The Laténium is an archeology museum located in
Hauterive, a suburb of
Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Its name refers to the famous nearby site of
La Tène which gave its name to the
Second European Iron age. The Laténium is composed of a park and a museum building which also harbours the archaeological section of the Heritage Offices of the State of Neuchâtel, as well as the chair of prehistory of the University of Neuchâtel. The museum and its park are built on what used to be three archaeological sites that were excavated during the construction of the
A5 motorway. Theses sites date from the
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
,
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
. The park features
dolmens and
glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundre ...
s, reconstitutions of prehistoric and antique devices (a La Tène house, a Gallo-Roman ship and a Celtic bridge, notably), and modern works of art. The museum displays the
Bevaix boat, a
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
ship found in
Bevaix. Items from periods comprised between the
Paleolithic to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
are on display, including the remains of a
Magdalenian hunting camp.
History
The Laténium is the biggest archaeological museum in Switzerland. The permanent exhibition features around 3000 objects coming from excavations mostly realised in the Canton of Neuchâtel. These objects are picked from the 525000 pieces that form the museum's collections and span 50'000 years of Europe's past.
Archaeology in Neuchâtel during the 19th and 20th century
During the second half of the 19th century, many lake dwellings were found on the banks of lakes Neuchâtel, Bienne and Morat during a period dubbed "lake dwellings fever" (fièvre lacustre in french). The
Jura waters correction lowered lake Neuchâtel height by 2.7 m which resulted in dozens of lake dwellings sites exiting from the waters. This made access to the artifacts far easier.
Later, the construction of the
A5 motorway (from
Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , wa ...
to
Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...
) alongside the north bank of Lake Neuchâtel led to the discovery of about 500'000 artifacts, many of them got included into the museum's collections.
Creation
The concretisation of the idea of a new museum entirely dedicated to archaeology in the canton took 22 years, from the first motion before the
Grand Council of Neuchâtel to the inauguration of the museum in 2001.
It also took the people of the
Canton of Neuchâtel approval, the projects was accepted with 66% of the votes on June 9, 1996.
Awards
In 2003, the Laténium received the European Museum of the Year Award awarded by the
Council of Europe the for its contribution for a better understanding of the european cultural heritage. The Laténium was the first swiss museum to receive the award.
In 2018, it received the Medal for archaeological mediation of the
International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences
The International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (IUPPS) is a learned society, linked through the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies to UNESCO, and concerned with the study of prehistory and protohistory. ...
. The Laténium's commitment to the popularisation of archaeology and for the social valorisation of the protection of the cultural heritage got the museum the award.
Image:Latenium Celtic bridge mg 2220.jpg, Reconstitution of a Celtic bridge
Image:Latenium Gallo-Roman ship mg 2222.jpg, Experimental reconstitution of a Gallo-Roman ship
Image:Latenium mg 2207.jpg, Reconstitution of a fisher's house with pirogue
Image:Latenium mg 2215.jpg, The Laténium building; the bassin of the foreground represents the level of the lake 15 000 years ago, with the piloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in ele ...
s of the neolithic.
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latenium
Museums in the canton of Neuchâtel
Archaeological museums in Switzerland
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Neuchâtel
History museums in Switzerland
University museums in Switzerland
University of Neuchâtel
La Tène culture