CH-VD-12
Morges, | Stations de Morges
Short Description
This site comprises two distinct but very close pile dwelling sites, occupied during the Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age. The older of the two (Vers l'Eglise) was first established during the Lüscherz culture, then reoccupied during the Late Bronze Age. It has a very rich archaeological layer of artefacts, which has yielded fragments of two large ceramic jars decorated with cord marks. These pottery pieces have characteristic decorations comparable to objects found in the French Rhône Valley or the French Jura. The larger settlement (La Grande-Cité) dates exclusively to the Late Bronze Age. In addition to fragments of archaeological layers, this site preserves the remains of architectural structures (piles, pile blocks, floors, etc.). It was at this site in 1854 that archaeologist and geologist Adolf von Morlot attempted the first underwater archaeological exploration with a rudimentary diving helmet.
Special Features & Highlights
Slightly further offshore from the Grande-Cité station was a prehistoric oak logboat. In 1823, some young people brought half of it ashore, where it broke and dried out on the quay. In 1877, two ‘Geneva pirates’ (according to F.-A. Forel) recovered the other half and sold it to the Geneva Museum. A lawsuit ensued, apparently without success, as this half of the boat is currently on display in the archaeology room of the Geneva Museum of Art and History. Its dendrochronological dating confirms that it dates from the Late Bronze Age, after 1105 BCE.
Pile Dwellings up close
Archaeological artefacts collected from sites along the Vaud shores of Lake Geneva are on display at the Cantonal Museum of Archaeology and History in Lausanne.
Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire
Palais de Rumine
Place de la Riponne 6
1005 Lausanne
+41 21 316 34 30
au site web
Neolithic / Bronze Age
Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age
Lake Geneva
368 m.a.s.l.
Size of the site:
2,23 ha / approx. 3 soccer pitches
Size of the bufferzone:
7,64 / approx. 11 soccer pitches
