Traces of Bronze Age Village Discovered in Switzerland

[Judi Lynn]

Monday, April 26, 2021

ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND—Swissinfo.ch reports that traces of a Bronze Age village were found under a thick layer of mud and 13 feet of water in central Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne during pipeline construction. Researchers from Zürich’s underwater archaeology department recovered five pieces of pottery and about 30 stilts that would have supported houses positioned on the lake’s edge some 3,000 years ago. The settlement suggests that the area was inhabited about 2,000 years earlier than previously thought. To read about gauging historical lead pollution levels from an ice core taken from a Swiss glacier, go to "History in Ice."

https://www.archaeology.org/news/9660-210426-bronze-age-switzerland

(Just the merest whisper of an article, will be hoping to find more details as soon as possible, will post them in this forum. So damned interesting!)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Lake pile dwellings prove Lucerne was settled in prehistory

Wooden stakes from prehistoric pile dwellings built on what was then the shore of Lake Lucerne were discovered last year during construction of water pipeline. They date to 1000 B.C., proving that the human settlement of Lucerne is 2,000 years older than previously believed.

The city of Lucerne as we know it today was founded 800 years ago and while there have been a few Neolithic and Roman archaeological materials found here and there, no evidence of a previous settlement has ever been discovered until now. This is largely due to the rise in the level of the lake since the 15th century. The outflow of water began to be choked by storm debris at that time, and the lake rose even higher when weirs were installed to power mills in the 19th century. The much deeper lake effectively put the remains of its prehistoric settlement out of reach as well as making it seem an unsuitable candidate for a pile dwelling settlements.

Because the water levels in the lake were 16 feet lower before the 15th century, archaeologists have looked for evidence of early pile dwellings on the lake bed as a long shallow shore would have been an ideal settlement area. Nothing was found before now because the thick layer of mud covering the lake bed obscured everything.

More:
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61230

[elleng]

2. the human settlement of Lucerne is 2,000 years older than previously believed.

[elleng]

3. So damned interesting!!!

[Judi Lynn]

4. 3,000-year-old sunken settlement discovered beneath Lake Lucerne

Archaeologists have discovered a 3,000-year-old Bronze Age settlement beneath Lake Lucerne near the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland.

On behalf of the Canton Archaeology of Lucerne, a team of underwater archaeologists from the Office for Urban Development of the City of Zurich made the discovery whilst supporting dredging works in preparation for the construction of a pipeline.

Lake Lucerne is a 114 km² freshwater lake that reaches depths of up to 434 metres. During the 15th century, the Krienbach River carried large amounts of rubble and debris towards the River Reuss restricting the lake outflow.

In combination with more recent human activity, the lake’s water level has risen by around 5 metres and submerged any archaeological remains on the shallow lake basin.

To date, there has been no previous evidence of submerged settlements within the Lake Lucerne area, as the lakebed consists of thick layers of deposited mud that can only be investigated during larger construction projects.

More:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/04/3000-year-old-sunken-settlement-discovered-beneath-lake-lucerne/138796

[BlueMTexpat]

5. Here's the Swissinfo

article referred to:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bronze-age-village-found-under-swiss-lake/46559866

Thanks, JL, for posting your excellent and informative discoveries!

Eta: as a Senior Citizen resident of Switzerland whose commune provided pre-Covid 19 annual excursions especially for us SCs, I have visited some of the Bronze Age settlements here.

They are absolutely fascinating!