Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy
Monument
Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy, located in Annecy (Département 74), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Annecy, Département 74, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.9022, 6.1389
- Mérimée Reference
- PA74000014
Buried beneath the translucent waters of Lake Annecy, the Palaeolithic site of Le Pâquier reveals the remains of a 5,000-year-old Neolithic village, a silent witness to Alpine prehistory.
History
In the heart of Lake Annecy, one of the purest bodies of water in Europe, lies a thousand-year-old secret: the archaeological site of Le Pâquier, the submerged remains of a human community that settled on stilts in the Late Neolithic period, some 5,000 years ago. Invisible from the shore, this underwater heritage belongs to a group of lakeside towns that dot the shores of the great Alpine lakes, from Switzerland to Savoie, making up one of the most fascinating archaeological records of European prehistory. Long hidden beneath a thick curtain of reeds and in the depths of the lake, the Pâquier site remained unknown to the academic world until the early 21st century. It wasn't until 2001 that the Département des Recherches Archéologiques Subaquatiques et Sous-Marines (DRASSM) undertook its first investigations, revealing a human occupation of remarkable chronological coherence. The excavations unearthed a wealth of lithic material - scrapers, blades, arrow frames - bearing witness to an organised community capable of working stone with astonishing skill, as well as the wooden piles that supported their dwellings on the water. What distinguishes Le Pâquier from other prehistoric sites on land is precisely its preservation by the aquatic environment. The water of Lake Annecy, cold and poorly oxygenated at depth, has preserved for thousands of years organic materials that would otherwise have been doomed to disappear. The wooden piles, driven into the lake mud, remain partially visible, standing ghosts of an ephemeral architecture that we will never see standing again. A few items dating back to the late Bronze Age, collected outside formal excavations, also suggest that the site was used over a long period, well beyond its main occupation phase. Visiting the Pâquier site is first and foremost an experience of imagination and contemplation. From the banks of the Pâquier in Annecy, where the reeds rustle in the Alpine breeze, there is nothing to betray the presence of this sunken village. The serene beauty of the lake, framed by the relief of the Alps, gives the visit an almost meditative dimension. For certified divers and underwater archaeologists, the immersion above the remains is an experience of rare intensity, where the past literally comes to the surface.
Architecture
The Pâquier site belongs to the category of "palafittes", a term derived from the Italian palafitta, which refers to dwellings built on stilts on or above the water. Neolithic lake architecture is based on an implacably logical structural principle: wooden piles - generally of oak, ash or alder, species that are both solid and resistant to humidity - are driven vertically into the lake bed, forming a supporting grid. On these supports, horizontal beams create a raised floor above the water level, protecting the inhabitants from seasonal flooding and terrestrial predators. The dwellings themselves are timber-framed constructions, with walls made of woven branch wattle and daub covered with a plaster of mixed clay and straw - cob. The roofs, which slope steeply to facilitate the run-off of Alpine rain, are probably covered with thatch, reeds or birch bark. The village as a whole forms a network of platforms linked by footbridges, constituting a veritable floating quarter anchored in the mud of the lake. At Le Pâquier, the supporting piles, still partially visible underwater, allow archaeologists to reconstruct the general organisation of the settlement and estimate the surface area occupied, which must have housed several dozen families. The lithic material unearthed - carved flint blades, scrapers, drills and stone arrowheads - testifies to a high level of technical mastery and a diversified economy combining hunting, fishing, farming and livestock rearing. The absence of metal remains in the main layers confirms that the site was occupied during the Final Neolithic, before the widespread use of bronze in the Alpine region.
Related Figures
Les communautés néolithiques du lac d'Annecy (XXIXe siècle av. J.-C.), bâtisseurs anonymes du village palafittiqueFerdinand Keller, préhistorien suisse, pionnier de la découverte des cités lacustres alpines (XIXe siècle)Les archéologues du DRASSM, premiers explorateurs scientifiques du site en 2001Édouard Desor, naturaliste neuchâtelois, co-fondateur de la science palafittique au XIXe siècleLes populations de l'Âge du Bronze final ayant fréquenté sporadiquement le site (Xe-XIe siècle av. J.-C.)
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy located?
Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy is located in Annecy, Département 74 department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France.
When was Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy built?
Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy open to visitors?
Site archéologique du Pâquier immergé dans le lac d'Annecy is currently closed to visitors.