Vulnerable wrecks of Lake Neuchâtel 1/3 (Switzerland, 2019)

Swiss lakes are world-renowned for their archaeological wealth from the prehistoric pile dwellings era, when people from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age built their villages on lakeside stilts.

For the thousands of years that followed, people used Swiss lakes as trade routes. A precious aid for transporting goods that are too large or heavy for difficult land routes, such as blocks of stone extracted from the Jura. Whether during the Gallo-Roman period, the Middle Ages, or the late periods, many ships did not reach their destination and sank to be quickly forgotten, buried under the sediments.

Ever changing lakes

Today, the erosion of the bottom of the lakes brings back certain vestiges, from the Neolithic canoe to the 19th century barge. So many forgotten and fragile witnesses of our history. This recent underwater excavation project concerns several wrecks which, by their age and state of conservation, are invaluable testimonies for understanding the evolution of naval architecture and navigation in the Swiss region known as “Three Lake Country”.

These remains were discovered during aerial prospecting flights. Fabien Langenegger, archaeologist at the office of heritage and archeology of the canton of Neuchâtel (OPAN), is responsible for monitoring local underwater heritage. For many years, he has collaborated with the balloonist and engineer Fabien Droz to monitor the erosion fronts that endanger the prehistoric pile dwellings, but also to prospect the 30 kilometers of coastline the canton of Neuchâtel enjoys.

Wood has a voice

An anomaly spotted in 2015 allowed the discovery of a Gallo-Roman barge that is about two thousand years old. In 2017, a heap of large blocks of stone led to the discovery of a second wreck, dated precisely to 1776 thanks to dendrochronology (a scientific method allowing the dating of pieces of wood by counting and measuring the tree rings). A third wreckage, which appears to have been intentionally sunk in the 16th century as the basis for building a signal, completes this trio of outstanding vestiges.

The rare barges that have been found in our lakes have almost all sunk with their cargo of limestone blocks, creating reliefs visible from the air. These boulders also helped stabilize the remains of the wreckage by keeping it at the bottom until it was silted up.

High scientific stakes

To date, only three Gallo-Roman wrecks have been identified and studied in Switzerland. In addition to the one discovered in the bay of Bevaix (NE) and presented in the navigation room of the Laténium Museum, a boat and a barge were excavated in Yverdon-les-Bains (VD) visible at the Yverdon Museum.

The “new” Gallo-Roman wreck discovered by Fabien Langenegger could prove to be historically important, as certain parts of the ship (such as one of its sides) could be very well preserved.

In the region of Trois-Lacs and Léman, there is a 1700-year gap to fill, between Roman boats dating from the 2nd century AD. and the many 19th century boats that were found. The study of the remains of the 16th and 18th century boats may therefore be paramount to better understanding the evolution of shipbuilding on our lakes.

Short-term threats

Located at a shallow depth and protected by a thin layer of sediment, the three wrecks are now vulnerable, as they are located in a part of the lake particularly exposed to the prevailing winds.