LAKE OF MORAT (MURTEN).
Lying directly between the lakes of Neuchâtel and Morat there stretches a considerable elevation called Mount Vully, which ends abruptly at its north-west end on the margin of the Gross Moos. At the base of this declivity lies the Broye, and as the widening and deepening of its channel was part of the great scheme for the Correction des Eaux du Jura, a similar effect was produced on Lake Morat as on the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. Previous to the lowering of its waters, however, the lake-dwelling stations along its shores were carefully examined by Colonel Schwab, Baron von Bonstetten, and the Count de Pourtalès, the proprietor of an estate on its western shore.
In Keller's 5th report (B. 61) the number of stations in this lake was given as 16, and since then one or two more have been added to the list. Many of these were, however, mere indications which, on the lowering of the level of the water, have turned out to be only stone cairns supposed to have been landing-places. According to the most recent researches of Mr. Süsstrunk (B. 336 and 462), the number may be reduced to 11, the positions of which are sufficiently defined on the accompanying [Sketch Map]. They belonged mostly to the Stone Age period, and only three, viz. Montilier, Greng-Insel, and Vallamand survived during the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age.
Montilier.—The first station of importance, beginning on the east side of the lake, was situated a little to the north of the present village of Montilier. It contained a steinberg, and the piles were stout and firmly fixed. Here Colonel Schwab found not only objects of the Stone Period, such as flint knives, stone hatchets, etc., but also an unusually large number of handsome earthenware vessels presenting a style of ornamentation which at once led him to assign the settlement to the Bronze Age—a deduction which his subsequent discoveries completely justified. These vessels were neatly finished, and had their surface sometimes rubbed over with charcoal or graphite, a process which gave them a glossy appearance. They were made without the intervention of the wheel, and from not giving out a ringing sound when struck with a hard substance, Colonel Schwab concluded they had been burnt in open fires. The ornamentation consisted of deeply incised lines, circles, triangles, etc., filled with a white chalky substance. In some instances strips of tin were plastered over the surface, which took the place of the linear incisions, and so presented a pleasing combination of the same principles of ornamentation. The forms of the vessels are extremely elegant and varied, and may be classed as cups, bowls, plates, jars, and jugs. Some have handles, others spouts springing from the middle of the bulge, and others a series of symmetrical perforations, but whether for ornament or use it is difficult to decide. One most remarkable dish like a saucer has its inner surface ornamented with linear incisions and a series of thirty symmetrically disposed groups of perforations. The colour of this pottery was either black, red, or grey, and sometimes the same dish had a combination of these colours. Spindle-whorls of diversified forms, and ornamented with dots, oval depressions, etc., were also abundant, (B. 126, Pl. iv. and v.)
Among the other Bronze Age antiquities collected here were some stone moulds, hair-pins, hatchets, knives, armlets, rings, sickles, fish-hooks, beads of glass and amber, a small flat finger-ring of gold, etc. There was also portion of an armlet of tin. The bronze knives were not numerous, but one was highly ornamented with a series of three flowing patterns of semicircles separated by incised lines which ran along its curved back.
No swords or bronze dishes are recorded from this station; and of three bronze hatchets in the Murten Museum, of the usual winged type, one has the loop transverse to the cutting edge, and a portion of its wooden handle still remains between the wings.
Murten.—This station lies a little above the monument of the battle of Murten. It is of considerable size, and has yielded a large quantity of Stone Age objects, such as large perforated stone axes, staghorn hammers, flint arrow-heads, lumps of carbonised wheat and many other seeds, weaving-weights, and also bits of burnt cloth. The station is now completely worked out. (B. 61 and 462.)
Meyriez (Merlach).—This station belongs to the early Stone period, and no perforated axes are among its relics. Among the few things collected on its site the following may be mentioned:—Bits of cloth, burnt corn, stone hatchet in wooden handle, another hatchet of jade, etc. The woodwork was very rotten, and the piles could hardly be distinguished. A canoe with ribbed floor (now in the Fribourg Museum) was found in the vicinity of the station. (B. 462.)
Greng-Insel.—This settlement was situated at the end of a low tongue of land which projected into the lake, and covered an area of 49,000 square feet. Near the shore the relics were entirely of the Stone Age, but farther out in the lake they became mixed with bronze and even iron objects. During low water, previous to the Correction des Eaux du Jura, a considerable portion of this station could be visited on dry land, but now it is entirely dry. In its vicinity are several stone cairns which have greatly puzzled antiquaries, as no relics have been found on them. Piles were observed in two of them—one lying to the north-east and the other to the south-west of it.
When this station was first investigated (1861-2), it yielded a number of perforated hammers and hatchets (some showing unfinished perforations), six flint knives, corn-crushers, a stone mortar, a bronze ring, a hair-pin, and several implements of iron. (B. 61.)
Subsequently the proprietor, Count de Pourtalès, with the co-operation of the local archæologists, made further excavations, which proved that it essentially belonged to the Stone Age. From Dr. Uhlmann's Report (1865), it appears that the relic-bed was from 1 to 4 feet below gravel and matted roots. The piles were generally of oak-stems as thick as a man's arm or leg, and some were as much as 1 foot in diameter, but when they reached this size they were generally split. They were irregularly set, and penetrated deeply into the mud below. They were of a blackish colour, well preserved, and apparently pointed with stone axes. Among the relics collected were daggers, saws, and arrow-heads of flint, beautifully made ([Fig. 14], No. 9); stone celts, neatly bored; implements of bone, as chisels, pointers, etc., and staghorn haftings.
Fragments of pottery showed two qualities—a reddish thick earthenware, badly burnt, and a finer quality with some linear ornamentation.
The bones turned up were very numerous; among which Dr. Uhlmann recognised those of the following animals:—Urus (a large variety of horned cattle) and the small marsh cow. The sheep-bones indicated a large race with strong horn cores bent backwards and outwards; but those of the goat belonged to a more slender animal; stag, elk, and roe-deer. Amongst the carnivora were the great bear, the teeth of which were perforated for suspension, the dog (larger than at Moosseedorf), fox, hedgehog, and beaver. Bones of the frog, and the scales and bones of a fish, probably a species of pike. Also there were several portions of skulls and other human bones.
Among vegetal remains were hazel and beech nuts, stones of the sloe and birdcherry; seeds of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries; and carbonised masses of wheat. (B. 126.)
When the station became dry in 1874, in consequence of the drainage-works, it was again investigated by Mr. Süsstrunk, on behalf of the town of Morat and the Canton of Fribourg. Among the objects then found were two flat celts, the composition of which, according to Dr. v. Fellenberg's analysis, was a mixture of carbonate of copper and sulphur, without any traces of tin. Among other things were buttons and haftings of staghorn; a conical stone set in a long hafting of staghorn; some netting-needles of wood, etc. (B. 286.)
Since then a considerable number of the usual class of bronze objects as hatchets, knives, hair-pins, fish-hooks, rings, etc., have been found on this station. (B. 462.) Noteworthy is a knife, partly of bronze and partly of iron ([Fig. 14], No. 1).
Among the objects in the Museum at Morat are clay weights, dishes of pottery (Nos. 13 and 15), staghorn haftings (some with a slit at their handle-end); a curious object of staghorn, like a large earring (No. 17); beautifully worked flint daggers (No. 9), and a large number of bone chisels, pointers, etc. In the Museum at Bern there is a mould for a flat celt, with the casting still in its case, like one in the Museum at Stuttgart from the Ueberlingersee.
Greng-Mühle.—The next station following in the same direction is a large and prolific station of the Stone Age, with staghorn implements predominating among its relics. The perforated stone axes are wanting. (B. 462.)
Faoug (Pfauen).—Near the railway station, in the course of digging a well, the relic-bed of a pile-dwelling belonging to the Stone Age was encountered, but its contents have not yet been excavated. A little to the west of this in the lake some bronze objects were found associated with piles, but these relics are supposed to have come from Vallamand. (B. 462.)
Near Faoug there was observed a curious wooden structure, which Dr. Keller suggested might have been a circular lake-dwelling, like the Irish crannogs. Mr. Süsstrunk wrote a short notice of it (B. 336), in which he comes to the conclusion that it was more likely to be in connection with fishing than with the Pfahlbauten. It consisted of seven concentric circles of slender piles, separated by an interval of from 2 to 3 feet. The diameter of the largest circle was hardly 14 yards, so that little space was left in the interior for any supposed dwelling. The outer circle was formed of boards, about 10 inches broad and 2 inches thick, standing on end, and penetrating the soil to the depth of 3 feet or so, and so closely set as to be almost touching. The piles in the other circles were round and small, and their ends penetrated only 18 inches into the earth.
Vallamand.—This station was extremely rich in Bronze Age objects, and was known to Colonel Schwab, who found many vessels, clay rings, discoidal stones, a bronze earring, and a bronze shallow plate, about 10 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. One of the fictile dishes (No. 16) is shaped like a water-bottle, and has its neck perforated with a number of small holes arranged at uniform distances and so as to be in perpendicular line. From each hole a circular line runs round the neck. (B. 61, p. 49.)
The station was finally explored in the interests of the Museum of Lausanne, where there is now a splendid collection of its relics. Some things, however, have gone to the Museum at Bern and to that in the castle ruins at Avenches. One of the most interesting objects from this station is a razor in its wooden case (No. 8). In the Lausanne Museum the objects are marked Guévaux, and among them are the following:—Of bronze—four winged celts with side loops (two of which have a terminal catch), three large hollow rings with linear ornamentations, one bracelet, two cups ornamented with small repoussé prominences, six sickles (two with a back spur and one with an upright spur), a large cup-shaped head of a pin like the one from Wollishofen ([Fig. 3], No. 9) several pendants ([Fig. 14], No. 10), involved rings (Nos. 2 and 4), gouges, buttons (No. 7), studs, 1,300 rings found together, combs (Nos. 11 and 12), and a curious rod hooked at the ends and perforated (No. 5). A fish-hook with attachments (No. 3), a pin with attached chain (only a portion of which is here represented, No. 21), and a curious ornamented dagger, are from other collections.
Fig. 14.—Vallamand and Greng-Insel (1, 9, 13, 15, and 17). Pottery = 1⁄4, the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
A few specimens of pottery (Nos. 14 and 18) and an ornanamented horn (No. 20) complete the illustrations from this station.
Guévaux, etc.—The four stations on this part of the coast—viz. Guévaux, Mür, Motier, and Sugiez-Zollhaus—have furnished only a few traces of their existence, from which it would appear that they belonged to the pure Stone Age.
The group of well-preserved piles at the mouth of the Chandon was probably a Roman landing-stage, as Roman tiles have been found along with them.
At Nant were found two kettles, one of bronze and the other of copper with an iron ring, two daggers, some iron arrow-heads, and a piece of sculptured marble, evidently of a later period than the lake-dwellings.
Of the remaining eight or nine cairns whose tops were occasionally above water, none have yielded industrial relics, and there is consequently no evidence as to their age and use. They are too small to admit of even a single hut. (B. 462.)