On a sunny Sunday, last October, I visited the Laténium for the first time. It is an archaeological museum and park located near Neuchâtel on the banks of the lake.
I’ve had an interest and passion for history and archaeology since school. After university I volunteered for the York Archaeological Trust and was lucky to be given the opportunity to work on a couple of archaeological digs in York and Scotland. It was painstaking, and often backbreaking, work but it was rewarding and fascinating. Since then I have always had great admiration for archaeologists.
The Laténium is the largest archaeological museum in Switzerland. The objects on display are mainly from the Lake Neuchâtel. In fact, over 500,000 of them were discovered during the constuction of the nearby A5 motorway (from Yverdon-les-Bains to Solothurn).
The museum starts with the Middle Ages and then takes you on a journey back in time. You travel through the Roman period to the Celts and the Iron Age, then on to the lake-dwellers and the Bronze Age before ending up in the Ice Age and the earliest indications of Man.
I was impressed with how the objects were presented and explained. Often in museums the display cases are packed full of objects with lots of labels and information. This can make it hard to take anything in, I much prefer the ‘less in more’ approach as adopted by the museum. It is much more impressive to see one or two examples of fine Roman glassware than 50 crowded together in a case!
The museum also explains the process of archaeology, how some of these sites were excavated and the science behind it. Key objects are often shown alongside a replica, which is particularly helpful when the original object is not recognisable in its current state.
In one gallery that looks out over a large pond there is a huge boat on display. This is the museum’s largest object at more than 20 metres long. It is the wreck of a Gallo-Roman barge discovered in 1970 off the Bay of Bevaix. Next to it there is a display showing the fascinating underwater excavations.
There is also a replica of this barge outside in the park. It took a little while to find this as it has been submerged in the lake and is visable from a small, specially constructed jetty.
Above: objects from the Celts special exhibition, in partnership with the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection (exhibition closed 10.01.21) © Archäologische Staatsammlung München.
Outside the museum in the park there are several reconstructed structures. Some of the most impressive of these are the pile dwellings. These are houses built on stilts that stood in the lake. There is a rich history of pile dwelling communities in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Last year I visited the excellent Pile Dwelling Museum on Lake Constance. Closer to home a canoe has been discovered at Moossee (near Bern) and further evidence of pile dwelling communities.
The park is free to enter and the museum costs 9 CHF (I visited for free with my Swiss Museums Pass). It is an interesting day out with lovely views across the lake. It can easily be combined with a visit to Neuchâtel.
