A diver brings a piece of stilt to the surface (April 22, 2021)
Keystone / Urs Flueeler
Archaeologists have, for the first time, found traces of a Bronze Age lakeside village under the surface of Lake Lucerne. The find shows that the city of Lucerne area was already populated 3,000 years ago.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/Canton of Lucerne/ilj
Español
es
Hallan vestigios de la Edad de Bronce bajo un lago suizo
This is 2,000 years earlier than previously thought, researchers said on Thursday.
Traces of a pile dwelling (or stilt house) village came to light while laying a pipeline in the natural harbour area. The remnants were found by underwater archaeologists around four metres below the water surface.
A diver from Zurich’s unterwater archaeology department at work in Lake Lucerne
Unterwasserarchäologie UWAD Zürich/Canton Lucerne
“This finally confirms the theory that, in earlier times, the Lucerne lake basin was a suitable settlement area,” a canton Lucerne statementExternal link said.
Proof of settlement
Archaeologists had been looking for proof of settlement for some time, but had been hampered by a thick layer of mud at the bottom of the lake. Work on the pipeline however revealed around 30 prehistoric wooden piles or stilts and five pieces of pottery.
The wood and pottery have been tested and dated to the late Bronze Ages, so around 1,000 years BC.
An artist’s impression of life at a Lucerne area stilt village
Joe Rohrer/Canton of Lucerne
The find coincides with the 10th anniversary of prehistoric lakeside pile dwellings in Alpine countries – including in Switzerland – being given Unesco World Heritage Site status.
Unesco describes the groupExternal link of dwellings as “one of the most important sources for the study of early agrarian societies in the region”.
More
More
Life on stilts
This content was published on
Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France have successfully campaigned to have 111 of the most important lakeside pile dwellings in the Alps designated World Heritage sites. Of these, 56 are in Switzerland.
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
This content was published on
All our waters today are pure at source," Muriel Lienau, general manager of Nestlé Waters, told AFP after press revelations.
Switzerland concerned about impact of US withdrawal from WHO
This content was published on
Switzerland has expressed concern about the loss of American experts and the freezing of contracts due to the announced withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Rhine Falls is most rated Swiss location on Google Maps
This content was published on
The Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland, with more than 75,000 ratings, is the Swiss place most reviewed by Google Maps users.
Asian investors sue Switzerland over Credit Suisse bond losses
This content was published on
More than 500 investors from Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong have launched claims against Switzerland in relation to AT1 bonds.
Man cleared of Geneva diplomat murder but convicted of rape
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has acquitted an Ivorian-Italian dual national of murdering an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva in 1995.
Switzerland to cut funding for gala cultural events from 2029
This content was published on
Large-scale Swiss cultural events, such as the Locarno Film Festival, will lose state funding from 2029 as part of a cost-cutting drive by the administration.
Ideas to recover ammunition from Swiss lakes flood in
This content was published on
An appeal to the public to suggest ways to safely retrieve 8,000 tons of munitions from the bottom of Swiss lakes has yielded around 100 proposals.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Prehistoric find located beneath the waves
This content was published on
Since it was made of wood scientists used dendrochronology – the technique of dating by tree rings – to give a precise figure of 3863 BC. The find in Lake Biel, northwest of the Swiss capital, Bern, was described as “sensational” by Albert Hafner, who is in charge of underwater archaeology in the region. Divers…
This content was published on
Stretching across six European countries, they were added to the Unesco World Heritage List in June 2011. There are 111 sites in all, with 56 of them in Switzerland. The dwellings in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia, lie deep in lakes or buried in sand on lake shores. Yet for Unesco, they qualify…
Archaeological discovery confirms Lake Geneva tsunami research
This content was published on
Roman remains uncovered by Vaud archaeologists appear to confirm previous research about a giant tsunami on Lake Geneva in 563AD.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.