CH-NE-02

Short Description
This vast coastal settlement, preserved in a small bay, has not been excavated. The pile field, consisting of nearly 5,000 piles, is completely submerged and touches the current shore. It was first mentioned in 1909. Apart from the piles protruding from the seabed, the site is marked by a mound of pebbles (tenevière) containing numerous archaeological objects, such as polished stone axes, deer antler handles, fragments of coarse pottery, etc. Dendrochronological dating of eight wood samples seems to indicate two successive occupations during the Middle Neolithic period, the first during the classical Cortaillod period between 3841 and 3817 BCE, and the second during the late Cortaillod period between 3531 and 3528 BCE. In 2015, a systematic topographical survey of the piles visible on the surface revealed that the site was much larger than previously estimated. There are 4,834 piles in total, spread over an area of 7,000 m². The varying degrees of preservation of the piles suggest that the classical Cortaillod occupation was in the east and the late Cortaillod occupation in the west, as it is better preserved from erosion.