Mr. Le Mire then shifted his operations to the south side of the Motte-aux-Magnins, and after passing through 6 to 8 inches of the whitish surface deposits he came upon a blackish peaty layer containing roots of water-plants and other organic débris, which turned out to be the veritable relic-bed of the lake-dwellers.
Here he continued the excavations for about three weeks with a couple of workmen, and in this way an area of about 120 square yards was examined, which he thinks was not more than a twentieth part of the total site of the lake-dwelling. The piles did not reach the surface, but they were met with abundantly, no less than 150 being counted in the space examined. The breaking-out of the war put a stop to these excavations, and the subsequent return of the water to its ordinary level prevented their renewal.
Fig. 23.—Clairvaux. Nos. 5, 7, and 15 = 1⁄4, the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
Mr. Le Mire has published an illustrated report of his investigations (B. 219), from which these notes are taken, but the accompanying illustrations ([Fig. 23]) are from a selection of objects exhibited in the anthropological section of the Paris International Exposition of 1889. In this collection I note that there are a few relics, such as the two bronze objects, to which Mr. Le Mire does not refer in his report; probably these may have been found since its publication.
Among the relics staghorn implements take a prominent place. Handles and fixers for stone weapons amounted to 49, and the two here illustrated (of five exhibited in Paris) still retain their celts (Nos. 6 and 8). There are several perforated horn hammers, one of which (No. 7) retained portion of its wooden handle when found; another is a foot long, and the perforation is nearer the burr of the horn which forms the hammer-end. A tyne 11 inches long forms the handle to a small stone chisel. Another object (No. 5) is a unicum of its kind. It is a chisel of horn formed from the tyne, with the body of the horn forming a neatly-polished handle.
The polished daggers or pointers are also finely made, and almost remind one of those at Laibach. Twenty-six were exhibited in Paris, three of which are here represented, including the largest and smallest (Nos. 9, 13, and 14).
About a dozen triangular or leaf-shaped arrow-points, and one or two spear-heads of flint. Of the latter, one (No. 2) is remarkable for its size and elegant workmanship.
Wooden dishes formed out of the solid, all having a round base, were collected to the number of 15, and some large globular pieces of wood were supposed to be the primary stage of their manufacture. One dish figured by Le Mire is here reproduced, and shows a neat handle (No. 15). There were also wooden mallets perforated for a handle. Three bits of a bow, one showing the tip with a notch for the string. An axle-tree for a waggon Le Mire considers interesting, as showing a knowledge and use of traction by wheels.