(3) Shortly after the destruction of the pile-village, its subsequent occupiers converted the larger portion of its site—which had already, in parts at least, reached the surface by the gradual accumulation of débris—into a veritable island, by heaping over it stuff dug from the margin and especially from the landward side, where there is now a channel separating the island from the mainland. Thus the upper layers contain the débris of the earlier people, mixed with sand, gravel, and mud. This view is rendered probable by the fact that in one place, towards the north of the island, the second layer was displaced by an artificially constructed bed of large pebbles.
(4) The newcomers, to whom Castelfranco assigns the transformation of the palafitte into an island, were the Ligurians, whose "sépultures à cineration" are so numerously found in the neighbourhood.
Bodio.—The bay opposite this village contains the remains of three stations, the most southerly of which is known as "Keller" or "Del Gaggio," the next as "Bodio Centrale" or "Delle Monete," and the third as "Desor" or "Del Moresco." All these are comparatively near the shore, being only about 30 yards distant, and the central one is about equidistant—some 800 yards—from the other two. (B. 327, p. 47.) The central station appears to have been a true steinberg, as its area was covered with stones; regarding which Stoppani remarks that formerly they were more numerous, because within recent times some were known to have been removed for building purposes. At first more bronze objects were found on Keller, and more pottery on Desor, while the Centrale was characterised by the discovery on it of a hoard of Roman coins. Subsequent investigations have not borne out these early distinctions based on the character of their relics, and they are now generally acknowledged to belong to the same age.
The coins found on the Centrale were mostly small silver pieces, much decomposed, belonging to the last half-century of the Republic. Stoppani collected about 70, and Angelucci, who explored shortly after him, no less than 128. One found by Regazzoni in 1876 (B. 327, p. 52) has on it, along with the head of Mark Antony, the following legend:—M. ANT. IMP. AUG. III. VIR. R.P.C. M. BARBAT. Q.P., etc., which would make the date about 40 B.C. The hoard is supposed to have been lost or deposited here long after the lake-dwelling ceased to be inhabited—a supposition that is borne out by the fact that the coins were confined to one limited spot, only a couple of yards square. In 1876-7 Sig. Ponti made researches on Desor which greatly enriched his museum both in stone and bronze objects. (B. 327.) A selection of objects from these stations is given on [Fig. 49].
Cazzago-Brabbia.—This station is situated opposite the village of the same name, and at first it gave such poor results that Stoppani called it a trial station, or an attempt to found a settlement. From the researches made in 1877 it was found to be rich in remains, and exactly similar to those at Bodio. It was, however, farther from the shore, and extended parallel to it for about 150 yards. Its breadth was somewhat irregular, and, judging from the disposition of its piles, it would appear to have been two quadrangularly-shaped stations nearly in contact with each other. Among the bronze objects collected on this station are four lance-heads, a chisel, an awl, 10 fish-hooks, four hair-pins, a fibula, etc. (B. 456.) There are also some fine arrow-points of flint.
Fig. 49.—Bodio, Cazzago, and Bardello. Nos. 24, 31, 39, 43, and 44 = 1⁄4, and the rest = 1⁄2 real size.
Bardello.—Near the mouth of the river are two stations, one on the left and the other on the right shore. The former, called Ranchet, after its discoverer, is a small settlement some 200 yards from the mouth of the river, and 6 or 7 from the shore. It measures about 60 yards long and 50 broad. A large quantity of the bones of domestic animals was found here, as well as some flint and bone arrow-points, spindle-whorls, and various fragments of pottery. Ranchet records also a small lance-head of bronze, a portion of a vase containing some black stuff adhering to it (supposed to be remains of food), and portions of another of fine black paste. The station on the north shore, called after Professor Stoppani, by Regazzoni, is about 100 yards from the mouth of the Bardello, in the direction of Gavirate. It is in the form of a parallelogram, 65 by 45 yards, and, like the previous station, has the piles arranged in parallel rows. Among its relics are:—Bones of the ox, goat, stag, and pig; flint arrow-heads, scrapers, etc., of the usual kind; some bone implements. Two bronze pins and a winged celt are sufficient to show that the station was similar to the others in Lake Varese (Nos. 23 and 44).
Marinoni (B. 159) mentions another station opposite Gavirate, but neither Regazzoni nor Ranchet could find any traces of it. (B. 327, p. 66.)