06 · Lake Neuchâtel · the site that gave its name to an epoch

Weapons under the Lake

The deposits of the La Tène bridge

Beside a wooden walkway appeared weapons, tools, ornaments and human remains.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of The deposits of the La Tène bridge, La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

At La Tène thousands of objects were recovered alongside wooden structures: weapons, tools, ornaments and bones. The site would end up giving its name to the art and to the late phase of the Iron Age in much of Europe.

Were offerings thrown into the water, loot displayed, accident or violent destruction? The position and condition of the finds support several hypotheses. The halt shows how a very secure name can hide an interpretation still in motion.

Discovered in 1857 and excavated systematically between 1907 and 1917, the site ended up giving its name to a continental phase. That typological authority preceded a secure understanding of how the deposit formed.

The university project initiated in 2007 reviewed scattered archives, contexts and taphonomy. Its synthesis proposes a battle monument erected at the end of the 3rd century BCE in a passage between lake and river, a better-argued interpretation but still open to testing.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: the Laténium and the University of Neuchâtel document the lacustrine site, its bridges and systematic excavations. Interpretation and caution: the proportion of ritual deposit, catastrophe and violence does not enjoy a unique consensus. Documented expansion: La Tène contains wooden structures, weapons, tools, ornaments, bones and a long history of excavation and dispersal of collections. Expanded interpretation and caution: Do not describe all objects as offerings to the lake nor present the battle monument hypothesis as definitive consensus.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE
Location: La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Material: Iron, bronze, wood, bone and organic matter
Context: Passage zone and lakeshore margin deposits
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Discovery: 1857
Exhaustive excavation: Paul Vouga, 1907–1917
Modern review: Interdisciplinary project since 2007; synthesis in 2022
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

You are viewing

Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE

Weapons under the Lake

Celtic worlds

A set of lake deposits, not the dated manufacture of an individual object.

Current record

Iron3 dated objects

1 / 3In the centre: Before the Iberias

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Iron changes the frontierGojoseon and early Korea · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE
The workshop inside the ditchYayoi Japan · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi
Tools in relationBatwa / Twa histories · ca. 1947

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Bronze

Current object, without a comparable date: Weapons under the Lake.

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan

Arms and military equipment

Current object, without a comparable date: Weapons under the Lake.

Bilateral harpoon · ≈15,000 years · Magdalenian · Prehistory
Nahal Hemar Knives · 8th millennium BCE · Pre-Pottery Neolithic B context · Prehistory
Holmegaard bow · ≈7000 BCE · Prehistory
Gebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Talayotic sword · ≈1200–1000 BCE · destruction of the talayot towards 790 BCE · Iberians
The lute-shaped dagger · Towards 1000–400 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Steppe kurgans · 7th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Grave goods of Baza and Toya · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
453 astragali from Alarcos · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · necropolis chronology · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
The blade became straight · 5th–1st centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Daegok-ri grave goods · from c. 5th century BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Dance with weapons · Towards 400 BCE. Xenophon's story · Thracians
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Tools in relation · ca. 1947 · Batwa / Twa histories

Metalworking

Current object, without a comparable date: Weapons under the Lake.

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Weapons whose surfaces preserve traces of past actions

The Laténium’s collection brings together swords, scabbards, spears, javelins and shield elements from La Tène. The lack of oxygen preserved some iron surfaces under a relatively light patina, making it possible to examine marks that deeper corrosion would have erased. Guillaume Reich’s study focused on distinguishing combat damage and intentional alterations by comparison and experimentation. His interest lies in treating each weapon as a sequence of actions: manufacture, use, wear and deposition may have left distinct signals on the same metal.

Research · Université de Neuchâtel · Guillaume Reich, Traces d’utilisations et mutilations sur les armes laténiennes (2019)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

Laténium · Parc et musée d’archéologie

Component of the group · Documented collection

The Laténium holds around 20,000 finds from the eponymous site; the label describes a collective deposit, not a single object nor the entirety of its collections.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Weapons under the Lake

Before the Iberias

Falcata from Almedinilla

Kabusanza, ca. 400

A closer look

Weapons whose surfaces preserve traces of past actions

Where it is held

Laténium · Parc et musée d’archéologie

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?