Historedia
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Discovery of the La Tène Site

When
November 1857
Where
Northern shore near La Tène
Part of
Hansli Kopp discovers La Tène artifacts at Lake Neuchâtel

Fisherman Hansli Kopp spotted an archaeological site near La Tène on Lake Neuchâtel in November 1857, leading to its recognition as a key Iron Age location.

In November 1857, Hansli Kopp was sailing to a Neolithic dwelling near Concise from Lake Biel under orders from Colonel Friedrich Schwab. He spotted an interesting spot near La Tène on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel. This discovery occurred during the 'lake dwelling fever' and was facilitated by the lake's water level dropping by about 2 meters due to drought.

Sources

  1. La Tène (archaeological site) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-21
  2. La Tène culture Wikipedia

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.