LUBBOCK 0?r THE ANCIENT LAKE UABITATIONS OF SWITZEELAND. 47 



daggers, axes, spear heads, knives, arrow heads, pins, and ornaments. 

 TiicTnumber of these weapons wliich have been discovered is already 



verv great. 



From the settlement at Estavayer, in Lake Neufchatel, the follow- 

 ing collection of bronze implements has been obtained : — • 

 Pius with large spherical and ornamented heads 36 

 „ ordinary heads - - • • .9^ 

 Knives 

 Bracelets 

 Sickles 

 Axe 

 Hook . 

 Chisel . 

 Small rings 

 Buttons 

 Dagger blade 

 Arrow head . 

 Pieces of spiral wire 



26 



15 



5 



1 



1 

 1 

 27 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 6 



Maldng altogether .... 214 objects of bronze. 

 Again at Merges (Lake of Greneva) forty -two bronze hatchets and 

 thirteen pins have been fomid. From the Steinberg M. Schwab has 

 obtained five hundred bronze hair-pins, besides other instruments of 

 the same metal. Tliese are of the same type as those found in other 

 parts of Europe, and the swords are characterised, as usual, by the 

 small space alloAved for the hand. They were, however, made in 

 Switzerland, as is shown by the discovery at Merges of a mould for 

 celts, and at Estavayer of a bar of tin. 



The pottery of this period was more varied and more skilfully 

 made than that of the Stone age, and the potter's wheel was already 

 in use. Eings of earthenware are common, and appear to have 

 been used as supports for the round bottomed vases. As neither 

 copper nor tin occur in Switzerland, the possession of bronze implies 

 the existence of commerce. It is difficult to say from whence the 

 copper was obtained, but Saxony and Cornwall are the only parts of 

 Europe which produce tin. It is, however, possible that Asia may 

 have supplied both the one and the other. The presence of amber 

 shows that there must have been a certain amount of conuiiunication 

 with Xorthern Europe. 



The Pileworks of Switzerland appear to have become gi'adually 

 less numerous. During the Stone age they were spread over the 

 whole coimtry. Confined during the Bronze era to the Lakes of 

 AVestern Switzerland, during that of Iron, we find them only on the 

 Lakes of Bienne and Neufchatel. In these settlements not only has 

 a new substance made its appearance, but the forms of the imple- 

 ments are different. We have indeed copies of the bronze axes made 

 in iron, just as we found before that the early bron^.e celts were 

 copies of the still earlier stone axe, but these are exceptional cases. 



