(3) Station de l'Abbaye.—A little farther on there is the site of another Stone Age station, presenting the same indications of an older and younger period, and also having the same relative position to each other as we have seen in the Stations des Vaux, viz. the older occupying a situation more advanced into the old lake basin. In front of these two stations, Des Vaux and De l'Abbaye, lie the remains of a large settlement of the Bronze Age, the piles of which, even when the lake is at its lowest, are still in several feet of water; it extends parallel to the shore, about 200 yards in length, and 160 in breadth. In addition to the relics found by the earlier explorers (Troyon, Desor, Vouga, Dr. Clement, etc.), and already noticed, the following bronze objects are recorded from the station, all of which are either in the private collection of the Messrs. Borel or in the scholastic museum at Bevaix:—
Six celts (one of which is socketed), portion of a sword scabbard, four chisels (some prettily ornamented), five sickles, twenty fish-hooks, three bracelets, two razors, 105 hair-pins (all sizes and forms), five pendeloques, two earrings, two buttons, two finger-rings, twelve large and 195 small rings, etc. Among the other finds are fragments of ornamented pottery, a clay support-ring, three glass beads, weights, sharpening stones, etc.
(4) Station du Chatelard.—This station contained a steinberg covering an area of 3,000 or 4,000 square yards, and was joined to the shore by a tongue of land, on which a series of stepping-stones were placed. The relics discovered on its site include some 200 stone celts (ten of which are jade), forty staghorn handles and fixers for celts, chisels, stone hammers, flint implements, etc. The special characteristic of the station is the appearance of the following bronze objects among these relics of the Stone Age, viz. a small perforated plaque, two hair-pins, four small daggers, three flat celts. Mr. Borel states that other celts of this type were found, one being to his knowledge in the possession of Mr. Rousselet, and one in each of the Museums at Neuchâtel, Bern, and Zürich. One here figured ([Fig. 10], No. 18) is from the Schwab Museum at Bienne. Hence this station belongs to the period of transition, and is in many respects comparable to the Station des Roseaux at Morges.
(5) Station du Moulin.—Proceeding about 600 yards farther west we come to an isolated station of the Bronze Age, the piles of which are still over 50 yards from the present shore; and before the lowering of the water its site would be covered by about 16 feet of water. Owing to the scarcity of relics on this station, the duration of the settlement is supposed to have been short. Desor found here some ornamented specimens of the large hollow bracelet. Mr. Borel has only one small specimen and a portion of a large one of this type. The other objects of bronze are a couple of fish-hooks and a few pins and earrings. Fragments of pottery are, however, proportionally more abundant, among them being a vase, of elegant form, and polished exteriorly by graphite. To the east of this station a fine canoe was found in 1879, measuring 26 feet in length, now deposited in the Museum at Chaux de Fonds.[8]
(6) Station du Port.—The remains of this small station, which are exclusively of the Stone Age, are distributed on both sides of a small stream which enters the ancient port of Bevaix. From the character of the relics the Messrs. Borel think that the portion on the east side belonged to the first lacustrine period, while that on the west was later. It would appear that the settlement had been dwarfed by the adjacent great palafitte at Treytel.
(7) Station de Treytel.—This station presents a fine example of the second Stone Age period. Its débris is found on the exposed shore, extending upwards of 300 yards in length, and covering an area of some 8,000 to 10,000 square yards. It was first examined in 1857 by M. Rousselet, who, notwithstanding its being then submerged, made the fine collection of objects from it now in the Museum at Neuchâtel. The flint implements are particularly well made, and the raw material, which shows a fine yellowish and partially transparent flint, is supposed to have been imported from Gaul. The horn handles and fixers for the stone celts are of varied forms, and there is also a rich assortment of other relics.
Chez les Moines.—Here there is a steinberg, but the antiquities found are unimportant, only a few staghorn implements and some stone celts. Fragments of Roman tiles were also found.
St. Aubin.—This station was near the shore, and contained a vast steinberg measuring 300 feet by 200. Its investigation was chiefly due to Dr. Clement, of St. Aubin, who made a splendid collection of its antiquities, which show that the settlement belonged almost exclusively to the Stone Age. Specially noteworthy among them are flint-saws in yew and staghorn handles; arrow-points, with portion of the shaft still attached with asphalt; a few beads—one of glass and two of amber; three small gold ornaments; perforated teeth of the bear and wolf or dog. Many of the objects from Dr. Clement's collection are illustrated in the second and third volumes of Matériaux, pages 511 and 259 respectively; as well as in Keller's reports. The horn fastenings are extremely varied, and those for celts, intended to be used with wooden handles, terminate either in a split or are squarely cut. The bone implements are particularly well made, and many of the pointers are fixed into handles. The arrow-points are also well chipped, and are of a longish or triangular shape. In the Zürich Museum there is a beautifully chipped dagger of flint, over nine inches in length, from this station. (See [Fig. 185], Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9.)
Concise.—Mr. Rochat, who first examined the remains of this settlement, describes a semicircular steinberg which occupied part of the station. (B. 34.) The convex part looked south and towards the lake. Its length was 459 feet, and breadth 255 feet, and when the lake was at its lowest (before the Correction des Eaux du Jura) its top was only a few inches below the surface of the water. The relic-bed was superficial, but the piles penetrated deeply into the mud. During the construction of the railway in 1859, which here passed through a small bit of the lake, a dredging machine was used, when antiquities of all kinds were collected in hundreds. These were generally sold on behalf of the workmen, and hence the objects from Concise are widely distributed, some having gone to America. On and around the steinberg the antiquities were of the Stone Age. Here the operation of dredging was carried on for six weeks amidst great archæological excitement, which led to the production of many falsifications. (B. 28, 31, and 39.) Among the vast quantity of industrial remains brought to light, there were objects of very diversified kinds, but all in this part of the station were peculiar to the Stone Age; such as saws, knives, and arrow-points of flint; hundreds of stone hatchets, mostly of serpentine, only two or three being of nephrite; perforated stone sinkers and hammer stones. Of bone and horn, there were chisels, pointers, daggers, harpoons, cups, etc. Among the pottery were circular dishes with perforated knobs, small and large vases, plates, and cups; also some vases with conical bases, with their corresponding clay rings. Clay balls, of the size of two fists and perforated, reminded Mr. Troyon of similar objects from Wangen.[9]
Among the animal remains were three fragments of human skulls and two jaws. Also one tooth of the horse.