Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich


Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and Zürich.

Geography

These 11 – including one further on the nearby Greifensee and Robenhausen on Pfäffikersee lakeshore – prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements were built from around 5000 BC to 500 BC and are concentrated within an area of about, on Lake Zurich respectively Obersee lakeshore in the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and Zürich.
As part of a series of, in all, 111 European prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, they were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2011. Archaeological excavations were conducted in only some of the sites, to preserve the heritage for future generations. Nevertheless, the excavations yielded evidence that provides insight into life in prehistoric times during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Alpine Europe and the way communities interacted with their environment. The settlements are a unique group of exceptionally well-preserved and culturally rich archaeological sites, which constitute one of the most important sources for the study of early agrarian societies.

Topography

Contrary to popular belief, the settlements were not erected over water, but on nearby marshy land, among them on the Seedamm respectively Frauenwinkel area, or, on the then swamp land between the Limmat and Lake Zurich around Sechseläutzenplatz on small islands and peninsulas in Zürich. The settlements were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the Linth and Jona. Because the lake has grown in size over time, most of the original piles are now around to under the water level of, giving modern observers the false impression that they always had been surrounded by water.

Sites on Lake Zurich lakeshore area

Of the transnational 111 serial sites 56 are in Switzerland in 15 different Swiss cantons. Excavations of the "Pan-European stilt house settlements" began in Switzerland. During the spring of 1855, in the context of work on land reclamation at Lake Zurich, the archaeologist Ferdinand Keller discovered the remains of the site Meilen–Rorenhaab. Probably the majority of the important sites of the so-called Horgen culture are situated on lakeshore, including Grosser Hafner on a former lake island and Kleiner Hafner on a peninsula at Sechseläutenplatz respectively at the effluence of the Limmat, and Zürich–Enge Alpenquai within an area of about in the city of Zürich. The prehistoric lake crossings on the upper lake between Rapperswil and Hurden on the Seedamm area, including the four pile dwellings Rapperswil-Jona-Technikum, Seegubel, Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn and Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld are unique on an world scale. The settlement Robenhausen at the Pfäffikersee is also a unique site, discovered and researched by Jakob Messikommer at the end of the 19th century, as being continuously inhabited for thousands of years; most of the settlements were inhabited for some decades and then re-erected at a quite different location.
Native nameDescriptionLocationCantonCoordinatesSize Buffer Serial IDApprox. occupied Image
Freienbach–Hurden RosshornFreienbach–Hurden Rosshorn provides early evidence of transport routes combined with special metal finds interpreted as sacrificial offerings. The site includes several lake crossings beginning in the Horgen culture. Several Early Bronze Age construction phases have been identified, as well as remains from the Hallstatt culture and Roman era providing dendrochronological dates about periods from which no other sites are known.HurdenSchwyz4.3220.101363-027
CH-SZ-01		3500–3000
2000–500
Freienbach–Hurden SeefeldThe early Corded ware culture in one of several settlement phases provided dates which is of particular scientific interest in terms of the emergence and dissemination in Switzerland. The layers are extraordinarily well preserved and hold valuable reserves of research material. Extending over to metres, the settlement is also of great interest due to its function and internal organization on this important transport route crossing the lake.HurdenSchwyz2.4016.121363-028
CH-SZ-02		3500–2500
Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–FeldbachDistinctive house plans and a cultural layer dating from the middle phase of the Corded Ware period, is of particular importance in that multi-phase settlement. The evidence of a settlement from the transitional phase between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, is another interesting aspect of the site, yielded a date of 1490 BC, which is very late within the Early Bronze Age pile-dwelling period. The dates refer to the same period as the transport routes across the lake from Hurden-Rosshorn to Rapperswil. and slightly post-date the neighbouring site Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum.Hombrechtikon–KempratenZürich7.5015.501363-031
CH-SG-01		4000–1000
Rapperswil-Jona–TechnikumMultiple palisades and a clear visible settlement structure located on a former island, characterise the Early Bronze Age site dated in the 17th century BC. It points to the same period as the early footbridges across the Seedamm between Rapperswil and Hurden-Rosshorn. The settlement was certainly of great importance as the centre of the region, and it may even have played a role in controlling this important transport route.RapperswilSt. Gallen0.9249.101363-032
CH-SZ-02		2000–1500
Erlenbach–WinkelFrom the Early Bronze Age are numerous finds and ground plans of Corded Ware houses of particular interest. The latter are associated with material from the final phase of the Corded Ware Culture marking a of 600 years in the period of constructing pile dwellings north of the Alps until the Early Bronze Age. In a European context, the house constructions are of particular interest, because the Corded Ware Culture is defined mainly by its grave finds, whereas settlements are usually missing from the archaeological record.ErlenbachZürich3.016.601363-050
CH-ZH-01		4000–1500
1000–500
Greifensee–Storen/WildsbergCharacterized is that settlement by a large settlement area on a very steep slope on Greifensee lakeshore. From a scientific point of view and besides the location, a particularly interesting aspect is a phase of occupation dating from the Late Horgen culture. Furthermore, a copper spiral coil and a copper dagger from the Pfyn culture bear early witness to the processing of metal in this region. The settlement is largely undisturbed and thus holds great scientific potential for future research.GreifenseeZürich 9.5911.701363-051
CH-ZH-02		4000–2500
Meilen–RorenhaabAs mentioned, this site was the starting point of pile-dwelling research and therefore interesting from the point of view of research history. It is one of several sites in a small area illustrating the typical settlement dynamics of a micro-region during the Neolithic. All periods are represented here, usually with several settlement phases, but particularly from the Early Bronze Age interesting are numerous dendrochronological dates, which allow to study the development of this period.MeilenZürich0.704.801363-052
CH-ZH-06		4000–2500
2000–1500
1000–500
Wädenswil–Vorder AuLocated on the Au Peninsula, the site has yielded special pottery from the transitional period between the Pfyn and Horgen Cultures. The Corded Ware settlement phase contained a bell beaker, which allowed to draw conclusions on the links between the Corded Ware and Bell Beaker Cultures. Since it has yielded a special type of pottery, the Early Bronze Age settlement phase is also important, and helps trace the distribution of Arbon style pottery in the region during the 17th century BC.Au-WädenswilZürich1.4922.501363-053
CH-ZH-07		3500–1500
Wetzikon–RobenhausenRobenhausen in the spacious area is characterized by the excellent preservation of organic remains, and the site is known for its evidence of textile production. It has yielded numerous excellently preserved organic finds assemblages, mainly of textiles as well as parts of a Neolithic loom. An unusual find was a board, which was probably a Pfyn-period door.WetzikonZürich 0.92155.001363-054
CH-ZH-08		4000–2500
2000–1500
1000–500
Zürich–Enge AlpenquaiAlpenquai in the city of Zürich is one of the most important Late Bronze Age lakeside settlements in Central Europe: its huge size and its almost uninterrupted occupation from 1050 BC to 800 BC, rich imports and the excellent state of preservation of the layers with unique organic finds and architectural elements mark it as a cultural heritage site of worldwide importance. In addition, the final phase dates from the transition to the Iron Age, a period otherwise rarely found.Zürich-EngeZürich2.9317.401363-055
CH-ZH-09		1500–500
Zürich–Grosser Hafner–Kleiner HafnerOnce a former island or peninsula at the estuary of Lake Zurich lakeshore and the Limmat, the settlement Kleiner Hafner including the former island Grosser Hafner are very rare sites, because all periods of pile dwelling are represented. There are finds from the Neolithic Egolzwil, Cortaillod and Horgen cultures forming an important reference assemblage which allows to study the cultural development during the late 5th and early 4th millennia BC.ZürichZürich0.6416.561363-056
CH-ZH-10		5000–1500
1000–500

Sources, among them area, date and location as well as coordinates and ID, used in the table base on Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, and are listed as references. The list bases on the dates of December 2014.

Protection

As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, each of these 11 prehistoric pile dwellings is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class A object of national importance.
Hence, the area of each settlement is provided as a historical site under federal protection, within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature and cultural heritage of 1 July 1966. Unauthorised researching and purposeful gathering of findings represent a criminal offense according to Art. 24.

Literature