
"10 years - 100 stories" - our digital showcase!
The Pile Dwellers‘ World is colorful and multifaceted.
Due to the constantly watersoaked environment in the proximity of lakes, moors and marshes. Artifacts of a great variety have been exceptionally well preserved.
But look for yourself, what these items can tell you about life in the Neolithic and the Bronze Age…
Thanks to the cooperation and the generosity of over thirty museums, collections and archives around the Alps, you can catch exciting insights into the colorful world of the pile dwellers through our digital showcases.

Drilling Accident
During the Neolithic, axeheads made of green dolerite were drilled on both sides, with hollow bits made of elder wood, and sand. This produced double conical cores. At the lakeside settlement of Ermatingen-Westerfeld, during the drilling work, a semi-finished axe head broke apart. Even 5000 years later, one can imagine the frustration of the stone crafter.

© AATG
Neolithic Sandal
This sandal was found at the lakeside settlement of St. Blaise / Bains des Dames, during highway construction. It is one of only a very few representatives of prehistoric shoes. The shoe was made of various strips of oak bast that were threaded between twisted fiberstrings, and had thin laces by which it was tied to the foot and ankle.

© Laténium, Yves André

Trough the Eyes of the Neolithic Man
This skull was discovered during the excavation of the Gletterens/Les Grèves site. The three human remains discovered in this pile-dwelling site wereall skulls. They are essentially the most direct testimony of the Neolithic people that lived in this lakeside village.

© SAEF
Description : Human skull
Material : Bone
Datation : Neolithic, 3300 - 3100 B.C.

© SAEF
„If we don’t find anything here, we won‘t find anything anywhere.”
In July of 1921, Heinrich Forschner, a practicing dentist in Biberach, discovered the remnants of a Neolithic settlement on a peninsula of the Schreckensee, near the town of Wolpertswende. The owner of the land had previously unearthed several oaken poles of about 2 m length in the area. In 1923, Forschner conducted an excavation and discovered shaped timber, pottery and tools, of bone and stone,in a 60 cm thick archaeological sediment layer. Schreckensee remains the only discovered site in Upper Swabia, with a comprehensive sequence of deposits that span from the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age.

© Museum Biberach
Description : Hafting component for Stoneaxe blades
Material : Antler
Datation : Neolithic, 2.900 - 2.600 B.C.
Others : Collection "Sammlung Forschner"

An Amber Bead Necklaces
The village chief was very proud, even to the Lagazzi, an amber necklace had arrived! A very powerful talisman, a transparent stone that had the color of the sun! It was difficult to get it: it came in fact from distant northern seas and the path that those small objects had to travel was long, perhaps together with other precious goods such as tin.

© Museo Archeologico Platina
Symbols of Status
Did this spiral and the dagger belong to the same wealthy person, who lived on the shore of the Neolithic Greifensee? Or perhaps, so much wealth belonged to two or more households? What is certain, is that “stone” was the main material for the manufacture of tools, weapons, and also jewelry. These copper items must have been extremely valuable and desirable. The dagger and the spiral are the oldest copper artifacts ever found in the Kanton of Zurich. They were discovered during the diving excavation of the Neolithic pile dwelling settlement of Greifensee-Storen/Wildsberg.

© Kantonsarchäologie Zürich, M. Bachmann
Description : Dagger, Spiral
Material : Copper
Datation : Neolithic (Pfyn)
Others : The original finds are exhibited from 12.04.-31.10.2021 in the special exhibition "Die Pfahlbauer*in Pfäffikon" at the Museum Pfäffikon am Pfäffikersee.
Silex Dagger with Wooden Haft
The blade of this dagger was imported from northern Italy and is made of silex from MountBaldo at Lake Garda. The blade shows much use and re-sharpening, and it was probably lost byits owner at the site of today’s Allensbach Lido – because it was certainly a precious and very valuable item at the time. Next to Ötzi the Iceman’s dagger, it is the only other discovered Neolithic dagger with a preserved haft. The haft is made of Elder wood and the blade was fastened with birch bark pitch.

© Archäologisches Landesmuseum, Manuela Schreiner
Description : Dagger
Material : Silex, Elder wood, Birch Pitch
Datation : Neolithic, 2900-2800 B.C.
Others : Literature: H. Schlichtherle, Ein scharfes Ding, Der Feuersteindolch von Allensbach. In: 4000 Jahre Pfahlbauten (2016) 425ff. Abb. 645
Big Hook - Big Fish
This fishhook is 12 cm long and was carved from a single bone. It is a unique piece, because hooks of this size were usually carved from antlers or the tusks of a boar. However, the pike caught with this hook 6000 years ago, in Lake Burgäschi, might not have cared too much about these details.

© Archäologisches Museum Kanton Solothurn
Description : Fishhock
Material : Bone
Datation : Neolithic, ca. 3800 B.C.

Pile Dwelling Yarn
More than one hundred meters of twined flax-fibre string are wound into this ball of yarn. It is the result of many hours of manual labour. Maybe it was meant to become fishing net. But we will never know, because it was burned in a firestorm that may have destroyed the entire village. Only its charred remains are preserved from thousands of years ago.

© Kantonsarchäologie Luzern
Description : String Ball
Material : Flax
Datation : ca. 4000 B.C.
Others : Site: Hitzkirch Seematte, Baldeggersee
Postcard
„4th French Conference for Prehistory – at Chambery, 1908, Lake Bourget (Savoy), "Fishing for Lacustrine Antiquities“
Postcard published in 1908 for the French Conference for Prehistory. The event was intended to disseminate knowledge about the Paleolithic, the Neolithic and Protohistory. One of the organized activities during the conference was “Fishing for Antiques,” in Lake Bourget. The “catch of the day” were cratesful of archaeological artifacts, which became part of many private collections and European museums. Inv. CP 4156

© Musée Savoisien, Département de la Savoie, Solenne Paul
Description : Postcard "Fishing for Lacustrine Antiquities"
Material : Paper
Datation : 1908
Others : Photograph of the postcard: Fouin; Inv. CP 4156
Votiv Offerings
The lake’s narrow between Rapperswil and the Hurden headland has been an important pathway across the river, for thousands of years. The erliest bridge- and pier-works on the sandbank date to the Early Bronze Age, with later structures dated to the Iron Age, the Roman Age as well as the Middle Ages. The unusual accumulation of bronze needles and various other artefacts indicate that objects were deliberately deposited here.

© Amt für Städtebau - Unterwasserarchäologie Zürich
Description : Deposit at Rapperswil-Hurden
Material : Bronze and Ceramics
Datation : Middle- and Late Bronze Age

© Amt für Städtebau - Unterwasserarchäologie Zürich
Jewellery or Protection?
Jakob Süsstrunk, a teacher in the town of Murten, carried out excavations in the region between 1880 and 1884. He discovered a Neolithic village in the Bronze Age station Muntelier/Steinberg. This pendant is one of the countless objects he found. Such stone pendants were popular as valuable jewellery in the 3rd millennium BC. - And perhaps they were also meant to protect their owners from danger and disease?

© Museum Murten

Copper Amulet
This copper disc is one of the oldest metallic artifacts discovered in Central Europe. It was cast in the early experimental phase of metallurgy. When it was new, the disc glowed with awarm yellowish-golden shine, and it was probably worn as a personal ornament or amulet. The item was certainly a precious treasure at the time, and signaled its owner’s wealth and status for everyone to see.

© Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg, Manuela Schreiner
Description : Copper Disc/Amulet
Material : Copper
Datation : Neolithic, 3917-3909 B.C.
Others : Literature: M. Heumüller, Goldener Schein – Die Kupferscheibe von Hornstaad In: 4000 Jahre Pfahlbauten (2016) 166 Abb. 222 ; M. Heumüller, Der Schmuck der jungneolithischen Seeufersiedlung Hornstaad-Hörnle IA im Rahmen der mitteleuropäischen Mitt
Shoes for Piles
This peculiar piece of timber with a hole in the middle is called a „pile shoe“. It may look like modern art, but it is a structural building element, made by the pile-dwellers. To prevent their houses from sinking into the soft ground, they anchored the piles of their buildings by inserting them into the holes of these wooden planks. This technique increased the stability of the piles and the houses they build upon them.

© Kantonsarchäologie Aargau
Description : Pile Shoe
Material : Wood
Datation : Ca. 1650 B.C.
Others : Site: Beinwil-Ägelmoos, Hallwilersee
Copper Dagger
One of the oldest dagger blades made of copper ever discovered, was found buried undera pile at the lakeside settlement of Reute in Upper Swabia. The three preserved rivets were used to fasten a handle of wood or bone to the blade. Copper daggers were rare and valuable treasures at the time, and probably served their owners as objects of status, rather than as tools or weapons.

© Landesmuseum Württemberg, P. Frankenstein / H. Zwietasch
Description : Dagger blade with Rivets
Material : Copper
Datation : Neolithic
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Ready all, Row!
When the log boat was discovered in 1880, in the town of Wingreis, it measured 9.55 Meters in length (in the meantime, it has shrunk 15 cm). It was transported to La Neuveville by the well-known doctor and amateur archaeologist, Victor Gross. Of the more than one hundred prehistoric log boats that were discovered in Switzerland, barely ten have survived outside the environment of their excavation. This specific one only survived, because it was made from a tree of durable oak, and was conserved by Dr. Gross by soaking it in hot linseed oil and rosin (also called colophony). This boat dates to the Bronze Age and was made from a single treetrunk. It was felled and then worked with a variety of sharp tools, such as axes, adzes, and chisels. But it looks like it was not finished and never launched into the water, because the bottom of the log was never hollowed out.The recesses for the oarsthat arevisible at the sides, were added in the 19thcentury.

© musée d'art et d'histoire, La Neuveville
Practical Beauty
Beauty and daily grooming were important, even in the Neolithic: the comb found in the settlement of Zug Riedmatt is approximately 5000 years old. Combing untangles the hair and helps to get rid of pests, such as lice and ticks. The elaborately crafted comb could also be worn around the neck as a pendant, or attached to a belt, like jewellery.

© Museum für Urgeschichte(n) Zug, Res Eichenberger

The Village in the Bog
In 1905, the dentist of Biberach, Heinrich Forschner, discovered a Bronze Age settlement in the southern marshlands of the Federsee. By purchasing as much of the surrounding land as possible, he was able to protect the site from its destruction by urban development. 80 years later, the “Forschner Settlement” was excavated and became famous: it represents the only fortified marshland settlement north of the alps, that dates to the Early and Middle Bronze Age.

© Museum Biberach
Description : Diorama
Material : Various
Datation : 2010 (Gerry Embleton, Time Machine AG)

The missing Half
Double-walled molds consist of two pieces that are stacked on top of each other, to form a hollowed-out cavity. This cavity is then filled with liquid metal, to create the desired object. This Bronze Age object here is one half of such a mold. That looks like it was used to cast a pair of pins. It has seen a lot of use andis broken at one end. The mold was made from sedimentary rock, which is a material that is easy to shape, but also very brittle. The two parts of the mold usually had at least two opposing and aligned perforations. A pin of wood was inserted through them, and fixed the pieces in place, for a perfect cast.The second hole of this piece was probably located on the missing part that broke off. This mold was discovered in Möringen and is evidence for regional metal processing, although there were no sources ofmetal ores in the area itself.

© musée d'art et d'histoire, La Neuveville
A Pile Dwelling Dream
This illustration by the "father of Swiss archaeology," Ferdinand Keller, is one of the best visualizations of the myth of lakeside villages, erected on vast platforms and overhanging the waves. Although this view has been challenged by archaeological discoveries about the chronological and structural diversity of wetland habitats, this romantic vision continues to hold its fascination...

© MAH Geneve, Nathalie Sabato
Description : Model of a Pile Dwelling Site from Max Wilhelm Götzinger
Material : Glass, Wood, Balsa "wood (?), Cardboard, Cords, wooden Figures (?), Stones, Vegetable Fibres. Plywood base
Datation : ca. 1870
Well-Rounded
A jug with breasts? There has to be a story. But the jug from Thayngen-Weier (SH), unfortunately, does not tell its tale. In similar containers from Germany, researchers found traces of their former contents: birch tar, remnants of grain porridge, or coarse soup. The soup could have a connection to the production of alcohol. It appears the jugs may have been used in transformation processes.

© Museum zu Allerheiligen, Ivan Ivic
Description : Vessel
Material : Ceramic
Datation : Neolithic
Others : Site: Thayngen-Weier

Let's go Shopping
The pile-dwelling settlement of Stansstad, Kehrsiten NW, is presently the only prehistoric settlement site at Lake Lucerne. Since its discovery in 2003, the site has been under periodical surveillance.

© Staatsarchiv Nidwalden, Fachstelle für Archäologie
Description : Objects of all Types
Material : Wood, bone, ceramics and many modern things
Datation : Neolithic and 21st century
Polished Stone Axe
This particularly well-preserved axe was discovered during the excavations in Consice (VD) “Sous Colachoz”, conducted within the “Rail 2000” project. The greenstone blade was polished carefully and is still attached to its ash wood handle.

© MCAH, Yves André
Description : Beil
Material : Green stone and Ash Wood
Datation : Middle Neolithic, 3672-3555 B.C.

© MCAH, Yves André
Food for Thought
Packed in cotton wool and locked in a glass container, the hazelnuts from Lake Constance have been stored for almost 100 years, in the Freiburg University collection of prehistoric artefacts. As is typical for the early period of pile-dwelling research, the objects were collected by laymen. Although their origin and dating is often unclear, these objects were acquired for educational purposes.

© IAW, Abt. Ur- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie, Michael Kinsky
Description : Hazel nuts from Wangen, Lake of Constance
Material : Organic Remains
Datation : Time of Pile Dwellers (?)
Lost and Found
160 years ago, these two textile fragments were discovered, then put aside and pretty much forgotten. When they were recently “rediscovered”, it became clear that they were remnants of a prehistoric sling, a predecessor of the one used by the biblical David against Goliath, thousands of years later. The sling was created with the tablet (or card) weaving technique, and its special shape required a high degree of craftsmanship. This was no simple shepherd’s sling, but rather a hunter’s or warrior’s high-tech weapon. It is the oldest discovered artifact of its kind in all of Europe.

© NMB, P. Weyeneth
Description : Slingshot
Material : Flax
Datation : Bronze Age, 1000-900 B.C.
Others : Collection Museum Schwab

The Lavagnone Plough
The Lavagnone plough belongs to the Triptolemos type. This type of plow construction remained largely unchanged for several centuries. The Triptolemos plough is a tool suitable for light soils that are flat and were previously tilled. It turns the sod, which aerates the soil and makes it more productive. The Trittolemo plough was the only one used in Italy, during the Bronze Age, and it is the most common plough across prehistoric Europe.

© MiBACT
Description : Plough
Material : Plough: Oak, Yoke: Birch
Datation : Early Bronze Age, ca. 2000 B.C.
Are the Fish biting?
The special thing about this fishing hook are its two points. This type of construction is seen in only about 15% of all the prehistoric fishinghooks found in Switzerland. Those that look just like the ones today with the single points, were found in large numbers, and are testament to the importance of lacustrine fishing at that time. The hook with the two points was likely used for predatory fishes, such as trout, pike, catfish and perch, which were caught with a piece of live bait. The points on this particular hook have no barbs – which made it easier to remove the caught fish, and extended the life of the bait for some time.

© musée d'art et d'histoire, La Neuveville
The Voyages of the Wooden Club of Lüscherz
In February 1952, amateur pile-dwelling collector Erwin Dubler, from Erlach, found a completely intact wooden club of 52 cm length, at a depth of 1.5 meters, in the area of the pile-dwelling site of Lüscherz Dorf. He sold it to the collector Carl Irlet, in the town of Twann, who had it properly treated and preserved by the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. It has since been on display in Irlet’s personal museum, which he had established in 1939. Fast forward to 2015: an email from the Halle State Museum of Prehistory (Saxony-Anhalt) arrives at the Swiss National Museum. Halle was looking for items for their exhibit on the “pre-history” of war, and had read about a wooden club, that was once treated at the Museum in Zurich. Only hours later, the Swiss sent a photo of the “Casse-tête” to their colleagues in Halle. A formal loan request by Halle followed, and the club soon travels to Germanyin a custom-made box. The museum in Halle displays it in a showcase lined with velvet, along with several smaller and larger “cousins” from France, the Netherlands, Germany and other places. Was the club proud? Twann certainly was! The club returned to its homein 2016, where it is now considered somewhat of a “star with international experience”.

© Pfahlbaumuseum Irlet Twann
Description : Club
Material : Wood
Datation : ca. 3000 B.C.
Prehistoric Weapon Export
Two flint daggers from the Early Stone Age were found in Wauwilermoos. The two prestigious objects originate from Italy and Bavaria and are a testimony to wide-ranging bartering relationships.

© Kantonsarchäologie Luzern
Rediscovery of a “Fine Blade”
The teacher Jacob Süsstrunk, from the town of Murten, discovered and meticulously excavated this site, at the end of the 19th century. By 1930, the Neolithic village was considered completely excavated. But during underwater explorations at the end of the 20th century, further parts of the settlement were discovered.

© SAEF

A Generous Sip
This delicate, thin-walled vessel has a diameter of approximately only eight centimeters, and was probably used as a drinking bowl. It was carved from the robust burl of a hazel bush. Such burls were frequently used for hemispheric vessels in the Neolithic period, because their complex grain makes them highly resistant to tears.

© Museum für Urgeschichte(n) Zug, Res Eichenberger

Dagger Blade, San Sivino-Gabbiano
Finely knapped flint blades, shafted in wood, or bone, or antler, appear to have been the Neolithic warriors’ insignia. With the beginning of the Bronze Age, the blades of such daggers are increasingly made of the new metal, only retaining their organic handles.
The oldest bronze dagger blades are sometimes, decorated, which indicates that they retained some of their former symbolic meaning.

© MiBACT
Description : Dagger Blade
Material : Bronze
Datation : Bronze Age, ca. 2000-1800 B.C.
The World of the First Farmers
We are in the small village “Burgäschisee Ost”. Men, women and children are building a new house. 6000 years ago, stone axes like this were used to construct pile-dwellings. Through the use of reenactments, illustrations and installations, we breathe some life back into these unique artifacts.

© Archäologisches Museum Kanton Solothurn
Description : Stone Axe (replica)
Material : Stone, Antler, Leather, Wood
Datation : Neolithic, um 3800 B.C.

Real Fake
After their discovery, the pile dwellings were a huge public interest in the late 19th century. Romanticized fantasies about life in the distant past were only surpassed by the ingenuity of some scoundrels, who supplied the booming antiquities market with clumsy counterfeits. This dolerite stone blade, for example, was simply stuck into a piece of contemporary deer antler, and sold to a collector in 1859. In fact, his item would have been completely useless to anyone, especially in the Neolithic.

© NMB, P. Weyeneth
Description : Axe
Material : Green Stone and Antler
Datation : Neolithic and 1859 A.D.
Others : Collection Museum Schwab

Bottom of a Birch Bark Box
Excavations at the site of “Clendy Bay”, in Yverdon-les-Bains, uncovered 12 containersmade of birch, or lime bark. This 20 cm diameter base is representative example of the found artifacts. It is made of plates of bark that were sewn together with threads of bast. This type of lightweight container could be used for harvesting, or the storage and transport of goods.

© Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire Lausanne, Fibbi-Aeppli
Description : Vessel
Material : Birch Bark
Datation : End of Neolithic, 2751-2723 B.C.

Enigmatic
The nearly 200 limestone discs that were recovered at the bog village of Ehrenstein, in the valley of the river Blau, and the town of Blaustein, at first glance look like buttons. But their sizes are much larger, from 2 cm to 15 cm in diameter, and their weight is between 8 g and 260 g. Just like buttons, they have two holes in the middle, and they are decorated with radial etchings that were filled with black birch pitch, apparently for emphasis. Perhaps they were also used to fasten something or other, but what that was, remains a mystery.

© Museum Ulm/Stadt Blaustein, M. Grupp
Description : Disc, double perforated and decorated on one side
Material : Limestone
Datation : Neolithic, ca. 4.000 B.C.
Others : Portrait created in cooperation between the Museum Ulm and the Stone Age Village Ehrenstein - ehrensteinzeitdorf
Textile Production
Here is depicted a ball of yarn and a spindle with a thread of linen, as well as spindle whorls of fired clay and stone. All of them came from an early excavation at Chalain, and date to about 2700 BC to 2600 BC.

© Musée de Lons-le-Saunier (France), David Vuillermoz
Description : Linen Cord, Spindle and Spindle Whorl
Material : Flax, Ceramic, Stone
Datation : Neolithic, 2700-2600 B.C.
A Map as Precise as a Knife’s Edge
This object was discovered at “Pointe de Greng”, which is one of the best-known sites on Lake Morat, due to its extensive pile field. In his spare time, during the low water levels in the winter of 1921, the surveyor Winkler drew up one of the first maps of a Bronze age pile-dwelling settlement at the site. A century later, his highly accurate work is still an essential document for understanding the site.

© SAEF

Pitch Pebble
Pitch was produced from the bark of the birch tree, and was the superglue of the Stone Age. While the pitch was hot and malleable, it was applied and spread onto stuff, with equally hot pebbles. The reason why so many of these specific tools were found in the Settlement of Ehrenstein, the only known site of the Schussenrieder Culture, and one of the few known “riverside” pile dwellings, remains a mystery.

© Landesmuseum Württemberg, H. Zwietasch
Description : Pebble with Birch Pitch
Material : Pebble / Pitch
Datation : Neolithic
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That's not from my dog!
This strange object from the Late Bronze Age settlement looks a little like dogpoop… However, it is a unique example of a tin ingot, from the Ore Mountains, that was used as raw material in the production of bronze.

© Kantonsarchäologie Luzern
Description : Tin Ingot
Material : Tin
Datation : Late Bronze Age
Others : Site: Sursee Gammainseli
Logboat
This log boat was discovered as early as 1806, off the shore of the town of Morges. Unfortunately, it was the victim of a secret extraction attemptin 1823, that resulted in the destruction of itsrear section. The front section was also illegally removed, in 1877, by two Geneva fishermen. Despite a request for restitution by the State of Vaud, it was acquired by H.-J. Gosse for the Archaeological Museum.

©_MAH Genève, Bettina Jacot Descombes
Always Fish
During the 1993 excavations at the pile dwelling settlement of Arbon-Bleiche 3, one of the pottery shards discovered still had some burnt food stuck to its inside surface. A well preserved fish scale proves, 5400 years ago, a ”Bouillabaisse” was overcooked in this vessel.

© AATG
Description : Sheard with Remains of Fishsoup
Material : Ceramics, Fish Scales
Datation : Neolithic
A Noisy Piece of Jewellery
Wheel-shaped pendants were worn by Bronze Age lake dwellers probably as symbols for the sun and as lucky charms. This amulet shows thirteen decorative metal sheets in form of stylised humans. Worn on the body or clothes, they produced a rattling sound with every movement. Who knows, whether it was supposed to protect its wearer from harm or just attract attention?

© Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum, Donat Stuppan
Description : Pendant
Material : Bronze
Datation : Bronze Age, ca. 1050-850 B.C.
Others : Site: Auvernier (NE)

Figurines
Figurines representing people and animals,, from various sites at Lake Bourget (Savoie)
During the “Fishing for Antiques”, as well as a recent excavation, several figurines were discovered. The anthropomorphic ones are shaped like "stars", or more proportional human, but also enlarged and hermaphroditic. Others, the zoomorphs, are in the shape of birds, deer or quadrupeds.

© Musée Savoisien, Département de la Savoie, Solenne Paul
Description : Figurines of Human and Animals
Material : Burnt Clay
Datation : Late Bronze Age, 950-850 B.C.
Others : Inv. 896.720, 896.721, 896.722, 896.723, 896.724.1, 896.725.1, 896.730.1, 70.59.788, D2015.2.12.1 et .2, 896.726, 896.728.1, 896.729.1, 896.727.1, 70.59.998, 897.1159
Early Practises
In 2007, divers systematically searched Lake Inkwil for archaeological remains. In the process they found a sword made of firwood. Protected from the air by the groundwater, the unique find was able to survive in the lake bed for around 3000 years. Most likely, it was a toy sword for children to practice fencing.

© Kantonsarchäologie Solothurn, Martin Bösch
Description : Sword
Material : Wood
Datation : Bronze Age, ca 1100 B.C.
Others : The sword will be loan to the Laténium Neuchâtel from 15 May 2021 to 10 January 2022.

© Archäologischer Dienst Bern
Coppercat
Various metal objects and a crucible attest to the fact that during various Neolithic settlement phases in HitzkirchSeematt, copper was processed continuously. Some of the objects where found under water.

© Kantonsarchäologie Luzern
Description : Crucibles and Copper Devices
Material : Ceramic and Copper
Datation : Neolithic / 4th and 3rd millenium B.C.
Others : Site: Hitzkirch Seematt
Row of 45 Menhirs
At “Clendy Bay”, in Yverdon-Les-Bains, only a few meters east of the namesake pile dwelling settlement, there stood two rows of menhirs, 45 in number. They occupied an area of about 100 by 50 meters and stood between 35 cm and 4.5 meters tall. The site was discovered in 1975, and in 1986, the stones were re-erected in their original places. This site represents the most significant megalithic construction in Switzerland.

© Musée d’Yverdon et région, Rémy Gindroz
Description : Menhirs
Material : Stone, Alpine Erratics
Datation : Middle Neolithic - Early Bronze Age, 4500-1500 B.C.

© Musée d’Yverdon et région, Magali Köning
Precious Dishes for Fine Dining
Around 950 BC of the Late Bronze Age, the settlement at Zug Sumpf burned down entirely. The remains of ceramic vessels buried in the rubble are rich in ornaments and lush forms, and indicate that such dishes and festive meals had become important in society. This black polished bowl was crafted probably by a female potter, who was a master at her craft.

© Museum für Urgeschichte(n) Zug, Res Eichenberger

Crystal Clear
As a teenager in the early 1920s, Willi Seger found this Neolithic arrowhead made of rock crystal in the lakeside settlement of Ermatingen-Westerfeld. Projectiles made from this raw material are extremely rare. Seger lovingly kept his treasure in a small Hennessy Cognacbox .

© AATG
Step Inside
The pile dwellers entered their houses through doors like this. The spur in the lower part of the door frame was stuck in the threshold, and served as a hinge. Straps were passed through the holes on its left side, that fixed the door to the frame. This door was discovered as early as 1868, on Lake Pfäffikon, and certainly added fuel to the "Lake Dwelling Fever" of the time.

© Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum, Donat Stuppan
Description : Door Leaf
Material : Wood (White Fir)
Datation : Neolithic, ca. 3700 B.C.
Others : Site: Wetzikion Robenhausen (ZH)

Decorated Ceramic Vessel
The discovery of the prehistoric pile dwellings in the 1870’s, caused much excitement and interest across Upper Swabia. This jug was one of the treasures discovered during one of the earliest excavations in the Steinhauser March, near Bad Schussenried. Perhaps, back when it was new, this beautifully ornamented jug was filled to the rim with beer, and passed around the table, to fill the mugs of thirsty friends.

© Landesmuseum Württemberg, P. Frankenstein / H. Zwietasch
Description : Decorated Ceramic Vessel
Material : Burnt Clay
Datation : Neolithic
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A 3000 year-old Wheel
The ash wood wheel of Corcelettes (VD) was discovered in 1987 at the bottom of Lake Neuenburger, under a 15 cm layer of sand. It is very well-preserved and was treated with a special procedure, that substituted the water in the pores of the wood with synthetic resin. The wheel was part of a cart, with two or four wheels. Various petroglyphs in Val Camonica (Northern Italy) give us an idea of what these carts might have looked like.

© MCAH, Yves André

© Archéologie cantonale Lausanne, M. Pugin
Birch Bark Pitch„Chewing Gum“
So far, over 200 pieces of „Chewing Gum” were recovered from the pile dwelling site of Hornstaad. The imprints of teeth left in the pieces indicate that they were chewed primarily by younger adults. Perhaps they chewed the tar to soften and shape it for later use as an adhesive or sealant, or for therapeutic reasons, to alleviate toothaches. Or, it was simply chewed for the fun of it, although its flavor is described as rather “tarry with hints of smoked meats”, and would probably not sell very well, today.

Description : Birch Bark with teeth imprints
Material : Birch Bark
Datation : 3917-3909 B.C.
Others : Literature: C. Fuchs, Gut gekaut – Die Birkenpechstücke aus Hornstaad-Hörnle In: 4000 Jahre Pfahlbauern (2016) 160 u. Abb. 416; M. Kaiser, Ein vielseitiger Alleskleber – Birkenpech. Ebenda 351.
Milk Processing
Here are some artifacts that point to the processing of milk: cheese molds out of fired clay, from early excavations at Clairvaux La-Motte-aux-Magnins and Chalain. Cups from Clairvaux Station VII that once contained other milk products, and a stirring tool for the production of cream, made from the tip of a young fir tree, from Chalain Station 19, dating between 3900 BC and 2600 BC

© Musée de Lons-le-Saunier (France), David Vuillermoz
Description : Milk Processing Accessoires
Material : Burnt Clay, Wood (Fir)
Datation : Neolithic, 3900-2600 B.C.
An Enigmatic Tablet
Around 2000 BC, someone took this small clay tablet, drew some horizontal lines along which he impressed a series of circular signs, and then baked it. What did he mean? What was this object? A calendar? An amulet? A receipt? Similar objects are found in Italy, Germany and Austria. Their meaning and purpose remain Enigmas.

© Museo Archeologico della Valle Sabbia
Description : Täfelchen
Material : Clay
Datation : Early Bronze Age
Others : The object was broken into two parts, which were found 20 years apart (1986 and 2006).
Moulders from the Alps?
This mould is made of soapstone (Lavez), which can be found in Grisons. The specific type of razorblade that was cast from this mould has so far only been found in the Alpine region (Grisons/Upper Austria). Is it possible that the pile-dwelling settlement Technikum/ Rapperswil-Jona, was home to an alpine bronze caster?

© KASG
Fashionable Hats...
...in the Bay of Hinterhorn
During the excavations at Wangen-Hinterhorn, in 1981, the archaeologists of the Baden Württemberg Department of Monuments and Sites discovered a “pointed hat” made of linden tree bast. It was buried in an archaeological layer, associated with the „Pfyner Culture“. Ribbons of fleeced bast were fastened to the base construction of the hat, to give it a “fur-like” appearance. Not everyone in the Neolithic could afford a real fur hat, like Ötzi.

© Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Reg. Präs. Stuttgart, Helmut Schlichtherle, Almut Kalkowski, Monika Erne
Description : Textile (Hat)
Material : Bast of the linden tree
Datation : Neolithic, ca. 3800 B.C.
Others : Hats crafted from linden bast wereworks of art. The pointy shape resulted from the tying together of the vertical strands at the base of the construction. After that, the hat was turned over and the fleeced ribbons were hooked through the loops of the hor

Bling-Bling
When the Stone Age got its name, this axe was still in the ground. For a long time,the fact that Neolithic pile-dwellers already worked with metal was unknown. Copper axes were rather rare and valuable. Ötzi the Iceman had one in his bag, and apparently, the pile-dwellers of Thayngen-Weier (SH) were also proud owners of one of these prestigious objects.

© Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen, Katharina Bürgin
Description : Copper Axe
Material : Copper
Datation : Neolithic
Others : Site: Thayngen-Weier

Lavagnone Harvestknife
The harvest knife consists of a carved wooden body and four chipped flints (known as sickle-blade elements) fixed in place with plant resin, which compose the cutting edge. The handle is made of oak and it send is sharply bent so that the gathered cereal stems can be cut with a single stroke.

© MiBACT
Description : Harvestknife
Material : Wood (Oak) and Silex
Datation : Early Bronze Age, ca. 2000 B.C.
Miniature Log Boat
This miniature log boat is made oflemon tree wood and was probably someone’s toy. It measures 34 cm and was carved from a single piece. It was found at the site of “Clendy Bay”, in Yverdon-Les-Bains, and it illustrates the shape of the real log boats that were in use during the Bronze Age and the Neolithic at the Lake Neuenburgersee. It very much resembles the eleven meters long, oaken log boat that was found in Corcelettes, and dates to the Late Bronze Age (ca. 978 BC)

© Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire Lausanne, Fibbi-Aeppli
Description : Miniature Logboat
Material : Wood (Lime)
Datation : Neolithic (Lüscherz), 2718-2705 B.C.

Archaeology as a Business Venture
During the 19th century, Robenhausen was a center in pile dwelling research. In order to finance his excavations, the farmer and legendary pile dwelling “explorer”, Jakob Messikommer, sold many of his found artifacts to buyers across the world. He even sold models of “reconstructed” pile dwellings, in a scale of 1:20. He charged thirty Swiss Francs per model. Not cheap for the time; and still, Museums across Europe were buying like crazy

© Museum Wetzikon, G. Flüeler
Description : House Model
Material : Wood, Clay, Reed
Datation : 19th century (A.D.)
Swords and Hilt Mold
Grésine is the only European site where both swords and a sword hilt mold were discovered together. The proximity of the artifacts may indicate a prehistoric smithy. Apparently, the handles were molded onto the finished blades.

© Musée Savoisien, Département de la Savoie, Solenne Paul
Description : Swords and Hilt Mold
Material : Bronze (Swords), Sedimentary Rock (Hilt Mold)
Datation : Late Bronze Age, 950-850 B.C.
Others : Inv. 896.443, 896.444 et 897.1068
Imported Goods
Even 5000 years ago, high-quality raw material was extremely valued, and people went to great length to acquire it: These exquite silex dagger blades, with the typical honey-yellow color of the source, were imported from Grand-Pressigny (F), as far as 800 km away. The inferior raw material from the surrounding area could not be shaped this precicely and simply could not compete.

© Amt für Städtebau - Unterwasserarchäologie Zürich
Description : Daggerblade
Material : Silex
Datation : Neolithic (Schnurkeramik)
Hit after Hit
The marks of the bronze axe that was used to put a point on the wooden pile, are clearly visible. Hundreds of these piles were used to build the pile-dwelling of Feldbach Ost, in 1490 BC. The piles were recovered and conserved in 2003.

© KASG
Description : Wooden Pile
Material : Wood (Spruce)
Datation : Middle- to Late Bronze Age
Hunting with Bow and Arrow
Armed with bow and arrow, Neolithic people went hunting. Their diet included deer, roedeer and wild boar. Bears, beavers and foxes were also hunted, but most likely for their fur. Most Neolithic bows were made of yew. Its wood is both hard and elastic, which made it ideal for manufacturing high quality bows.

© Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum, Jörg Brandt
Description : Bow
Material : Wood (Yew)
Datation : Neolithic, 4th millenium B.C.
Others : Site: Sutz-Lattringen

Tool, Ornament, or Symbol of Status?
The bone fragment is decorated with fine incisions, and shows the remnants of a perforation at the end. Was this piece just a pretty accessory, an award, or a symbol of the status of the wearer? Or does it fulfil a practical function that we cannot see?

© Amt für Städtebau - Unterwasserarchäologie Zürich
Description : Pendant
Material : Bone
Datation : Neolithic (Horgen)
Applied Physics
Georg Sulger, co-founder of the Lake Dwelling Museum found this part of a pile dwelling construction in Unteruhldingen "Stollenwiesen". The wooden plank, a "pile shoe", had been perforated in a central square. The tip of a house pile was still stuck in this opening. This prevented the pile from sinking into the deep lake bed and distributed the weight that the pile had to carry over a larger area. In the end, it is like skiing: Skis prevent from sinking into the snow.

© Museum Unteruhldingen, P. Walter
Description : Architectural Element
Material : Wood (Oak)
Datation : Bronze Age, 9th century B.C.

Gable
A triangular gable made of hazel and clemantis wood, from Chalain Station 3, about 300 BC to 2900 BC.

© Musée de Lons-le-Saunier (France), David Vuillermoz
Description : Wooden wickerwork
Material : Wood (Hazel / Clematis)
Datation : Neolithic, 3000-2900 B.C.
Local Clay for exotic Designs
The potter used locally available clay from the shore of the Bieler Lake, but shaped this vessel in a tradition that he or she must have learned somewhere between Burgundy and Franche-Comté. This would be a very likely explanation for the unusual design of the piece. The unusual combination of raw material, shape and technique, demonstrate the dynamic exchange of pottery traditions across a broad geographic area

© Service archéologique du canton de Berne, Ph. Joner

Bare Feet? Certainly Not!
In 2017, fragments of more than forty Neolithic braided shoes were found at the Schifflände-Maur site. A sensation! Up to then, prehistoric shoes were very rare and only single finds. The find prompted an international team of archaeologists to reconstruct detailed copies of the shoes, in order to gather more insights into the craft of prehistoric cobblers.

© Archäologie und Denkmalpflege für den Kanton Zürich, M. Bachmann, redesigned B. Fath
Description : Wickerwork, Bast Shoe
Material : Lime Bast
Datation : Neolithic (Horgen)
Others : Two of the finds as well as a true-to-detail modern copy can be viewed in Maur in the special exhibition ’Die Pfahlbauer in Maur’ from 12.04.-31.10.2021.
To Err is Human
Farmer Jakob Messikommer discovered some kind of textile fragments in Robenhausen, and sent them to the renowned pile dwelling specialist, Ferdinand Keller. Keller declared that the textile could not be from the times of the pile dwellers: “A loom is a relatively complicated instrument, even in its simplest form! How do you imagine a people who don´t even know metal, to have aloom?”

© Archäologie und Denkmalpflege für den Kanton Zürich, M. Bachmann
Description : Textiles between Glass Plates
Material : Textiles, Glass
Datation : Neolithic
Nozzle Fragment
This nozzle was discovered around 1870, at the lakeside station of Plonjon (Eaux-Vives) in Geneva. It is bent in the shape of a horse's neck, and was connected to a bellows that was used to fan the fire of a furnace. This discovery, along with other items, such as hammers, chisels, punches, molasses moulds, casting failures and other cast-iron wastes, is testamony of a bronze-maker's workshop.

© MAH Geneve
Description : Nozzle in the Shape of an Animal Head
Material : Burnt Clay
Datation : Late Bronze Age, 1350 - 700 B.C.

Imprint
Idea:
Ludivine Marquis, Jonas Kissling, Pierre Harb, Barbara Fath
Design:
Steffen Kraut, lautschrift - agentur für visuelle gestaltung und kommunikation
Contributions:
Texts and images are the property of the respective project partners. We would like to thank them for allowing us to use them for the project "10 years - 100 stories".

Datation : 2021