Cugy probably lies on ancient celtic trackway!
The sleepy Swiss village of Cugy
almost certainly lies on an ancient celtic trackway,
known as a ley, new research has
revealed. Fieldwork carried out over the last few days would seem
to confirm the existence of a significant number of high quality
indicators of celtic influence.
La Tène not far off
This part of Switzerland has long been known as a centre of celtic
culture, the La Tène site on Neuchâtel Lake being only twenty
miles away. An ancient celtic alignment of stones at Yverdon
lies twenty miles in the other direction along the Lake shore.
It could hardly be termed a major surprise, therefore, to
discover that Cugy lies on a thoroughfare.
Cugy Tumulus aligns with other monuments
The Cugy Tumulus, which lies astride the border between the
cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, is perfectly aligned with the main
tower of the Payerne Abbatiale (this famous church has roman
foundations and almost cetainly pre-roman origins), and the
catholic church in the heart of modern-day Cugy. In a perfectly straight line
between the Tumulus and the village church, at a small
crossroads, lies an old marker stone. Alfred Watkins, in his
seminal work on ancient celtic tracks in Britain "The Old Straight Track",
considers that a four point alignment of this type is highly
significant and points to the almost certain existence of a path.
Neighbouring village hides marvellous tump!
The village of Montet, just a mile and a half from Cugy, is
home to a reasonably well preserved tump, or tumulus. Hidden in a wood next to a cross-roads (complete with road-side cross!) it is a site that will I will certainly revisit in the near future in order to garner further details.
The Tump just outside Montet, with its' accompanying road-side cross.
The whole area from
Neuchâtel Lake to Lake Geneva was Celtic La Tène country. The image
below, taken near the village of La Magne, on the border between the districts of La Glâne and La Gruyère, shows the
possibilities that exist for more discoveries.
Send me your comments!
Back to modern day Cugy!
