Close to the water's edge on the south shore, and about ten minutes' walk directly north of Robenhausen, there is an artificial mound called Himmereich, which formerly was supposed to be the site of a pile-dwelling. It is constructed of small and large stones, among which flint saws, arrow-points, and pottery of the lake-dwelling type, were found associated with Roman tiles and pottery (terra sigillata). There were, however, no piles or any evidence of structural dwellings, and the opinion now generally held in regard to it is that it was a pre-Roman Refugium, which subsequently fell into the hands of the Romans.[24] Remains of a Roman station are also close to Irgenhausen, which might have something to do with the Himmereich mound. (B. 462.)
The records of the numerous discoveries made at Robenhausen from time to time, according to the favourableness of the weather, are, like the relics themselves, widely scattered. In addition to the reports of Keller and J. Messikommer (B. 22, 34, 40, 61, 126, 336, and 462) in the proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Zürich, we have a number of further notices in various journals, such as Anzeiger, Antiqua, Das Ausland, etc. (B. 143a and 143b, 154, 256, 383, 385a and 385b, 402, 403, 406c and 406d, 434c, 449b, 454b, etc.), from which more or less important information is to be gleaned.
EGELSEE, NEAR FRAUENFIELD.
Niederwyl.—The settlement of Niederwyl was situated in a small basin covering only about 60 acres, which, though now entirely overgrown with peat, must have been formerly a lake, as its ancient name Egelsee implies. Immediately to the south there is an open valley, from which it is separated by a narrow ridge of land, through which its proprietors made a deep excavation for its better drainage, thereby facilitating the removal of the peat. While the peasants were thus occupied, they came upon a portion of the basin near its centre, where the peat began to thin out; and as they advanced, it turned out that there was something like a mound entirely submerged in the peat, and composed of clay, wooden beams, stones, charcoal, and all sorts of rubbish. On the centre of this mound the depth of peat was only 2 or 3 feet, while all around it amounted to 8 or 10 feet. This curious elevation was simply passed over by the workmen after removing its covering of peat; and so it remained exposed, till one day the Reverend Mr. Pupikofer happened to pass along the moor, when he recognised its archæological importance. This was in 1862, and immediately the Historical Society of Thurgau arranged to have the matter investigated; and Mr. Jacob Messikommer, whose experience of the lake-dwelling at Robenhausen had made him an authority on such matters, was asked to conduct the necessary researches. Upon making sections through the exposed part of this mound, he found an artificial sub-structure of faggot-sticks, laid transversely, and mixed with upright piles which penetrated to the original lake-bottom. It was fortunate, however, that the whole of the mound had not been bared of peat, and Messikommer wisely selected an undisturbed portion for his subsequent excavations. The following quotation from his report will convey a better idea of these structures than any abstract I could make:—
"When I began the excavation with a few workmen on the 18th of June, I was surprised to find, under a pavement of clay and gravel, from 2 to 4 inches thick, and from the top of which 3 feet of peat had been removed, a structure of faggot-sticks, regularly laid and perfectly solid; and as the wood was exceedingly soft, we had to use every care in uncovering as large a portion of it as we could. We first bared a space, which was in perfect condition, 20 feet long, 6 feet wide at the ends, and 10 feet wide in the middle. The upper platform was of split timber or boards of oak, laid down with great care, and it rested on round timber, or faggot-sticks, from 3 to 4 inches in diameter, which were surrounded with piles. The back part of the space was covered with charcoal, and was somewhat charred; there were also found tolerably large stones (hearth-stones) in their original position. A most striking fact was that the lowest part of the side wall was still standing; it consisted of a kind of shutter pushed in between the upright piles surrounding the space. On this I had other portions uncovered, and everywhere met with the same construction, only differing in having the platform or floor made of faggot-sticks instead of boards. Here and there the floor had sunk considerably, often one or one inch and a half in six inches.
"This place was then left to be examined by the members of the associations of Thurgau and Zürich, and excavations were made in another place to examine the sub-structure. The result proved no less interesting; for 1 foot deep, under the first platform, we came upon a second; a foot deeper we found a third; then a fourth, and so on; so that the arrangement is similar to that of Wauwyl. The huts were placed on masses of wood, consisting of five or six platforms, one above the other, the spaces between which were filled in with brushwood and branches of trees, chiefly alder, rushes, gravel, and clay. We were surprised to meet with bones, cones of earthenware, and a great wooden mallet between the platforms; we also found woven cloth under the fifth platform, and charcoal close to the bed of the lake. From this I conclude that the platforms were not made at the same time, but at intervals, one after the other; or that they had been repaired, a portion at a time, as we found single charred stems under fresh wood." (B. 119, 2nd ed., p. 77.)
In another section Messikommer observed a slight variation in the fascine structures above described, which he thus explains: "What I have called the lattice or trellis work consisted of thin stems of trees, which were not laid close together, but at intervals of from one to two inches apart; the uppermost stems rested on others lying under them at right angles, and these again on others parallel with those on the upper layer. The spaces between the timbers were filled in with charcoal and burnt clay."
Each structure seemed to have been adapted for one cottage, as between them there were narrow spaces which had got filled up with débris, and contained relics such as broken stone hatchets, carbonised cloth and fruits, etc.
"We cannot imagine," continues Messikommer, "that this settlement was destroyed by fire, for although we occasionally met with burnt beams, not a single trace of conflagration was to be seen in the upright piles, which projected as much as 2½ feet above the floor—nay, even in most of them the bark was still in good preservation.
"The products of the potters art were in general very coarse, and yet we found a few fragments which had been ornamented, and also parts of the rims of vessels made with washed or purified clay, and without quartz grains. Fragments of vessels also were found neatly polished, blackened, and with handles of a convenient form. No smaller implements were met with, such as pins, little chisels, etc. It is very singular that so few bones were found; the cow, stag, and the pig were the only animals the remains of which were discovered here.