The station at Creux de Tougues is the most important of the group, and it has furnished a large number of antiquities. It is about 130 yards from the shore, in a depth of water varying from 5 to 10 feet. Ordinary stone celts, 27 of which have been collected (B. 462), were found on the part next the shore. The collection of bronze objects consists of:—Four winged celts ([Fig. 18], No. 10), one flat celt, two socketed chisels, one sword, one lance-head, 21 knives, five sickles (No. 9), 14 bracelets, 120 rings, 170 hair-pins, and six diverse objects. Pottery from this station (Nos. 12 and 13) comes largely to the front, and in the Museum of Geneva there are fine specimens of plates, cups, vases, and other vessels of a fine black ware which, both in form and ornamentation, resemble those from the palafittes of Lake Bourget and others of the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Spindle-whorls, discoidal stones with a marginal groove, rubbing stones, etc., are also abundant. A peculiarly-shaped stone object known as "gorge de poulies" comes here to be noted. (B. 31, 281 and 462.)
Messery.—Piles are here seen projecting above the mud 2 to 5 feet, in a depth of about 12 feet of water. One of the piles pulled up by Troyon showed markings of a metal tool. Numerous fragments of pottery characteristic of the Bronze Age have been found, but only two objects of this metal, viz. a winged celt and a sickle.
Nernier.—Two stations are described in the vicinity of the village of this name. One, near the shore, and partly covered up with gravel, belonged to the Stone Age. Here Troyon observed some large piles in a depth of 6 feet of water, and others he found on the shore buried in the gravel. Among the objects collected are flint flakes, spindle-whorls, hatchets of serpentine (a perforated one is in the Museum of Annecy), some worked bones, etc.
The Bronze Age station is 600 yards to the west of the village, and 150 from the shore. The relics consist of pottery, spindle-whorls, ring-supports, etc. Among the bronze objects are:—Eight winged celts, two chisels, one sword, two lance-heads, three knives, three sickles, five bracelets, three rings, and five hair-pins. Among the rings is included a pendeloque, in the form of a large hollow ring, attached to which is a small ring for suspension.
Stations d'Excenevrez et de Coudré.—In rounding the point of Ivoire we come to a sheltered bay, into which a couple of streams discharge their waters, carrying down a considerable amount of débris, so that the lake-dwelling remains are here deeply buried. Traces of two stations have, however, been observed, one, station De Moulin-Pâquis, near Excenevrex, and the other, De Coudré, opposite Château Bartholoni, not far from the village of Sciex. Both appear to belong to the Stone Age, and in the latter, in 1874, 12 stone hatchets were found.
Thonon.—There were two separate settlements at Thonon. One (Stone Age), about 20 yards from the shore, was discovered in 1862, when the new port was being formed. The objects there collected were piles, flint implements, stone hatchets, spindle-whorls, and some coarse pottery.
The Bronze Age station was considerably in advance of the former, and in a depth of 3 to 4 yards. The settlement was extensive, and ran parallel to the shore, and from its remains a large assortment of relics has been collected. Being among the earliest discovered in the Lake of Geneva, it has been industriously searched by a number of well-known archæologists, as Troyon, Forel, Revon, Monod, Revilliod, Carrard, etc., and consequently its treasures are widely distributed. The bronze objects, according to Dr. Forel (B. 462), amount to 48, viz. 11 winged celts, two lance-heads, six knives, two sickles, 14 bracelets, two rings, five hair-pins, and six diverse objects. One of the knives, which is finely ornamented and one foot in length, has the peculiarity that the handle contains less tin than the blade ([Fig. 17], No. 16). Another knife was adapted for side-plates to be riveted on its handle (No. 11); while others were socketed and tanged (Nos. 17 and 18). Some of the hatchets have a side loop, and others are devoid of it. Among other things are a large ring, armilla sacra (Carrard), (No. 2); a pendant of three involved rings, together with various other pendants (No. 9). Among the pottery are fragments with perforated knobs, herring-bone pattern (No. 1), etc.; and some charming vases, clay ring-supports, etc.
There are thus, according to Dr. Forel, 11 stations of the Stone Age; three of the period of transition (i.e. with hatchets of bronze of the flat type), six with mixed objects, 19 of the Bronze Age, and one (Station de Plongeon) which furnished objects characteristic of the early Iron Age.
These notes have been collected from a fragmentary and widely-scattered literature, including the following original sources:—B. 22, 31, 34, 40, 121, 126, 138, 152, 280, 282, 286, 315, 377, and 462.