moulds, crucibles, ingots of bronze and tin, scoriæ, and other materials of the founder's art. (B. 462.)
Most of the objects of general interest from this station have been deposited in the Archæological Museum. Dr. Forel classifies those of bronze as follows:—25 winged hatchets, 19 socketed hatchets, four flat hatchets, seven chisels and gouges, four swords, seven lance-heads, 72 knives, 22 sickles, 75 bracelets, 230 rings, 1,000 hair-pins, and 60 diverse objects. In looking over this collection I made the following notes:—The socketed celts have the loop generally at right angles to the cutting edge. The knives are both socketed and tanged. Bracelets show a great variety of forms, but the solid ones predominate. Sickles have more frequently a raised button. The ceramic art shows the usual Bronze Age decoration of triangles, and the paste is of two qualities. Clay ring-supports, spindle-whorls, discoidal stones, etc., are very abundant. Among the odds and ends are to be noted pins with large perforated heads, fish-hooks, buttons, a large plaque with repoussé work of slightly-raised bosses, a rude image like a stag of bronze, a variety of pendants, small tin wheel-like objects in concentric circles, etc. A few of these objects are represented on [Fig. 18], all of which, except Nos. 9, 10, 12, and 13, are from this station and deposited in the Museum at Geneva.
Station de la Belotte.—A large station, rich in Stone Age relics. A couple of bracelets and a few rings and hair-pins of bronze, in all 21 objects, are among the treasures from this settlement, which comprise no less than 1,400 stone celts.
Station de la Pointe de la Bise.—Immediately to the north of La Belotte there is another station, said to be one of the transition period, owing to its having supplied a couple of flat axes. The only other metal objects are a few rings and hair-pins.
Station de Bellerive.—A large station yielding objects both of the Stone and Bronze Ages.
Gabiule.—Before the steamboat landing-stage are two stations—one of the Stone Age; and another, in deeper water, of the Bronze Age.
Station d'Anière (Bassy).—A small Bronze Age station in deep water.
We next come to a group of four stations, all within a compass of two miles, which are sometimes confounded with one another, and described as "Les Stations de Tougues." One is near Hermance, and is known as the Station de la Vie à l'Ane or du Moulin; a second is vis-à-vis de la Fabrique Canton; a third is opposite the Château Beauregard; and a fourth, Creux de Tougues, lies before the village of Chens. These settlements were all parallel to the shore, and their remains are in deep water. Their relics are of a mixed character, and would indicate that, while founded in the Stone Age, they subsisted during that of Bronze.
Fig. 18.—Geneva and Tougues (9, 10, 12, and 13). Nos. 6, 12, and 13 = 1⁄4, the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
The station at Creux de Tougues is the most important of the group, and it has furnished a large number of antiquities. It is about 130 yards from the shore, in a depth of water varying from 5 to 10 feet. Ordinary stone celts, 27 of which have been collected (B. 462), were found on the part next the shore. The collection of bronze objects consists of:—Four winged celts ([Fig. 18], No. 10), one flat celt, two socketed chisels, one sword, one lance-head, 21 knives, five sickles (No. 9), 14 bracelets, 120 rings, 170 hair-pins, and six diverse objects. Pottery from this station (Nos. 12 and 13) comes largely to the front, and in the Museum of Geneva there are fine specimens of plates, cups, vases, and other vessels of a fine black ware which, both in form and ornamentation, resemble those from the palafittes of Lake Bourget and others of the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Spindle-whorls, discoidal stones with a marginal groove, rubbing stones, etc., are also abundant. A peculiarly-shaped stone object known as "gorge de poulies" comes here to be noted. (B. 31, 281 and 462.)
Messery.—Piles are here seen projecting above the mud 2 to 5 feet, in a depth of about 12 feet of water. One of the piles pulled up by Troyon showed markings of a metal tool. Numerous fragments of pottery characteristic of the Bronze Age have been found, but only two objects of this metal, viz. a winged celt and a sickle.
Nernier.—Two stations are described in the vicinity of the village of this name. One, near the shore, and partly covered up with gravel, belonged to the Stone Age. Here Troyon observed some large piles in a depth of 6 feet of water, and others he found on the shore buried in the gravel. Among the objects collected are flint flakes, spindle-whorls, hatchets of serpentine (a perforated one is in the Museum of Annecy), some worked bones, etc.
The Bronze Age station is 600 yards to the west of the village, and 150 from the shore. The relics consist of pottery, spindle-whorls, ring-supports, etc. Among the bronze objects are:—Eight winged celts, two chisels, one sword, two lance-heads, three knives, three sickles, five bracelets, three rings, and five hair-pins. Among the rings is included a pendeloque, in the form of a large hollow ring, attached to which is a small ring for suspension.
Stations d'Excenevrez et de Coudré.—In rounding the point of Ivoire we come to a sheltered bay, into which a couple of streams discharge their waters, carrying down a considerable amount of débris, so that the lake-dwelling remains are here deeply buried. Traces of two stations have, however, been observed, one, station De Moulin-Pâquis, near Excenevrex, and the other, De Coudré, opposite Château Bartholoni, not far from the village of Sciex. Both appear to belong to the Stone Age, and in the latter, in 1874, 12 stone hatchets were found.
Thonon.—There were two separate settlements at Thonon. One (Stone Age), about 20 yards from the shore, was discovered in 1862, when the new port was being formed. The objects there collected were piles, flint implements, stone hatchets, spindle-whorls, and some coarse pottery.
The Bronze Age station was considerably in advance of the former, and in a depth of 3 to 4 yards. The settlement was extensive, and ran parallel to the shore, and from its remains a large assortment of relics has been collected. Being among the earliest discovered in the Lake of Geneva, it has been industriously searched by a number of well-known archæologists, as Troyon, Forel, Revon, Monod, Revilliod, Carrard, etc., and consequently its treasures are widely distributed. The bronze objects, according to Dr. Forel (B. 462), amount to 48, viz. 11 winged celts, two lance-heads, six knives, two sickles, 14 bracelets, two rings, five hair-pins, and six diverse objects. One of the knives, which is finely ornamented and one foot in length, has the peculiarity that the handle contains less tin than the blade ([Fig. 17], No. 16). Another knife was adapted for side-plates to be riveted on its handle (No. 11); while others were socketed and tanged (Nos. 17 and 18). Some of the hatchets have a side loop, and others are devoid of it. Among other things are a large ring, armilla sacra (Carrard), (No. 2); a pendant of three involved rings, together with various other pendants (No. 9). Among the pottery are fragments with perforated knobs, herring-bone pattern (No. 1), etc.; and some charming vases, clay ring-supports, etc.
There are thus, according to Dr. Forel, 11 stations of the Stone Age; three of the period of transition (i.e. with hatchets of bronze of the flat type), six with mixed objects, 19 of the Bronze Age, and one (Station de Plongeon) which furnished objects characteristic of the early Iron Age.
These notes have been collected from a fragmentary and widely-scattered literature, including the following original sources:—B. 22, 31, 34, 40, 121, 126, 138, 152, 280, 282, 286, 315, 377, and 462.