La Tène was discovered more than 150 years ago, the site gave its name to the second half of the Iron Age across much of Europe

Discovered over 150 years ago, La Tène lent its name to the second half of the Iron Age across much of Europe, with its distinctive artifacts often linked to the Celts. But what exactly was uncovered at La Tène? Andrew Fitzpatrick and Marc-Antoine Kaeser examine the evolving interpretations of this iconic site.

The Discovery of La Tène and Its Impact on Archaeology

The Archaeological Fever of the 1850s

In the 1850s, archaeology was booming in Switzerland. A particularly cold winter in 1854 led to an unusually low water level in Lake Zürich, revealing a Neolithic lakeside settlement at Meilen, abandoned over 4,000 years earlier due to rising water levels. This discovery ignited a widespread fascination with ancient settlements, leading to the identification of similar sites across Switzerland, Italy, France, and Germany. The artifacts found in these locations quickly became highly collectible, attracting tourists who could even walk on the wooden floors of prehistoric houses. The phenomenon, often referred to as ‘lake-dwelling fever,’ fueled a growing trade in antiquities.

A panorama from Mont Chaumont over Lake Neuchâtel and the Entre-Deux-Lacs region, with the Bernese Alps in the background. This detail from a watercolour by Jean Henri Baumann, c.1850, shows the lake and the course of the river Thielle just before La Tène was discovered. La Tène lies between the red roofs of the hamlet of Epagnier and the hospital at Préfargier. [IMAGE: Musée d’art et d’histoire, Neuchâtel, Switzerland]

Fishermen, skilled in locating these submerged settlements, played a crucial role in retrieving artifacts. Among them was Hans Kopp, who worked for Colonel Friedrich Schwab, a wealthy collector and politician from Bienne (Biel in German). Schwab eagerly sought new additions to his collection, and Kopp’s discoveries would soon change the course of European archaeology.

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The Discovery at La Tène

In November 1857, Hans Kopp set out to explore a settlement at Concise in Lake Neuchâtel. On his journey, he noticed some wooden timbers near the shore in a small bay called La Tène. Curiosity led him to investigate, and within an hour, he had recovered 40 objects, including 14 swords and eight spearheads. Unlike previous finds, which were predominantly bronze, all of these weapons were made of iron. This groundbreaking discovery was later dramatized in Louis Favre’s novel Le Robinson de La Tène, where Kopp remarked, “We have fallen on one of the most remarkable sites… bronze is completely absent.”

Hans Kopp fishing for antiquities at La Tène. An engraving after a drawing by Louis Favre, 1865. [IMAGE: Laténium archive]

When Schwab received these iron weapons, he was intrigued but unsure of their origins. Seeking expert advice, he turned to Ferdinand Keller, President of the Zürich Society of Antiquaries. Keller, who had studied archaeology in England, had previously published reports on Switzerland’s newly discovered lake dwellings. Initially, he believed the La Tène weapons might be Roman, reflecting the ongoing challenges in dating iron artifacts at the time. The understanding of the Iron Age was still developing, and Kopp’s discovery would prove pivotal in refining this framework.

La Tène as a Type-Site

While Keller hesitated in his conclusions, another scholar, Édouard Desor, recognized the significance of the find. A geologist and palaeontologist, Desor was instrumental in developing the concept of the Ice Age and had connections with leading European archaeologists. Unlike Schwab, Desor was not focused on attributing artifacts to specific peoples like the Alemanni. Instead, he was interested in classifying objects within the emerging Three Age System (Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages), which had been pioneered in Denmark by Christian Thomsen.

The location of La Tène, as seen on a historic map. In the late 19th century, the First Jura Water Correction project resulted in the lake water level being lowered by almost 3m. The graphics are by Bruno Jolliet (Laténium), superimposed on a detail of the Map of the Principality of Neuchâtel, surveyed by J F d’Ostervald 1838-1845.

By coincidence, Desor’s cook, Marie Kopp, was the sister of Hans Kopp. Through this connection, Desor learned of the La Tène finds and quickly hired Kopp to collect artifacts for him as well. Desor was convinced that La Tène represented a distinct phase of the Iron Age and could serve as its type-site. He published this interpretation in 1865 in a book on Swiss lake dwellings, which was later translated by the Smithsonian Institution to provide analogies for American archaeology.

La Tène Gains Global Recognition

Following its initial discovery, La Tène continued to yield artifacts. However, Desor soon turned his attention to broader archaeological endeavors, helping to establish the Congrès International d’Anthropologie et d’Archéologie Préhistorique in 1865, a forerunner to today’s Union Internationale des Sciences Pré- et Protohistoriques (UISPP). The 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris prominently featured Swiss lake-dwelling artifacts, including those from La Tène, exposing them to an international audience.

Finds from La Tène from the collection of Colonel Schwab mounted on boards in 1867 being sent to Paris to be displayed in the Exposition Universelle. [IMAGE: Laténium archive]

During the first full Congress meeting in Neuchâtel in 1866, Desor supported the Three Age System and proposed dividing the Iron Age into two stages: an earlier stage typified by the Hallstatt cemetery in Austria, and a later stage represented by La Tène. This classification, adopted at the 1874 International Congress of Prehistory in Stockholm, solidified La Tène’s importance in archaeological terminology.

The Impact of the Jura Water Correction

By the late 1860s, Schwab believed that La Tène had been thoroughly excavated. However, the Jura Water Correction project (1868–1879) dramatically altered the landscape by deliberately lowering Lake Neuchâtel’s water level by nearly three meters. This exposed the La Tène site, allowing further exploration. Though much of this activity resembled treasure hunting rather than systematic archaeology. Artifacts from the site were sold to collectors across Europe and as far away as America. Further cementing La Tène’s status as a key Iron Age site.

Weapons from La Tène. A watercolour painted by Marie Favre-Guillarmod in c.1865. The spear on the far right is now in the British Museum and was probably acquired from Édouard Desor at the Exposition Universelle by Augustus Franks, a curator at the museum. [IMAGE: Laténium archive]

By the mid-1880s, the site’s artifacts became scarcer, and attitudes toward archaeological preservation began to shift. In 1886, Swiss authorities introduced laws restricting the sale of antiquities to foreign buyers and started regulating archaeological excavations.

Conclusion

The discovery of La Tène marked a turning point in European archaeology. It not only provided a wealth of Iron Age artifacts but also played a crucial role in refining the Three Age System and defining the later stage of the Iron Age. Today, La Tène remains a touchstone for scholars studying the Celts and early European history. Reflecting the lasting impact of a serendipitous discovery in a Swiss lake over 150 years ago.