The celebrated lacustrine station, La Tène, is situated at the north end of Lake Neuchâtel, just close to the present artificially formed outlet where the land end of its mole or dyke begins. Stretching from this point eastwards there is a gravelly elevation, some 200 yards long by 50 wide, which, before the "Correction des Eaux du Jura," formed a shallow part of the lake, and for this reason it was called among the fishermen La Tène (the shallows). As early as 1858, Col. Schwab discovered this to be the site of a rich repository of antiquities of a totally different character from those found in any of the hitherto explored Pfahlbauten. Subsequently Professor Desor directed his attention to the locality and made a collection of its antiquities, among which he announced some Gallic coins ([Fig. 92], No. 8) and a sword-sheath ornamented with the forms of three fantastic animals ([Fig. 87], No. 9). Further discoveries of its remarkable antiquities were made by M. Dardel-Thorens, who for many years, while resident superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum of Préfargier, situated close by, devoted his spare time to the investigation of La Tène. As the relics were associated with numerous piles there appeared to be no doubt among these antiquaries that the station was quite analogous to the ordinary pile-dwellings of the Stone and Bronze Ages, the only difference being that it represented a later age.
Notwithstanding the facilities for investigation afforded by the lowering of the waters of the lake in 1876, which had the effect of making La Tène dry land, nothing further was done till 1880, when M. E. Vouga, schoolmaster at Marin, interested himself in the matter. One reason for this neglect was the opinion that the whole area had been already so thoroughly examined by previous explorers, that nothing remained to be done. Before, however, describing the discoveries of M. Vouga, it will be necessary to look more minutely at the situation of La Tène and the nature of the substratum in which its antiquities were found.
In making a section through the La Tène elevation there is first encountered a bed of water-worn gravel and sand, varying in thickness from three or four feet to as many yards. This gravel had evidently been thrown up by the action of the waves, and in it there are no antiquities found, with the exception of occasional fragments of Roman pottery and tiles. Beneath this superficial gravel there lies a blackish bed of peat of considerable thickness, below which is the ancient lake sediment. It is on the surface of this intermediate mossy bed, and sometimes buried in it, that the objects characteristic of La Tène are found. From these stratigraphical glimpses of Natures workings it would appear that during prehistoric times the whole low-lying district from Préfargier to the lake of Bienne was a shallow bay, which became ultimately overgrown with marsh plants and peat to the extent of forming the "Gross Moos." Scattered throughout the deposits of this quiet bay, and especially along the waterway to Bienne, are frequently found antiquities belonging to all the three ages of prehistoric times previous to the occupation of the locality by the Romans, remains of whom are, of course, also met with. Professor Desor, and others who have carefully examined the locality from a geological point of view, account for the subsequent overspreading of La Tène as the combined result of two natural causes, viz. first, the elevation of the level of the lake owing to sedimentary deposits or accidental obstruction in the channels through which the surplus water found its escape; and, second, the gradual removal, by the action of the waves, of a protective barrier in the shape of a projecting moraine of sand and gravel, which stretched outwards from Préfargier in the direction of La Sauge, and sheltered La Tène for many ages from the action of the open lake. But whatever the explanation may be, it is certain that a considerable change has taken place since these sedimentary deposits of fine silt were formed, as at the present time the amount of gravel thrown up on the shore of La Tène is so great as to advance the beach at the annual rate of two or three yards; and this occurs notwithstanding that the level of the water, owing to the operations necessitated by the "Correction des Eaux du Jura," is even lower than it was when the neighbouring lake-dwellings of the Stone and Bronze Ages flourished.
Recent Explorations.—While M. Vouga was one day making excavations near a group of piles, which he considered to have been supports for a bridge, he came upon the foundations of a wooden house, and in the course of clearing it out he made the important discovery that it had been situated on the brink of a deep channel, which had subsequently become filled up with sand and gravel. The most natural explanation was that this channel was an ancient river-bed which, when the house was constructed, formed the outlet of the lake. With this idea paramount in his mind, Vouga determined to trace out its direction and bearings. About 20 yards farther up—i.e. in the direction of the lake—he came upon the remains of a second wooden house, with its foundation beams still in situ, and two of its containing walls (which had evidently fallen over) lying one over the other. Here the bank of the channel formed a steep descent of 10 feet deep. The floor of this structure was formed of two square-cut beams, each over 16 feet in length and 8 inches in thickness, having a series of closely-set mortised holes for transverse beams. Its breadth was 9 feet 2 inches, and it lay 2½ feet below the surface, and about 7 feet higher than the bottom of the river. The two sides of the building were formed of three beams corresponding in length with that of the flooring, and about 2½ feet apart, and having transverse mountings and a trellis-work of branches. One of these had apparently fallen into the river, as its end reached nearly to the bottom of the channel. Pursuing his investigations still in the direction of the lake, he came upon the remains of a third building, near which were the piles of a second bridge. The space between the two bridges was about 100 yards, and, judging from the position of the piles, this bridge was directed to the same point as the former—probably La Sauge, at the opposite corner of the lake. These bridges were supported on a succession of parallel rows of oak piles 4 to 6 inches in diameter, and placed at intervals of 3 to 20 yards; and each row contained five or six piles, from half a foot to 3 feet apart. About 50 yards above the second bridge a fourth dwelling was encountered, but it appeared to have been already pillaged of its contents. Near this our explorer proceeded to clear a portion of the bed of the river, and lying in the mud and gravel at a depth of 10 feet from the original surface he found a large quantity of antiquities—swords, lances, axes, chains, razors, various wooden implements, fragments of a large vase, the entire wheel and other parts of a chariot, together with the bones of men, horses, and oxen. A fifth building was subsequently discovered between the third and fourth, so that we have here the evidence of a row of five houses situated along the right bank of the ancient river, and all within a distance of 200 yards.
On the left bank of this supposed river only one habitation, opposite No. 1, was discovered, which M. Vouga thought had already been pillaged. It was reported that near this spot several human skeletons had been discovered, one of which had a rope round the neck! Below this the channel becomes deeply buried, and the superficial gravel attains the depth of some ten feet; but, nevertheless, Vouga succeeded in making excavations which decided the chronological sequence of the Roman and Gallic remains. "It was," says he, "in the midst of these gravels that I found the layer containing Roman remains—tiles and fragments of pottery, nails, etc.—at a height of two and a half to three feet above the Gallic objects." (B. 428, p. 13.) These Gallic objects consisted of the well-known fibulæ and other articles characteristic of La Tène, so that superposition clearly indicates the Roman occupation to be posterior to that of its original constructors.
M. Vouga believes that the channel, along the banks of which he found the remains of so many houses, was the right branch of two outlets which at that time existed, and which united lower down to form the Thielle. The left branch was nearer the rising ground towards Epagnier, but it is now covered over with gravel, and has never yet been examined. Some 300 or 400 yards lower down there are some gravel pits, which are occasionally worked for road metal, in which I saw in the summer of 1886 a great many piles, singly and in groups, cropping up through a black peaty deposit underneath the gravel. I mentioned the matter to M. Vouga, and he informed me that the few things found there indicate a Gallo-Roman period.
According to M. Vouga, the site of La Tène station extended from the south bank of the outlet to the small island formed by its two branches before they became united. The upper part of this island, now denuded of its peaty deposits by the action of the waves, forms part of the lake. This denuding process is still going on at the margin of the lake all the way from La Tène to Préfargier. Large masses of the ancient sedimentary deposits, containing piles and relics of the lake-dwellers, become undermined and broken up by the waves, leaving their more solid relics, such as stone hatchets, mixed with the gravel. These are often thrown up on the beach, and in this way many beautiful jade hatchets have been picked up from the sites of the four lake-dwellings now almost entirely disintegrated, which existed along the north shore from La Tène to Préfargier. It is in the gravel at the upper end of La Tène that most of the coins have been collected.
The success attending Vouga's excavations induced M. Borel, on behalf of the Museum of Neuchâtel, to make further excavations along the banks and bed of the ancient river discovered by the former, but without much success. Finally, in 1884, the Cantonal Government having granted to the Historical Society the exclusive right of conducting explorations at La Tène, this society undertook fresh excavations under the management of Messrs. Vouga and W. Wavre. During these researches portions of a gold torque and some gold coins were the principal finds. These coins are valuable inasmuch as they were found in situ, and not, as most of the others, among the shifting gravel.
From Keller's description (B. 126) of the earlier discoveries on La Tène it appears that Col. Schwab, on removing some large mortised beams, found many weapons and other antiquities all huddled together. In the light of Vouga's researches it is probable that this spot was a dwelling similar to those I have already described, as we are told that there were three beams of fir wood, from 15 to 20 feet long, lying parallel to each other and a few feet apart. These beams rested on upright piles, and contained a series of triangular holes as if for the tenons of wooden superstructures.
Relics.—Like the fate of most lacustrine remains, those from La Tène have been widely scattered. Many are deposited in the Cantonal Museums of Bienne, Neuchâtel, and Berne. The Gross collection, being now public property, finds also a temporary lodgment in a room in the Federal Hall in the latter town. A few, including some of the most interesting relics, have been secured for the Museum of Geneva. The largest of the private collections are those of Messrs. Vouga, of Marin, and Dardel-Thorens, of St. Blaise. With the exception of the articles in the possession of the latter gentleman (which are, however, copiously illustrated in Antiqua and the works of Vouga and Gross), I have studied more than once all these collections. As the principal objects have already been more or less described and illustrated in the excellent works of Keller, Desor, Gross, and Vouga, I wish here to acknowledge that in the production of the accompanying illustrations I have made free use of all these publications, either to rectify my own sketches, or (and this more especially) to give me the correct size of the objects—a point which is rather troublesome to attain through a glass case when, as it often happens as regards the smaller museums, authoritative officials may not be at hand to give access to the cases.