Pots and Dishes.—Of earthenware only a few fragments have come to light, and it is said to be of a totally different kind from that of the true palafittes. It is black and coarse, and shows no evidence of having been made on the wheel; but as to this there appears to be difference of opinion. (B. 428, p. 27, and 446, p. 48.) In addition to this kind, however, there are usually found on the surface of the peaty bed and in the superimposed gravel beds fragments of tiles, pottery, etc., the Roman origin of which cannot be mistaken; but such industrial remains, according to the explorers, are more superficial, and, consequently, posterior to the Gallic remains. (B. 428, p. 27.)
On the other hand, La Tène has furnished several large pots of beaten bronze, with rims and ring-handles of iron ([Fig. 92], No. 19), some bronze cups (No. 18), a large iron ladle (No. 20), and one or two chains with large hooks, probably pot-hangers (No. 1). The cup here represented was found on the shore in the vicinity of La Tène, but it is supposed to have come from this station.[45]
Fishing Materials ([Fig. 90]).—Among this class of objects are some large spears with two or three prongs (No. 14), fishing-hooks of bronze and iron (Nos. 39 and 40), and some implements like the iron tips of boating gaffs (Nos. 13 and 26).
Diverse.—Hammer-stones, polishers, and corn-grinders are like those used in the preceding ages.
3. Objects of Ornament and Dress.—As regards the objects coming under this category, if we exclude the fibulæ and torques, which we now know to have been worn by men as well as women, it is noteworthy that those peculiar to female adornment are extremely rare, if not entirely awanting—a fact which strongly supports the theory that this station was a military fort.
Fig. 91.—La Tène. No. 32 = 1⁄3, and the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
Fibulæ ([Fig. 91]).—The number of fibulæ from La Tène now amounts to several hundreds. They are all made on one principle, viz. that of our modern safety-pins. This principle is simply an evolutionary stage of the function of the straight pin, by which the point is bent round so as to meet the top after having subjected the stem to several twists so as to give it elasticity. In the part corresponding to the top of the pin there is a catch for the point when fastened. The ornamentation on the upper part and the number of spiral twists on the stem are so varied that each fibula has a distinct individuality of its own, and no two specimens exactly alike have ever yet been found. Their average size is from two to six inches in length, but sometimes they exceed this, as in one here figured (No. 1), which is 10½ inches in length. They are almost exclusively made of iron (Nos. 1 to 6), the exceptions being one or two of bronze (Nos. 18 and 26), and a small circular-shaped brooch of gold (B. 428, p. 28), which are somewhat analogous to those of the Hallstadt period.
Pins, Needles, etc.—The ornamental pins are few in number, and generally made of bronze. Of four here figured (Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 36) one has a double stem, and is so similar to some half-dozen found in the Pfahlbauten of the Bronze Age that it is more likely to be a stray object from the latter than a relic of La Tène. Nor is this at all improbable, as we have already seen that there were several of these stations quite in the vicinity of La Tène, the relic-beds of which have become almost entirely disintegrated by the waves.