Auvernier–La Saunerie

Auvernier - La Saunerie is a Neolithic lakeside settlement located in the former municipalities of Auvernier and Colombier, now part of Milvignes in the Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The site is situated on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011 as part of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.

The bay of Auvernier is a vast area situated between the base of the castle of Colombier and the former port of Auvernier. This zone and its surroundings represent the most densely exploited and populated region of the Canton of Neuchâtel during prehistory, particularly during the era of the Lüscherz culture, where six villages succeeded one another or were occupied simultaneously. For convenience, the site of La Saunerie was attributed to Auvernier, although it extends partly over the territory of Colombier.

The station was discovered during the exceptional drought of the winter of 1853–1854, like many pile dwelling sites in Switzerland. At that time, it was located 100 meters from the shore and partially exposed, revealing a slight mound formed from an accumulation of pebbles from which piles protruded, or a Steinberg (ténevière in French) according to the description of Édouard Desor in 1861. It appears on several cartographic surveys of the bay of Auvernier, carried out by Colonel Louis-Alphonse de Mandrot in 1878 and 1880, then by cartographer Maurice Borel in 1905.

Under the direction of Paul Vouga, the Neuchâtel Commission for Prehistoric Archaeology undertook the first methodical exploration of the site, opening test trenches in 1919, then between 1920 and 1930. These works marked the beginning of Vouga's research aimed at establishing a classification of the "lacustrine Neolithic". They enabled him to divide the chronology of the Swiss Neolithic into four distinct phases: Auvernier IV - ancient "lacustrine Neolithic"; Auvernier III - Middle Neolithic; Auvernier II - Late Neolithic; Auvernier I - Chalcolithic. In 1948 and 1950, André Leroi-Gourhan and Samuel Perret conducted small excavations at several locations on the site. They not only confirmed the stratigraphy established by their predec

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).