The Lake-Dwellers of Switzerland. 155 



At Marin a great many objects of iron nave been found, 

 swords, lances, rings, brooches, etc., etc. Other localities 

 have likewise afforded iron articles, but Marin has yielded the 

 richest supply. Professor Keller says, " The following facts 

 result from the investigation of the arms and implements of 

 Marin, and their comparison with the specimens found in 

 England, Alesia, and Berne : — The form of the swords and 

 lance points, the ornamentation on the sword sheaths, the 

 marks on the sword blades, the numerous Gallic coins found 

 with them, and the wide-spread district where they occur, show 

 that all the Marin antiquities have come from some of the 

 workshops of Gaul, perhaps situated amongst the Belgas." In 

 another instructive passage Professor Keller observes that, - c in 

 looking over the specimens from Marin what strikes us most is 

 the fact that the weapons, and other implements, differ so 

 essentially, both in material and form, from the products of 

 the older settlements ; not only has iron taken the place of 

 bronze, but the form and ornamentation are so different, that 

 one is tempted at first sight to attribute their origin to another 

 nationality and another district. But when we carefully con- 

 sider this phenomenon it appears less striking. For if we 

 compare the relics of a pure bronze station, such as Wangen 

 or Mooseedorf, that is, of simple bronze implements, with those of 

 stone, wood, and bone, the difference between them in whatever is 

 necessary for sustaining life is found to be much greater. It is 

 certain that these are passages or transitions from the stone 

 to the bronze period. On the one hand, we find a number of 

 stations in which stone or bronze objects are mixed together in 

 different proportions, and which reveal to us the gradual 

 diffusion of metal tools. On the other hand we can follow up 

 the development of the art of bronze casting, and see how at 

 first implements of this material took the form of those of the 

 stone age." 



When the Marin objects were made, iron had full possession 

 of the field, and the forms of the object had undergone a 

 change, partly from the peculiarities of the metal, and partly, 

 no doubt, from a considerable alteration in wants and modes of 

 thought. 



That people should continue to occupy lake-dwellings after 

 they had acquired possession of iron implements made with 

 great skill, does not appear as surprising to us as it does to 

 some other observers. In our own day the conservative 

 element which resists progress, perpetuates practices and pro- 

 cesses long after better ones are known, and we are usually 

 driven to improvements by the force of competition. Amongst 

 a barbarous people the conservative element dominates their 

 entire lives, while a semi-civilized race retains enough of the 



