The celebrated lacustrine station, La Tène, is situated at the north end of Lake Neuchâtel, just close to the present artificially formed outlet where the land end of its mole or dyke begins. Stretching from this point eastwards there is a gravelly elevation, some 200 yards long by 50 wide, which, before the "Correction des Eaux du Jura," formed a shallow part of the lake, and for this reason it was called among the fishermen La Tène (the shallows). As early as 1858, Col. Schwab discovered this to be the site of a rich repository of antiquities of a totally different character from those found in any of the hitherto explored Pfahlbauten. Subsequently Professor Desor directed his attention to the locality and made a collection of its antiquities, among which he announced some Gallic coins (=Fig. 92=, No. 8) and a sword-sheath ornamented with the forms of three fantastic animals (=Fig. 87=, No. 9). Further discoveries of its remarkable antiquities were made by M. Dardel-Thorens, who for many years, while resident superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum of Préfargier, situated close by, devoted his spare time to the investigation of La Tène. As the relics were associated with numerous piles there appeared to be no doubt among these antiquaries that the station was quite analogous to the ordinary pile-dwellings of the Stone and Bronze Ages, the only difference being that it represented a later age. Notwithstanding the facilities for investigation afforded by the lowering of the waters of the lake in 1876, which had the effect of making La Tène dry land, nothing further was done till 1880, when M. E. Vouga, schoolmaster at Marin, interested himself in the matter. One reason for this neglect was the opinion that the whole area had been already so thoroughly examined by previous explorers, that nothing remained to be done. Before, however, describing the discoveries of M. Vouga, it will be necessary to look more minutely at the situation of La Tène and the nature of the substratum in which its antiquities were found.