BETWEEN TWO WATERS. LA TÈNE, A PLACE OF MEMORY

La Tène is the reference site for the Celtic civilization that is attested throughout a large part of Europe. But this site also stirs the imagination, with its shallow waters, shifting and untamed shorelines often wreathed in mist, where the lake flows into the meanders of an ever-changing river… This special place fascinated the Celts, and more recently has attracted the attention of archaeologists and artists as well as tourists and bathing enthusiasts. For more than twenty-two centuries, these vacillating waters have stirred up many mysteries: two oak bridges spanning an ancient channel of the River Thielle, the skeletal remains of people and animals, awe-inspiring quantities of weapons, jewellery and tools… Today, how do we broach the subject of this world famous site, discovered in 1857, whose interpretation has fed unending debate and which still manages to puzzle the scientific community ?

Presenting for the first time almost all of the finds housed in the store rooms of the Laténium, as well as a large selection of historic documents, the exhibition offers a dream-like evocation of the history of this place of memory.

The exhibition is presented in French and German.

For more information : Marc-Antoine Kaeser, “La Tène, a Place of Memory. At the origins of Celtic archaeology”, Laténium, 2022, 137 pages, 104 illustrations.