The Lake-Dwellings of Europe: Being the Rhind Lectures in Archæology for 1888Munro, Robert
History
The Lake-Dwellings of Europe: Being the Rhind Lectures in Archæology for 1888
Munro, Robert
Lake-dwellers and lake-dwellings -- Bibliography; Lake-dwellers and lake-dwellings -- Europe
When Troyon (1860) published his well-known book on the lake-dwellings
(B. 31), considerable progress had been made in the exploration of
the station, and from the richness of the finds it got the name of
"La grande Cité de Morges;" but it had not yet been ascertained that
there were three separate stations, much less that these stations
represented different periods. According to Troyon, most of the piles
were of oak, and some had planchettes to prevent them sinking too far
in the mud. A portion of one of these supports measured 13½ inches
long, 4 inches broad, and 1 inch thick; and contained two square-cut
holes 1½ inch in diameter and 4 inches apart. The relics found up to
this period were of much interest. Among them were bronze hatchets 4
to 7 inches long, mostly of the winged type, only one having a socket.
Of 13 knives, nine had tangs and four had sockets. Two swords, one of
which, with flat handle, was whole; two socketed lance-heads; several
bracelets of different kinds; and a bronze mould for casting celts[20]
(=Fig. 17=, No. 8). Pottery, clay rings for supports, discoidal
stones with marginal grooves, spindle-whorls, a couple of canoes,
etc. Subsequently the MM. Forel began to distinguish the respective
stations, to which they gave the following names:--(1) "La grande
Cité de Morges," (2) "La Station des Roseaux," and (3) "La Station de
l'Église."
[Illustration: =Fig. 17.=--Morges, Thonon (1, 2, 9, 10, and 16 to 18),
and St. Prex (12). Nos. 7 and 8 = ¼, the rest = ½ real size.]
(1) The Grand City was some 500 feet from the shore, and occupied
an area 1,200 feet long by 100 to 150 feet broad. The stumps of its
thickly-studded piles were visible in the water never less than 8 to
10 feet deep, and among them were detected some cross-beams, and a
canoe, 2 feet wide, with its prow sticking out of the mud. A large
and miscellaneous assortment of relics was also collected. Over 450
bronze objects, says Dr. Forel, writing in 1876 (B. 286), were found
on this station, and they all belong to the purest type of what Desor
calls "le bel Age du Bronze," including swords, knives, sickles,
hair-pins, bracelets, etc. One remarkable observation then made was
that among 60 bronze winged celts (Nos. 13 and 14) there was not one
single specimen of the flat kind. In 1866 two large reniform rings,
one ornamented (=Fig. 17=, No. 3) and the other plain, were added to
the list of objects from Morges. Only one object of iron, viz. a
poignard, analogous to one from Lake Bourget, was found. Among the
osseous remains the stag, goat, sheep, horse, and pig, were identified.
The bronze objects from this station up to the present date are thus
enumerated by Dr. Forel (B. 462, p. 55):--
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