PREFACE
Some little time ago my kind friend Dr. Ferdinand Keller, the President of the Society of Antiquaries at Zurich, who frequently keeps me informed of what is going on in the archaeology of his district, sent to me the first part of the Proceedings of his Society for the present year. It contained an account of the Excavation at the Kesslerloch, a cave of the Reindeer period near Schaffhausen. The moment I saw it it struck me that it was of very great interest; and it occurred to me very forcibly that it ought to be translated into English. This idea was communicated to Dr. Keller, and he at once assented, and very kindly allowed me to have lithographic transfers from the Society's plates; so that the drawings now before the reader are the actual original sketches.
Such is the origin of the present little volume. I cannot think that I am wrong in considering the excavation in this cave as one of the most interesting which has been made for years; and though it must be confessed that the following report is by no means perfect—that it is defective in some parts and redundant in others—yet it is a wonderful production for a young author, for such in fact is the excavator of the Kesslerloch.
In certain cases where it appears to me that the author is not quite correct I have ventured on adding notes stating my opinion; and I have also gone so far as to alter in a very small degree the style where it appeared to me to be inappropriate. Otherwise the whole report is left precisely in the words of the author, although to regular antiquaries it may appear that it might have been shortened with advantage.
It would be hardly correct if in a preface to this most interesting account I omitted to state the astonishment which these prehistoric drawings have caused in certain quarters, almost amounting to scepticism as to their genuineness. But, on the other hand, it may perhaps be allowable to state a few facts which somewhat bear upon this point. In the course of the past summer, finding myself in Germany, it seemed very desirable to see with my own eyes the objects which had been found at the Kesslerloch, and also to visit the place itself. When at Zürich I had the good fortune to meet with Mr. Franks, who, it is well known, has paid very great attention to prehistoric matters—in fact he had been attracted to Switzerland by these very discoveries. With great kindness he allowed me to accompany him to Schaffhausen, where a large portion of these relics are deposited in the Museum there, and also to the cave itself. Dr. Von Mandach, the President of the Schaffhausen Natural History Society, accompanied us. The sketch forming the frontispiece was taken during this hasty visit, and was afterwards corrected by a second glance.
It will, I hope, not be a breach of confidence if I mention the facts as to the excavation which came to my knowledge. Thayngen is reached by the railway from Schaffhausen in little more than a quarter of an hour. Mr. Merk, the author of the present report, was for some time the Government 'teacher of practical science' there; and when he had discovered the cave, it was arranged with the Schaffhausen Society, of which the active and intelligent Dr. Von Mandach, the leading physician of the place, is the President, that the Society was to pay the whole expense of the excavation, and to receive one half of the objects found; the other half was to repay Mr. Merk for the trouble he took in superintending the excavation.
It may be well imagined that Dr. Von Mandach and his coadjutors at Schaffhausen looked very narrowly after the products of the excavation, for the cave was only a few minutes distant from them by railway, and the Society had engaged to spend a considerable sum of money. The progress of the excavation is given in the following pages; and it seems to me that if evidence is of any value at all, we have here one of the strongest cases in which antiquities, excavated under proper superintendence, may be considered as genuine.
One half of the collection was sold by the discoverer to the Constance Museum; the other half remains in the Museum at Schaffhausen. This portion was carefully examined by my archaeological friend and myself, and I believe I am correct in saying that neither of us have the slightest doubt as to its being; genuine. The mere fact of the drawings being so much better executed than those of Aquitaine (a fact, however, which Mr. Franks doubts) is no real argument against them, as the objection on this score arises merely from a preconceived but unproved notion that all cave-dwellers must have been of so low a grade as to be totally incapable of any knowledge of art.
There are, however, two specimens which are not included in the collection at Schaffhausen, and respecting these it is perfectly natural to have grave doubts. They have been drawn by Mr. Merk, and also by Professor Rütimeyer in his late work on the Swiss Fauna, as will be seen in the Appendix. The drawings are therefore reproduced here. The story of the discovery of these two specimens is given in a note appended to the description, and I have not scrupled to tell the whole truth, so far as it can be ascertained, as in a matter of this kind perfect honesty is required. I will merely add, that although individually I rather incline to think that one of them at least is genuine, yet they must stand on their own merits, and on their own merits alone. It may be well to add that these two specimens, shaded as they are by the cloud about their origin, have, by the liberality of my archaeological friend above mentioned, been placed for reference in the collection of prehistoric objects in the Christy Collection, Victoria Street.
JOHN EDWARD LEE.
Villa Syracusa, Torquay:
October 21, 1875.