Judging from the frequency with which the isolated side-pieces of bridle-bits made of horn have been found on almost all the bronze stations, no less than 12 being now preserved in the Munich Museum from Starnberg, and 14 in the Lausanne Museum from Corcelettes, the horse must have been common among the lake-dwellers. It will also be remembered that similar objects have been found in the terremare, and Dr. Carlo Boni thinks that a piece of rope was used instead of the stiff mouthpiece in the manner shown in No. 2.
There are various other objects which are supposed to have been used as ornaments for horse harness, such as the phaleræ or bronze discs, rings, knobs, etc. The former (Nos. 11 to 13) are often slightly convex on one side and decorated with circles or small knobs formed in repoussé work, and on the other side there is a small loop for fastening it. Several horn and bone discs, especially those from Starnberg ([Fig. 36], Nos. 24 and 30) suggest a similar usage.
Two curious bronze objects ([Fig. 191], No. 10) found on the eastern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, one at Chevroux and the other at Estavayer, together with portion of a hollow tube of a similar style of ornamentation, remained for a long time unexplained. However, coupled with the bronze wheel found at Cortaillod ([Fig. 10], No. 17) Dr. Keller showed that they were the handles and part of the top railing of an Etruscan biga or war chariot. (B. 336.)
The use of the long pins of brass with sword-like handles (Säbelnadeln) found on the stations of Wollishofen ([Fig. 4], Nos. 9 and 10), Grosser Hafner ([Fig. 2], No. 32), and the Grand City of Morges, is not yet sufficiently understood. In 1886 Major v. Tröltsch,[137] in a note to the Society of Anthropology in Berlin, directed attention to the fact that an object of the same kind was preserved in the Museum at Donaueschingen, which had been found in a Burgwall (Lagerplatz) on the Hohenhöwen, "einem der vulkanischen Bergkegel des Hegau's bei Singen." The object thus described by Major v. Tröltsch is precisely similar to that here figured from the Grosser Hafner ([Fig. 2], No. 32). Its total length is 16½ inches, of which the pin takes up 13 inches and the terminal ring 1⅜ inch. The stem presents a square section, and in this respect it agrees with the examples found at Zürich and Morges. Subsequently Dr. L. v. Rau,[138] Mr. R Forrer,[139] and Mr. Heierli[140] contributed to the Society some further notes on these singular implements, but without coming to any agreement as to their function.
Fig. 192.—Bronze Mirror
from Port Alban (1⁄3).
In addition to these bronze relics so numerously described and illustrated in the previous pages, there are many objects which cannot be classified under any of the previous headings, as their use is unknown. Fragments of small hollow globes are supposed to have been used as children's rattles. Examples of these have been found at Moeringen made of pottery, two of which, now in the Museum at Berne, are still perfect ([Fig. 193], No. 9). Both objects are ornamented, and contain inside a piece of hardened clay which, when shaken, makes a jingling noise. In the Museum at Zürich there is, also from Moeringen, a small pendant like a bell now used on horse harness ([Fig. 189], No. 17). Dr. Gross (B. 392, p. 75) describes a similar object found at Auvernier ([Fig. 189], No. 18) as a perfume-box (cassolette). Among the more recent finds is the object represented on [Fig. 192], which is supposed to be part of a mirror similar to those so frequently met with among Etruscan and Roman remains. (B. 420, p. 167.) We have already observed that on several of the Scottish crannogs there were found some thin stones, highly polished and circular or square, which are supposed to have been used for the same purpose. These stones, when moistened with water and looked at in certain conditions as regards light, are by no means a bad substitute for the more perfect reflecting mirrors of the present day.
These great innovations following in the wake of the metals could hardly fail to influence such a plastic art as that of the potter. Accordingly we find a better quality of paste, greater variety and elegance of form, and some approach to systematic decoration. There is one new form quite characteristic of this age which, were it not for the extreme elegance and harmony of all its parts, one would suppose indicated a retrograde movement. This was a small water-bottle-shaped vase, which, having a conical base, could not be made to sit upright upon a flat surface without some kind of support. This support is supposed to be a clay ring ([Fig. 2], Nos. 2, 5, and 31), great numbers of which have been found in the Bronze Age stations. Ultimately colouring materials were introduced which considerably enhanced the effect of ornamentation on the dishes. Besides systematic patterns of recurring geometrical figures formed by lines in the soft clay, we sometimes find similar patterns traced on the surface of the vessels by means of thin strips of tin-foil made to adhere by means of a kind of gum or asphalt. The vessels thus manipulated were of extremely elegant forms, and made of a fine paste with a smooth black surface. This custom was particularly prevalent in Lake Bourget, but specimens have been found in some of the other lakes, as at Nidau, Hauterive, Cortaillod, Montilier, Estavayer, etc., but it is extremely rare in Eastern Switzerland. On [Fig. 193] I have shown a few additional specimens of pottery. No. 1 is the quarter of a dish shaped like a milk plate having a small flat base. It is perforated with groups of holes arranged systematically as shown in the illustration, and the inside is ornamented with a few incised circles. This dish, or rather percolator, was found in Lake Bourget, and formed part of Mr. Rabut's collection now in the British Museum. Another percolator, of similar shape and size, differently ornamented, and having a slight variation in the disposition of the grouped perforations, was found at Montilier, and is figured by Keller. (B. 126, Pl. v. 26.) No. 2 represents the quarter of a dish of the same form as the above, but without perforations. Its interior is adorned with strips of tin-foil (here represented in white) producing a wonderfully complicated design. This dish was found at Cortaillod, and is now in the Schwab Museum, along with an extremely handsome wide-mouthed vase, also from Cortaillod, the outside of which is similarly ornamented. In the latter case the upper part of the vessel is surrounded by small panels all having different designs made of circles, lines, and crosses. (See B. 126, Pl. xvi. 1.) No. 6 is a vase with conical base, from Hauterive, also adorned in the same fashion. In looking at these vessels ornamented with tin it is difficult to make out the designs, as the tin is now even blacker than the pottery. Hence, in Nos. 4 and 5, both of which are from Lake Bourget, the tin is represented by the dark lines. No. 3 represents a fragment of pottery, now preserved in the Museum at Aix-les-Bains, which shows how a broken dish had been mended by passing two or three plies of a tough grass or rush through a perforation on each side of the crack. After the fragments were thus brought together one of the rushes was twisted in a spiral manner round the others, evidently for protecting them from wear and tear. The remaining Nos. (7 to 10) illustrate some toy dishes and children's playthings from Moeringen and Auvernier.