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Drachenloch 1917–23

Drachenloch 1917–23


salvaged.work note: Minor formatting changes have been made to better present Baumann's book in an online format. Notably, figures have been placed closer to their first mention in the text for easier comprehension. Unfortunately, underlining in the printed text was not able to be easily transferred over to the digital version, so the printed version should always be consulted for the fully accurate intention of the text.
 

Introduction

The present book documents the excavations of the Drachenloch cave between 1917 and 1923 using all available sources: the annotated excavation and find records of the excavators Theophil Nigg and Emil Bächler, their correspondence from those years, photographs of cave bear skulls, bones, and Seewerkalk (lacustrine limestone) artefacts from the find inventory, which is still held predominantly in the Kirchhoferhaus in the city of St. Gallen — today closed to the public — and to a lesser extent in the local museum of Vättis, which houses on its first floor the only exhibition on the Drachenloch excavations still accessible to the public today.

Such a comprehensive documentation was hitherto lacking, and had long been all the more urgently needed, given that Emil Bächler had already, in his Drachenloch publications of 1921 and 1940, impermissibly and freely summarized the excavation results that would have followed from the excavation records meticulously written by Nigg and by himself (!), by passing over the individual findings or even partially combining them, thereby giving the findings an appearance that the excavators had never encountered — one newly created by Bächler himself!

The son of Theophil Nigg only partially remedied this deficiency in 1978 through the publication of "My Cave Diaries from the Drachenloch, Theophil Nigg" — that is, "RECORD NIGG" entries — insofar as he left Bächler's records almost entirely unconsidered, save for one uncommented passage.

Only with this complete reproduction of the source material does the instrument necessary for a scientifically relevant assessment become available. The editor's conclusion is most gratifying for all friends of the site: After a critical review of all excavation records, including drawings and sketches, the Drachenloch again today — and rightfully so — merits the outstanding s i g n i f i c a n c e  a s  a  h i g h - a l p i n e,  M i d d l e  P a l a e o l i t h i c  f i n d  s i t e  a n d  a c t i o n  s i t e  o f  N e a n d e r t h a l  M a n  a n d  c a v e  b e a r  h u n t e r   that it had once attained — thanks to Bächler's publications — within European prehistory in the first half of the 20th century.

This book also publishes for the first time new archaeological discoveries made in recent years from the excavation spoil of the cave: these confirm the image of the bear hunter in the Drachenloch, sufficiently attested by the recorded findings, and enrich the cave's find inventory!

August 2008, the editor

Fig. 1, The entrance to the Drachenloch cave is visible from the valley at Vättis!
Fig. 1, The entrance to the Drachenloch cave is visible from the valley at Vättis!
Fig. 2, The entrance to the Drachenloch cave in the rocky crown above. In the foreground the Gelbberg alp.
Fig. 2, The entrance to the Drachenloch cave in the rocky crown above. In the foreground the Gelbberg alp.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to all those who made it possible for me to photograph individual objects from the find material of the Drachenloch excavations, above all to Director Dr. Toni Bürgin of the Natural History Museum of St. Gallen and the responsible committee; to the archives in Chur (Mr. Ursus Brunold) and St. Gallen (Ms. Dorothee Guggenheimer and Ms. Ursula Hasler), who permitted me to photograph the excavators' record booklets and letters, among other things.

To Mr. Rudolf Mettler of Chur, who received me most graciously and made available to me for photographing Bächler's letters to Nigg, which had passed into his possession after the death of Toni Nigg.

Moreover to my French friend Jean-Dominique Lajoux in Paris, ethnologist and former research fellow at the CNRS, who encouraged me to write this chronicle, had himself intended to contribute an epilogue, but ultimately had to capitulate before the chronicle written in German!

But above all to Doris Wobmann, who together with her deputies holds the bastion of "Drachenloch Excavations 1917–23" at the local museum of Vättis with iron steadfastness and leads visitors through the exhibition designed by Theophil Nigg's son, Toni Nigg, and opened in 1987 — for her warm-hearted cooperation and support.

Fig. 35, Toni Nigg, aged over 85, before the portrait of his father in the local museum.
Fig. 35, Toni Nigg, aged over 85, before the portrait of his father in the local museum.

Glossary of Terms (salvaged.work Edit)

The Cave: Sections and Spaces

The Drachenloch cave consists of three main chambers connected in sequence, designated by Bächler and Nigg with Roman numerals. Subsequent passages narrow progressively from front to rear.

H I / Cave I / Cave section I — The large entrance cave, approximately 27 metres in length. Well-lit by natural daylight. Found to be largely poor in prehistoric material, largely due to greater temperature fluctuation, water conductivity, and historic ceiling collapses. Served primarily as a passageway to the inner chambers. Contains a dome structure at its rear right (an alcoved side chamber) that was only superficially investigated.

H II / Cave II / Cave section II — The second, middle chamber. The main find area for the sealed hearths and the majority of the bone deposits (bone pits 1–8). Accessible from H I through what was originally a narrow crawlway passage. More sheltered, drier, and with more stable temperatures than H I.

H III / Cave III / Cave section III — The rearmost excavated chamber, beyond a second internal passage from H II. Contains further bone deposits and skull depots, including the sites described by Baumann as a "cult space." The cave becomes progressively lower-ceilinged and more block-choked toward its rear (sections 12 onward). Sections IV–VI beyond H III were considered unlikely to yield significant material due to increasingly narrow spatial conditions.

Dome structure — A domed side alcove at the rear-right of H I. Investigated only superficially; no significant finds.

The passage H I / H II — The former narrow crawlway connecting the entrance cave to the second chamber. Its widening by Bächler (referred to in the chronicle as the removal of a "barricade block") caused some confusion in later record-keeping.

The passage H II / H III — The transition between the second and third chambers, a key excavation zone. The two hearths (F 1 and F 2) and the principal bone deposits are clustered at and around this passage.

Section Metres and Excavation Grid

The cave floor was divided by Bächler and Nigg into a systematic grid for recording purposes.

Section metre (Profil-Meter / m) — Each cave section was measured along its longitudinal axis in one-metre increments, referred to as "section metres" or simply by number (e.g., "section metre 5," "m 5"). Cross-profiles were drawn at each metre interval and recorded in the profile books.

"1st m left / right" — Within each section metre, finds were further located laterally by their position relative to the cave's longitudinal axis: "1st metre left" means the first metre to the left of the axis, "2nd metre right" means two metres to the right, and so on.

Longitudinal axis — The central line running the length of each cave section, used as the reference datum for all lateral measurements.

Longitudinal trench — In H I, a trench approximately 20 metres long and 1.5–2 metres wide was excavated down to the native cave floor to establish the stratigraphic profile of the largely empty entrance chamber.

The Excavation Layers

Six distinct layers were identified in the cave fill of H II and H III, numbered from top (most recent) to bottom (oldest). Only layers II–V are designated cultural layers, meaning they contain evidence of prehistoric human presence. The numbering is inverted chronologically: layer VI is the oldest, layer I the most recent.

Layer I — Blackish mold layer at the surface, 20–25 cm thick. Contains bird droppings (alpine choughs), rodent bones, snail shells, and moss. Historically disturbed. Not prehistoric.

Layer II — Grayish and whitish-gray sinter earth, 15–40 cm thick. Contains a different bear species from the main cave bear layers (Ursus arctos subfossilis), with bones in excellent condition. No Ursus spelaeus (cave bear). Regarded as a late prehistoric deposit.

Layer III — Red-brown to dark reddish earthy layer, 35–55 cm thick. The uppermost cultural layer bearing cave bear remains in good preservation. Contains intentional bone accumulations indicating human presence. The cave bear's occurrence in the Drachenloch ends at the top of this layer.

Layer IV — Light reddish to red-brown earth, 60–98 cm thick. The principal find layer: the richest deposits of cave bear bone, the sealed hearths (F 1 and F 2), the bone pits, and the stone tool finds. Sometimes contains stratified horizontal stone slabs, interpreted by Bächler as deliberate flooring by cave man over moist subground. Some ice was found in the lower parts of this layer in July–August during excavations.

Layer V — Light brown to slightly reddish-brown, 25–40 cm thick. The earliest cultural layer; bone material here is more fragile due to residual moisture. Contains bone tools and bone accumulations attesting to human activity.

Layer VI — White to whitish-gray cave clay, up to 1.8–2 m thick. Sterile: no finds. A pure seepage-water deposit forming the cave floor before human habitation. Lies directly against the native cave rock.

Intermediate layers — Narrow transitional deposits (a few centimetres thick) identified between layers I and II, and between layers IV and V. May indicate temporal horizons corresponding to glacial events, paralleling a similar sequence at Wildkirchli.

Hearths

F 1 — The first hearth, a round fireplace near the entrance of H II (the connecting passage from H I to H II).

F 2 / Hearth 2 — The second hearth, rectangular, discovered on 23 August 1920. Located at the base of layer III / surface of layer IV in H II, in front of the entrance to H III, slightly left of the cave axis. Sealed by two horizontal Seewerkalk slabs (30 × 25 cm each), surrounded by stone courses forming a protected fire pit. Contained excellently preserved charcoal from mountain pine (Pinus mugo). The charcoal from this hearth was later submitted for radiocarbon dating.

Bsetzi-Boden — A term used by Nigg (from Swiss German bsetzen, to lay, to pave) for areas of the cave floor covered with deliberately placed flat stone slabs, interpreted as intentional flooring by the Neanderthal inhabitants. Entered on the cave plan with black hatching.

Bone Pits and Deposits

Bone pit / Bone deposit — Discrete accumulations of cave bear bones, typically including skull material, placed in dug pits and often covered with a stone slab or protected by stones. Eight principal bone deposits (pits 1–8) were recorded in H II and H III, all in metre sections 4 and 5.

Bone pit 1 / "Steinkiste" — The first and most discussed deposit, located in H II section metre 4–5. Covered with a large Seewerkalk slab (90 × 60 × 5–8 cm). Bächler used the word Steinkiste ("stone chest") in his 1920 notes to mean this slab-covered pit — not the walled enclosure with seven skulls that appeared in his published accounts.

Pit I / Pit II / Pit III — Nigg's own numbering for specific bone deposits in H III, which does not align exactly with the sequential numbering (1–8) used by Baumann in his reconstruction. This dual numbering occasionally causes cross-referencing difficulties in the chronicle.

Skull Catalogue

D 1–D 45 — The catalogue numbers assigned to individually documented cave bear skulls and skull fragments from the Drachenloch find inventory. The designation "D" stands for Drachenloch. Of the 79 total skull fragments recorded during excavation, 45 received individual D-numbers; these are the ones photographed and described in detail in Baumann's book. Each D-number corresponds to a skull with surviving provenance documentation.

Age classes (Altersklassen) — Heinz Bächler assigned cave bear skulls to age classes based on molar wear:

  • Class I a — ¾ to 1½ years; molars with no trace of wear whatsoever.
  • Class I b — ¾ to 1½ years; slightly older than I a; "no trace of wear."
  • Class II a — 1½ to 2 years; barely any wear visible; described as "quite young."

The consistent occurrence of exclusively juvenile individuals (almost never adults) is a key indicator of human hunting selection rather than natural bear mortality.

Editorial Conventions

Baumann establishes a precise typographic system to distinguish sources in the transcribed chronicle.

Italic type — Reproduces the records and letters of the excavators (Nigg and Bächler) verbatim.

Bold italic type — Marks passages considered archaeologically significant by either the excavators or the editor.

Roman (normal) type — Baumann's own editorial additions, commentary, and explanations.

Underlining (not shown in online version) — Taken directly from the original manuscript; words underlined in the source are underlined in the transcription.

// — Indicates a page break in the original manuscript at this point in the text.

Materials and Geology

Seewerkalk — A lacustrine limestone (literally "lake limestone") native to the cave rock of the Drachenloch. The Neanderthal inhabitants used slabs, blocks, and smaller pieces of Seewerkalk from the cave walls and floor for multiple purposes: as cover slabs over bone deposits, as structural elements in hearth construction, and — after working — as stone tools (scrapers, points). The stone tools found in the Drachenloch are made almost exclusively from Seewerkalk rather than from imported materials such as quartzite (which predominates at Wildkirchli).

Verrucano — An ancient (Permian-era) conglomerate rock forming the geological basis of the Graue Hörner and Ringelspitz mountain chain, of which the Drachenberg is a part. The Glarner Nappe — a major Alpine thrust sheet — brings this very old rock to rest atop younger formations, explaining the inverted stratigraphy visible throughout the region.

Glarner Nappe (Glarner Decke) — The major tectonic overthrust sheet that defines the geology of the Drachenberg and surrounding mountains. The nappe carries older Verrucano rock over younger flysch and limestone. Understanding the nappe geology is necessary to understand why the Drachenloch cave exists at its extraordinary altitude of 2,427 m.

Lochseitenkalk — A mylonitic (sheared and recrystallised) limestone band appearing at the contact surface between the Verrucano nappe and the underlying flysch. Visible as a light, fibrous band along the overthrust surface in the cliff faces of the area.

Flysch — The soft, intensively folded Eocene sedimentary rock (sandstones and shales) that forms the valley floors and gentler mountain slopes in the region, underlying the Verrucano nappe.

Sinter / Cave sinter (Tropfsteinmasse) — Calcium carbonate deposited by dripping or seeping water inside the cave. Appears as a white powdery or crystalline coating on bones (particularly well-preserved bones in layer II) and as crumbly calcite deposits within layer II. Sinter coating on bone is sometimes used as a rough indicator of long deposition.

Manuport — An archaeological term for an object (typically a stone) that has no signs of working but whose presence at a site is inexplicable other than through human transport. In the Drachenloch, a quartzite piece found in H III section metre 1 (toward the left wall, 4th layer) is identified as a manuport: quartzite does not occur naturally in the Drachenberg and must have been carried up from the valley.

Prologue – Human Life and Activity in the Drachenloch More than 50,000 Years Ago.

Palaeoanthropology. — The man with the low, receding brow, the prominent supraorbital ridges, the elongated skull flattened at the rear, the narrow, high face without prominent cheekbones, the absent chin, and the powerful, stocky build has not left prehistorians and palaeoanthropologists in peace since his discovery in the mid-19th century. He differs too markedly in outward appearance from today's modern human, and when datings in the Near East suggested a coexistence of the two human forms in Europe, the "stranger" was increasingly pushed to the margins! He no longer seemed to be the direct ancestor of today's human. He had already been pushed to the margins when he and his kind were unhappily named — after a place that today scarcely exists anymore — after the Neanderthal near Düsseldorf, where in 1856 during limestone quarrying a skullcap and parts of his skeleton had accidentally come to light. But where was palaeoanthropology to place him in the human family tree if he was not the direct ancestor of modern humans, and where did modern humans come from? — To state it upfront: palaeoanthropologists have remained in disagreement to this day, with a considerable proportion of them — under the longstanding impression of his otherness and inferiority relative to today's modern human, also known after his find site as "Cro-Magnon" man — having created, in their perplexity, a lateral branch of human evolutionary history existing only in theory, an evolutionary dead end in which this being, already close to later humans but not yet to be regarded as a fully-fledged human, would have found itself. — While datings of Neanderthal sites in Europe placed his heyday in the period from 70,000 to 40,000 (possibly 30,000) years before the present, traces of modern humans were found in East and South Africa dated to 100 to 150,000 BP and more. (Geneticists even believed they could reconstruct the family tree of the African Eve with the greatest precision, knew even a birth 200,000 years BP and even claimed to know the region of origin — the southern Sahara!)

The oldest fossil traces with characteristics of modern humans evidently originate from Africa. On this point palaeoanthropology has always been in agreement. But the "problem" of the Neanderthals and the question of the origins of modern humans in Europe divided the field, as stated, as did equally the question of the very definition of the latter. Some proponents completely separate modern humans from the Neanderthals, and believe in an actual cradle of modern humans in Africa, from which they reached the Near East from 100,000 BP onward and from there emigrated to various continents, reaching Europe around 40,000 years ago. This contemporary human, so Richard Klein — a proponent of this view — stands behind an actual "Big Bang" of human consciousness (The Dawn of Human Culture, 2002) and only thereby scaled the heights of the human spirit as they distinguish today's humans, including for instance the ability to practise art, to craft images from a great variety of raw materials, or to paint on cave walls. Another anthropologist, Chris Stringer, even made this new human into a distinct species proper, which means a biological unit of individuals that can only interbreed with one another. ("Humans are at most 200,000 years old!")

The notion that — contemporaneously — lines of human development should have existed that could be subdivided, by the measure of today's human, into fully-fledged and not-yet-fully-fledged humans is, in our view, not only from a palaeoanthropological and archaeological but also from a philosophical and theological standpoint extremely questionable! To dispel these reservations, the American anthropologist Milford Wolpoff, as a leading proponent of this perspective, offers the following: according to him, the history of homo sapiens begins at least 2 million years ago.

In August 1984, Kamoya Kimeu discovered a human skull fragment in the dried-up streambed of the Nariokotome River, approximately 5 km from its mouth into Lake Turkana. Over the course of 5 excavation campaigns in the years 1984 to 1988, within an excavation area of 425 square metres, an almost complete human skeleton emerged piece by piece. The sediments in which the bones lay were dated to approximately 1.5 million years, the age of the evidently male deceased was given as 11 years, his not-yet-adult body height as 160 cm, and his calculated adult height as approximately 180 cm! — For Richard Leakey and his colleagues there was no doubt: here they stood before the juvenile, uniquely and almost completely preserved remains — only the small hand and foot bones were no longer found — of one of the earliest manifestations of humankind.

For the American anthropologist Milford Wolpoff, one thing is clear: all human fossils that are close to this appearance of the youth of Nariokotome — and among these he also counts bones dated to around 2 million years — or that have evidently developed further from this human form, are to be counted without distinction as part of the "family" of humankind, of homo sapiens! This species "human" spread, in Wolpoff's view, from the moment of its emergence around 2 million years ago, left the African continent in first groups soon thereafter and gradually settled Eurasia as well. (The earliest traces of this, 1.75 million years old, are found at Dmanisi in Georgia!)

At that time, according to Wolpoff, the foundation of all later regional forms of human appearance and their varying cultural development was laid (Multiregional development of humankind!). — For him, the image of today's modern human gradually and continuously drifted into being through a never-ending exchange of genes between human groups wandering across the continents, whereby a part of the regional distinctiveness in the outward appearance of peoples and their culture was always preserved. This gene flow was, depending on the migratory movements of peoples across the millennia, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker, but on the whole remained constant!

The European Neanderthal, distinguished by his particular "outfit," occupies a special position within the history of homo sapiens even for the anthropologist Milford Wolpoff, but only insofar as this indigenous European would have lived in a frontier region like Europe — with respect to genetic exchange — in higher degree of isolation from gene exchange with incoming population groups over millennia.

In his view, the appearance of modern humans after 40,000 BP gradually emerged in Europe, as is clearly visible, for example, in the skulls found in Aurignacian sediments of the Lautscher Cave (Mladec, Czechoslovakia). In these, characteristics of the temporally preceding, indigenous European — the Neanderthal — combine with those of the emergent, drifting-in modern human, as the result of a renewed increase in migratory movements within and into Europe and the associated gene flow after 40,000 years before the present.

Connected with this, we may add, there occurred an intensified cultural exchange with a resulting cultural shift perceptible in the archaeological find material from this epoch. — Thus the earliest animal and human representations appear only after 40,000 BP, which seems to pour water onto the mills of the "Out of Africa" and "Big Bang" theorists of modern humankind — but only on a short-sighted view. For artfully carved animal representations, such as appeared worldwide for the first time during this period, namely in the southern German region, can no longer be regarded as genuine protagonists of a new branch of human cultural creation, but rather as "blossoms in full flower" of a period of human cultural development lasting tens and hundreds of thousands of years — latent and barely visible. To attribute a mutation in the unimaginable brain as responsible for the emergence of art in humankind (so Richard Klein and others) resembles the use of the deus ex machina in Greek tragedy.

When we enquire into the general reason for the earliest human artistic creation, we must see as its trigger simple human needs standing against the backdrop of earliest human activities. The concern of the human and hunter of that time was to find a way to reproduce the killed animal. Materially this was possible for him through a skilful reproduction in stone or another comparable material, such as ivory. But he also hoped to restore to the reproduced animal the immaterial — the spiritual and mental life — and linked this craft work with a ritual action underlining the aforementioned intention. One may assume that art and religion in human culture originally had an immediate connection and promoted each other's mutually conditioned development.

And further: if the human "language," where art and ritual are concerned, is spoken noticeably more "accentuated" after 40,000 BP, then before 40,000 BP humankind used the "symbols" of the language not yet accentuated — that is, he still avoided the clear, complete artificial depiction of the animal or human and instead sometimes used a simpler, symbolic image for it, or represented what was sought in ritual in a figurative manner! — Or expressed differently: the more the practised ritual developed, the more there approached that point in the development of art — which proceeded from symbolic-pictorial representation — at which the pictorial representation became independent, while the ritual simultaneously replaced the pictorial symbolism more or less completely. The language of pictorial symbolism was not, however, as one might suppose, an underdeveloped one, employed by still backward humans, but at most a different one — or equally a less accentuated language — within the equally valid, co-existing languages of art! In this direction points the tradition of the so-called Venus representations, to which belongs also a 35 mm figurine of volcanic stone that Naama Goren-Inbar of the Archaeological Institute of Jerusalem discovered in 1981 at Berekhat Ram on the Israeli Golan Heights, between two basalt layers dated by the Argon 40/39 ratio to 233,000 and 800,000 BP respectively. The dating thus points to a period lying far before the time of the emergence of the animal carvings from the Vogelherd (< 40,000 BP)!

An examination of this figurine by Alexander Marshack under the electron microscope (cf. Antiquity, 1997, 71, 327–337) revealed traces of working and thereby substantiates the artificial, human-made, figurative character of the stone — already clearly recognisable to the naked eye alone — with depiction of a head, arms laid alongside and bent, and female breast, or swollen, pregnant belly (the smallness of the figurine renders a distinction between the two body parts impossible!) — see Fig. 3, p. 17. In this figurine the maker did not model a (living) woman, but represented his practised ritual for the restoration of the killed animal in symbolic-figurative form. This figurine constitutes at present the earliest dated evidence of a row, standing in a tradition tens of thousands of years old, of symbolic representations of female, parturient fertility, whose most famous representative is the much later (26,000 BP) "Venus of Willendorf" — Fig. 4, p. 17! — The tradition of symbolic-pictorial female fertility representations had survived the entire pre-Christian era and extended far beyond the Stone Age!

Fig. 3, Side view of the 35 mm figurine embodying the tradition of depicting female fertility; discovered in 1981 by Naama Goren-Inbar on the Israeli Golan Heights at Berekhat Ram and dated between 233,000 and 800,000 BP (years before today).
Fig. 3, Side view of the 35 mm figurine embodying the tradition of depicting female fertility; discovered in 1981 by Naama Goren-Inbar on the Israeli Golan Heights at Berekhat Ram and dated between 233,000 and 800,000 BP (years before today).
Fig. 4, "Venus of Willendorf" (replica) — approximately 26,000 years old (Cohen).
Fig. 4, "Venus of Willendorf" (replica) — approximately 26,000 years old (Cohen).

We must therefore already presuppose symbolic, incomplete pictorial representations for the time of European Neanderthal Man, as well as corresponding simple rituals — solemn, regularly occurring actions relating to the immaterial sphere of life. — Thus we encounter symbolic art in the so-called "mask" of La Roche-Cotard — Fig. 5, p. 18 — which its discoverer Jean-Claude Marquet — as it seems rightly — associated with Neanderthal Man (A Neanderthal face? The proto-figurine from La Roche-Cotard. Antiquity, 77, 661–670). It concerns a flat trapezoidal flint of 93 × 105 (< 69) mm, one side of which displays a "nose bridge" with a groove running horizontally beneath it, into which an elongated bone fragment has been pushed. The bone piece protrudes on both sides of the "bridge"; both visible bone parts act beside the "nose bridge" like eyes, the whole resembles a face or a "mask." The artistic content of this created face is very slight, but was not at all intended. Symbolism alone stood in the foreground! What symbolism? Even if the discoverer does not express himself on this point, it is obvious: the dead — the bone — is placed at the site of life — symbolised by the eyes — in order to restore life. The object tells us the simple ritual action that the human of La Roche-Cotard performed upon it, and at the same time represents the character of that pictorial-symbolic art which still avoids complete, true-to-life depictions of animals, humans, etc.!

Fig. 5, the "mask" of La Roche-Cotard.
Fig. 5, the "mask" of La Roche-Cotard.

Simple ritual actions and simple pictorial-symbolic creation must also be presupposed for the human from the Drachenloch, whose sojourn is placed by a C-14 dating of discovered charcoal in the period more than 53,000 years ago.

Dating. — What counted as and may still today be regarded as a genuine sensation among the archaeological discoveries in the Drachenloch is a hearth covered by 2 stone slabs and framed all around by stone courses — a kind of bottomless stone chest — which, on the surface of an approximately 10 cm thick ash layer followed below by burnt earth up to 25 cm and more deep, contained beside individual scorched cave bear bones pieces of charcoal from the mountain pine (Pinus mugo). Emil Bächler, the director of the excavations, was present at this discovery. He writes at the corresponding point in his notes (1920, 74 f. and 77): "Monday, 23 August 1920 — Hurrah! — Discovery of the 2nd hearth in front of the entrance to Cave III, to the left of the cave axis. In the centre of M< eter> 1 left < of the axis> several stones were found placed upright; in their midst lay a typical hearth with excellently preserved coals (wood) + ash. — (77) Hearth 2 is the famous pendant to the hearth at the entrance (connecting passage) from I to II. It is situated in a thoroughly intact position at the base of Layer III and on the surface of Layer IV, but extends further into Layer IV — Fig. 6, p. 18. It is set into the depression between larger slabs, thus constituting a fire pit protected notably toward the outside by the stone courses. — The fire pit was covered by two larger Seewerkalk slabs of 30 × 25 < cm> laid horizontally across it. Here the fire was probably maintained in a smouldering state through covering it (stones, damp grass 'tufts'). The charcoal pieces (vouchers!) have been very well preserved within it, so that the determination of the wood species is readily possible." And on page 79 (1920) Bächler writes: "The entire hearth, i.e. its material, is preserved in special small boxes." — The sensation consisted not only in the discovery of this hearth construction, but in the presence of well-preserved charcoal pieces — from the wood of the mountain pine, which still occurs a few hundred metres below the Drachenloch today. These gained even greater significance when, after 1945, a method for dating formerly organic substances by measuring their content of radioactive carbon (C-14) was developed. By 1958 the time had come: a sample of these charcoal pieces from the sealed hearth was sent to the C-14 laboratory in Groningen (NL), where Prof. H. de Vries dated it in a first measurement to "older than 49,000 years" (GRO 1432), and in a second to "older than 53,000 years" (GRO 1477) (cf. SGU 47, 103 — Heinz Bächler).

Fig. 6, Position of the enclosed hearth (H) discovered by Bächler on 23 August 1920 before the entrance to cave III at the base of layer III and on the surface of layer IV, and of the open hearth (F) discovered by Nigg on 21 July 1917 at the entrance to cave II.
Fig. 6, Position of the enclosed hearth (H) discovered by Bächler on 23 August 1920 before the entrance to cave III at the base of layer III and on the surface of layer IV, and of the open hearth (F) discovered by Nigg on 21 July 1917 at the entrance to cave II.

This provided a terminus ante quem for the sojourn of the builders of the hearth in the Drachenloch! Bächler's attribution of the culture found in the Drachenloch to the Mousterian was fully confirmed. The human who had been present in the Drachenloch more than 50,000 years ago was precisely the one described at the outset — with the low, receding brow etc. — the Neanderthal. The human of modern appearance has not (yet) been attested in Europe for this period. The Drachenloch excavations in the years 1917–23 by Emil Bächler and Theophil Nigg brought to light traces of the activity of the Neanderthal, the indigenous European — therein lay and lies their special value.

More precisely regarding the terminus ante quem, Elisabeth Schmid expressed herself, having conducted ground investigations in the Drachenloch from 2 to 6 August 1954. She recognised that given the cave's position at 2,427 m above sea level, sedimentation had been at a standstill during the long advance, maximum extent and retreat of the Würm glaciers, and she assigned the cave bear layers to the closing Riss/Würm interglacial, or the early onset of Würm! (Schmid, Höhlenforschung, 132)

Stone chest with 7 cave bear skulls? — Figs. 7/8, p. 19 — The Drachenloch cave became widely known among prehistorians and researchers across Europe through Bächler's mention and sketch of an alleged stone chest said to have contained 7 cave bear skulls oriented with their snouts toward the cave exit, and his theory — substantiated in his view by this stone chest — of an alleged sacrificial cult directed toward a Supreme Being (— following P. W. Schmidt's theory of the veneration of a "Highest Being" as the primal religion of humankind, with whom Bächler was on friendly terms!). It may be one of the most tragic and fateful missteps of a person responsible for archaeological excavations and their publication when he manipulates and alters the discovered findings — for whatever reason: did the educator in Bächler prevail over the scientist, as we must infer from his letter to Nigg of 18 February 1922? — and thereby passes on or bequeaths false information to the uninitiated, contemporary, or future researcher!!! This is what occurred with Emil Bächler — a stone chest with 7 bear skulls inside it never existed in the Drachenloch! — and one can only deplore the invention of it most deeply, for the damage it caused was far greater than the often sought-after benefit could ever have been. The Drachenloch excavations of 1917–23, which had been carried out under such difficult conditions through the most admirable dedication of the excavators Theophil Nigg and his two assistants Abraham Bonderer and Hermann Kressig, had truly deserved better than this sweeping rejection of the findings — with the exception of the charcoal dating — as unfortunately occurs in today's research. Here the proverbial "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" took place! Everything fell by the wayside; nothing was taken seriously any longer. This also explains the success — persisting in part to this day — of a line of reasoning already described and definitively rejected by the excavators themselves during their work, according to which the encountered bone deposits could have originated naturally. (On the "Charriage à sec par l'ours des cavernes" by F.-E. Koby, see the Appendix!)

Fig. 37 b, At front right Hermann Kressig, to his left Theophil Nigg.
Fig. 37 b, At front right Hermann Kressig, to his left Theophil Nigg.
Fig. 7, Bächler (1940), plate XXIII, Fig. 40.
Fig. 7, Bächler (1940), plate XXIII, Fig. 40.
Fig. 8 (= 120), Schematic floor-plan sketch of the 8 bone pits and the hearth — according to the excavation records of Nigg and Bächler — in metres 4 and 5 at the end of the 2nd cave section (H II) and the beginning of the third (H III).
Fig. 8 (= 120), Schematic floor-plan sketch of the 8 bone pits and the hearth — according to the excavation records of Nigg and Bächler — in metres 4 and 5 at the end of the 2nd cave section (H II) and the beginning of the third (H III).

Yet Bächler himself, during his sporadic visits to the excavations, had been on the scene and recorded his observations with the utmost precision on the spot or at the latest in the evenings in the Gelbberg hut approximately 500 m below the Drachenloch. All of his original records as well as the records of excavator Theophil Nigg in their entirety are trustworthy and remain of valid value for research today!

The reader is astonished when he reads what Bächler actually encountered directly beside the sealed hearth! For him it was clear that he stood before an artificial deposit of cave bear bones placed there by a human hand (40–80 × 60 × 25–30 cm), for which said person had dug a pit and covered it with a rectangular-cut Seewerkalk slab from the cave, measuring 90 × 60 × 5–8 cm. (In order to counter the notion that these bone deposits involved bears that had died during winter hibernation and were subsequently covered by a ceiling collapse, he repeatedly emphasised that these deposits never contain the complete bones of a single individual, never belong to only one individual, and never to individuals of the same age, but always to different — and exclusively juvenile — individuals. Spontaneously, while reading these assurances, I always added that without the presence of an artificial pit or surface protection, a ceiling collapse would necessarily have resulted in the total fragmentation of the bones beneath, or else nature would have instantaneously built a stone chest on its own... — A flow of water of such magnitude as to have churned up and partially carried away the bones was from the outset entirely ruled out for a cave with a position like that of the Drachenloch at the foot of the Drachenberg at 2,427 m above sea level — Fig. 2, p. 6 — and traces of animals that might have rooted through, devoured, or even removed the bones from the cave likewise do not exist in the Drachenloch!)

A curiosity: Bächler uses in his excavation notes (1920, page 89) the word "Steinkiste" (stone chest) — see below, p. 252 — but means by it the aforementioned bone deposit (bone pit 1, Figs. 8 and 120, pp. 19 and 255) covered with a stone slab. — For the inventory of this deposit, Bächler (1920, 84/5) lists a number of items, including the occurrence of skull posterior sections — but by no means 7 complete skulls — see below, p. 251!

A Sacrificial Cult? — The Ritual of the Neanderthal in the Drachenloch

In 1997 an expedition led ethnoarchaeologists behind the Iron Curtain to Eastern Siberia east of the Yenisei River to the tribal people of the Evenki, whose way of life and work as hunters — so state the authors in the magazine Archäologie in Deutschland (AID, 6/2003, 14–19) — shows parallels to the culture of the Old Stone Age. On page 16, ibid., they write: "At Lake Nitchaka we were able to observe how animal bones (of the hunted animals) were disposed of following elaborate rituals. The underlying idea is that a dead animal must be treated with respect so that its soul feels at ease and accepts the surroundings where the bones remain. The soul is then also inclined to be   r e b o r n   as a   n e w   a n i m a l   in the same area. Thus an important aspect of the ritual bone disposal seems to consist in securing the supply in the territories around the settlement." — The disposal ritual differs depending on the hunted animal. Concerning the bear they write: "Bears are buried on wooden raised platforms similar to those that were formerly erected for the burial of humans." —

If one sets aside the notion — based on a false theory (cf. Appendix) and irreconcilable with the descriptions and sketches of the excavators — that the bone accumulations (deposits) in the pits beside and around the sealed hearth in the Drachenloch came about naturally, the 8 bone depositions described above — see Figs. 8 and 9, pp. 19 f. — in metres 4 and partly 5 at the end of the 2nd cave section (H II) and at the entrance to the third (H III) can be interpreted in no other way than as such   r i t u a l   b o n e   d i s p o s a l s   still observed today among the Evenki, pursuing the above-mentioned goal of the rebirth of a new animal.

Fig. 9, Detail of the coloured cross-section that Theophil Nigg drew on 2 September 1920 after his pencil sketch in his diary: bone pit IV, covered with a Seewerkalk slab. In the pit beneath the slab there were found, among other things, 3 cave bear skulls (Sch). The smallest division of the paper corresponds to one centimetre (square).
Fig. 9, Detail of the coloured cross-section that Theophil Nigg drew on 2 September 1920 after his pencil sketch in his diary: bone pit IV, covered with a Seewerkalk slab. In the pit beneath the slab there were found, among other things, 3 cave bear skulls (Sch). The smallest division of the paper corresponds to one centimetre (square).

It is noteworthy that the Evenki formerly buried their own dead in the same manner as the killed bears. The bear has always been and is still regarded among all bear-hunting peoples of northern Eurasia and North America as the primordial ancestor and primordial kinsman of humankind. There is no reason to suppose that this does not correspond to the oldest traditions and beliefs, with its roots in the earliest and most primordial bear-hunting culture — that is, already in that of the Neanderthal in the Drachenloch and elsewhere. There, around the sealed hearth, he ritually "disposed" of cave bear bones in a similar manner in pits — as he did elsewhere, for example in the small cave of La Chapelle-aux-Saints — see Fig. 10, p. 20 — with his own deceased. One finds in Europe at sites with traces of the Neanderthal no evidence whatsoever that the bones of any hunted animal other than the (cave) bear received ritual "disposals" comparable to those of his own dead to the same extent. — Eugène Bonifay, the excavator of Regourdou, was able to demonstrate an actual double burial of a Neanderthal human alongside a brown bear — see Fig. 11, p. 21. At Regourdou, parts of another hunted animal — the stag, namely skull and antler — also appear to have been ritually "disposed of." However, the brown bear accounts for by far the largest portion of the ritually "disposed of" bones. The findings at the Drachenloch and at Regourdou — 1,000 km away — suggest that the bear occupied a special, namely kinship-based position in the cosmos of Neanderthal Man compared to other hunted animals, and that the "disposal of his bones" therefore held a special significance for him.

Fig. 10, Longitudinal section of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints cave with the burial pit containing the skeleton of a Neanderthal man (drawn in black), drawn by the discoverer J. Bouyssonie in 1908.
Fig. 10, Longitudinal section of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints cave with the burial pit containing the skeleton of a Neanderthal man (drawn in black), drawn by the discoverer J. Bouyssonie in 1908.
Fig. 11, Longitudinal section and elevation of the stone settings in layer 4 lying side by side above the Neanderthal grave ("sépulture humaine") and the skeleton of a brown bear ("inhumation d'ours") at the excavation site Regourdou.
Fig. 11, Longitudinal section and elevation of the stone settings in layer 4 lying side by side above the Neanderthal grave ("sépulture humaine") and the skeleton of a brown bear ("inhumation d'ours") at the excavation site Regourdou.

In the ritual disposal of the killed bear, the Neanderthal of the Drachenloch does not yet appear to have followed fixed rules. Nevertheless one observes that he did not dispose of complete bear skeletons and that the selection of disposed bones varies (cf. the recorded bone proportions of the excavators for the individual bone pits and deposits). The skull or a part thereof was, however, always placed — presumably as a natural, outward identifying mark of the killed animal — together with other bones under a slab or block of stone in a pit. Judging by the cut marks found on the skulls and bones — see Figs. 12–14, pp. 21 f. — the entire bear (from head to paw) was carefully defleshed. The bones were often further disarticulated — presumably well over 50%, varying by type but following no recognisable rules. Evidently a portion of the bones — as surviving charred or scorched pieces from the sealed hearth or the open fireplace attest — were also burned — see Fig. 15, p. 23.

Fig. 12, Cut marks on skull "D 17" from pit 6; cf. Fig. 8.
Fig. 12, Cut marks on skull "D 17" from pit 6; cf. Fig. 8.
Fig. 13, Cut marks on skull "D 25" from pit 8; cf. Fig. 8.
Fig. 13, Cut marks on skull "D 25" from pit 8; cf. Fig. 8.
Fig. 14, Cut marks on the metatarsal bone (metatarsal 3) of a cave bear from the Drachenloch.
Fig. 14, Cut marks on the metatarsal bone (metatarsal 3) of a cave bear from the Drachenloch.
Fig. 15, 4 charred and carbonised foot/hand bones and 1 further carbonised bone fragment of the cave bear from F 1 of the Drachenloch (Drachenloch room, Kirchhofer house, St. Gallen); the scapholunatum bears three circular small depressions arranged in a triangle — in this geometric arrangement almost certainly not bite marks, but placed by man as a symbolic sign with ritual significance.
Fig. 15, 4 charred and carbonised foot/hand bones and 1 further carbonised bone fragment of the cave bear from F 1 of the Drachenloch (Drachenloch room, Kirchhofer house, St. Gallen); the scapholunatum bears three circular small depressions arranged in a triangle — in this geometric arrangement almost certainly not bite marks, but placed by man as a symbolic sign with ritual significance.

The fact that in the Drachenloch, among the possible hunted animals of the Neanderthal, only the cave bear received a ritual disposal akin to   a   b u r i a l   by the same — that is, that in this cave no noteworthy refuse from other prey animals was found — makes the Drachenloch a vast  "O s s u a r y  o f  t h e  C a v e  B e a r."   To the observer of today as of those times, the ring of rock with the cave entrance in the centre — Fig. 16, p. 23 — has the appearance of a mediaeval womb. The Neanderthal, too, did not miss this conspicuous, symbolic image in the natural landscape of the Drachenberg; the Drachenloch cave appeared to him as if made for his  b u r i a l  r i t u a l   of the bones and skulls of his killed cave bears. This ritual was, as stated, quite evidently aimed at the birth of new cave bears from the maternal womb of the Drachenloch!

Fig. 16, Ring of cliffs with the entrance to the Drachenloch cave in the centre. Height of the cave portal approximately 7 m.
Fig. 16, Ring of cliffs with the entrance to the Drachenloch cave in the centre. Height of the cave portal approximately 7 m.

To return to the starting point of the question of a possible sacrificial cult directed toward a Higher Being by the Neanderthal — the bone and skull deposits would in this case be offerings to a deity, an interpretation that, as stated, Bächler advocated — it can be established in general terms of human history that  t h e  h u m a n  m o r e  t h a n  5 0 , 0 0 0  y e a r s  a g o   (within this timeframe Bächler himself already thought)  w a s  s t i l l  t o o  m u c h  a p a r t,  a n d  t o o  l i t t l e  a n  o b s e r v e r,  o f  t h e  c o s m o s   s u r r o u n d i n g  h i m  (and also perceived himself as such), to have already been capable of abstracting a higher, spiritual being — called God — that presides over everything and over himself, and to have venerated it through sacrifice. He had, however, consciously perceived the processes of birth and death at work within the cosmos surrounding him and affecting himself, and had attempted to influence them through rituals. He may also, in this connection, have already abstracted from the cosmos the female, parturient fertility, already represented it, and in a certain sense venerated it. — In this direction points not only the early figurine from Berekhat Ram (see above), but also a find from the Drachenloch itself!

Stone Sculpture. — Such a representation of the female, parturient fertility at work in nature might be present in a find made in 2004 from the rubble of the Drachenloch cave, today preserved and exhibited in the local museum of Vättis: a light Seewerkalk stone of material from the cave rock with grey inclusions, which had been worked into a more or less  t r i a n g u l a r  f o r m.   What appears to be depicted in abstracted manner is a — slightly forward-inclined — seated figure with a human appearance at first glance. The human of more than 50,000 years ago, however, did not depict a seated (male or female) figure without deeper symbolic meaning. In the pictorial symbolism of the Neanderthal of the Drachenloch, this triangular, seated stone figure might signify a  w o m a n  g i v i n g  b i r t h,  or the pictorially represented  b i r t h  o f  n e w  c a v e  b e a r  l i f e  — an interpretation that almost imposed itself in connection with the traces of a burial ritual discovered in the cave for the purpose of the rebirth of killed cave bears (see above). The head of the figure clearly stands out from the body through the rounding of the back of the skull — Figs. 17 a/b, pp. 24 f.; the facial profile of the head appears to display the dual nature of human and bear, and to show the human chin beneath the bear snout; clearly marked is the eye shared by the human and bear nature of the head — Fig. 17 c, p. 25. In the depiction of a dual nature of human and bear, the notion of a kinship between human and bear — attested among recent bear-hunting peoples and presumably already to be presupposed for Neanderthal peoples — would quite evidently find its pictorial expression. Such a simple, symbolic-abstracted manner of representation as this stone displays would fit well into the time of the Neanderthal, cf. above!

Fig. 17 a, Simple, abstracting figure of a (seated) woman giving birth — from Seewerkalk; found in 2004 in the area of the workplace (see plan, p. 413); maximum dimension of the stone: 193 mm. Front: the figure shows reddish (today almost faded) traces of pigment at the centre! — Cf. Prologue
Fig. 17 a, Simple, abstracting figure of a (seated) woman giving birth — from Seewerkalk; found in 2004 in the area of the workplace (see plan, p. 413); maximum dimension of the stone: 193 mm. Front: the figure shows reddish (today almost faded) traces of pigment at the centre! — Cf. Prologue
Fig. 17 b, Back — the right flank of the triangular figure throws the head, back, and buttock line of the parturient woman into even clearer relief than the front (17 a). The head also shows a marking of the eye on the back side!
Fig. 17 b, Back — the right flank of the triangular figure throws the head, back, and buttock line of the parturient woman into even clearer relief than the front (17 a). The head also shows a marking of the eye on the back side!
Fig. 17 c, Head of the figure with a well-rounded, human occiput (left edge) and — adjoining to the right — a bear's head in profile in and above a human head that reaches with mouth and chin downward under the muzzle of the bear's head; the bear's head is set off by an apparently partly natural, partly artificially produced caesura in the stone! (Cf. also Fig. 17 a!)
Fig. 17 c, Head of the figure with a well-rounded, human occiput (left edge) and — adjoining to the right — a bear's head in profile in and above a human head that reaches with mouth and chin downward under the muzzle of the bear's head; the bear's head is set off by an apparently partly natural, partly artificially produced caesura in the stone! (Cf. also Fig. 17 a!)

Stone sculptures such as the one that appears to be present here, however, lose through their millennial and multi-millennial deposition in the ground the once-present, sharp-edged traces of working left by the sculptor's hand, and display at all these worked surfaces — particularly also at the edges — a smoothed, rounded surface. Nature becomes as it were a second sculptor and lends the artwork a patina that it alone can bestow! To demonstrate of such an object that it comes from human hands and is not a purely accidental product of nature is not always possible. Fortunately, however, an unequivocal trace of working can still be identified at the base of our Birthing Figure from the Drachenloch: clearly visible to the naked eye, the sculptor has chiselled out there a rectangular slot of approximately 20 × 5 mm — probably the symbolic representation of the female womb — from the light Seewerkalk surface — Fig. 17 d, p. 26. Apart from this unambiguous trace of working, the regular, geometric form of the object alone and the modelled back-of-skull silhouette with the adjoining angled, straight line of the back make this stone into a figure in which the creatively shaping spirit of the human speaks unmistakably (and not the hand of natural chance).

Fig. 17 d, Base of the figure with a rectangular slot approximately 20 × 5 mm, chiselled out of the pale Seewerkalk upper layer (visual symbol of the female womb).
Fig. 17 d, Base of the figure with a rectangular slot approximately 20 × 5 mm, chiselled out of the pale Seewerkalk upper layer (visual symbol of the female womb).

Incidentally, human-animal representations — and especially the human-bear representation — appear to have had a certain tradition after 40,000 BP in the southern German region; the seated human-bear figure became a standing one, and the act of birth was evidently no longer perceived as a defining element of these representations — Fig. 18, p. 26.

Fig. 18, She-bear in an upright, human posture, from Geissenklösterle (southern Germany), after 40,000 BP (left figure, no. 2, replica).
Fig. 18, She-bear in an upright, human posture, from Geissenklösterle (southern Germany), after 40,000 BP (left figure, no. 2, replica).

The Annotated Chronicle of the Excavations at the Drachenloch 1917–23 above Vättis/Pfäfers SG, 2,427 m above sea level

The biographical notices on the panels in the Drachenloch Museum in Vättis concerning the two excavators Nigg and Bächler:

Theophil Nigg (1860–1957), — Fig. 19 a–c, pp. 27 f. Senior teacher in Vättis. Local historian. Long-serving member of the cantonal parliament (Grossrat) and municipal administrator (Gemeindeammann) of the political municipality of Pfäfers (SG). 1917–23, discoverer and excavator over 201 days in the Drachenloch under the direction of Bächler. Author of the cave diaries with many scientifically valuable (situation sketches and) profile drawings accurate to the centimetre (deposited in the State Archives of Graubünden, Chur). —

Fig. 19 a, Portrait of Theophil Nigg (1880–1957). Vättis local museum.
Fig. 19 a, Portrait of Theophil Nigg (1880–1957). Vättis local museum.
Fig. 19 b, Theophil Nigg on a circular tour, c. 1910.
Fig. 19 b, Theophil Nigg on a circular tour, c. 1910.
Fig. 19 c, Theophil Nigg on Monday 8 August 1921, before the Gelbberg hut — photographed by the painter Früh, who visited the excavation that day.
Fig. 19 c, Theophil Nigg on Monday 8 August 1921, before the Gelbberg hut — photographed by the painter Früh, who visited the excavation that day.

Dr. h.c. Emil Bächler (1868–1950), — Fig. 20, p. 27. Secondary school teacher. Curator at the Heimatmuseum St. Gallen. Versatile scholar. Well-known cave researcher — Wildkirchli, Wildenmannlisloch. Director of the Drachenloch excavations (worked 34 days in the cave). Scientific processor of the finds:Das Drachenloch ob Vättis, 1921.Das alpine Paläolithikum der Schweiz, 1940. Honorary doctorate as meritorious promoter of the reintroduction of the alpine ibex in Switzerland.

Fig. 20, Portrait of Dr. h.c. Emil Bächler (1868–1950). Vättis local museum.
Fig. 20, Portrait of Dr. h.c. Emil Bächler (1868–1950). Vättis local museum.

Bächler writes in his handwritten "Memories from my Research Life" (II, page 5 f. — Archive, Box 16) regarding the first contacts with Nigg: "On the occasion of a demonstration of the Wildkirchli finds and a lecture on the prehistoric investigations at Wildkirchli before the teachers' conference of Gossau-Flawil, I drew the teachers' attention to the caves in the cantons of St. Gallen and Appenzell that should be made accessible for investigation into their faunal and prehistoric content, and mentioned the Drachenloch in the Tamina Valley, which I had come to know better since 1903. Among the teachers present was also the teacher Thomas Pfäfers, at that time active in Gossau, whom I did not yet know personally at that time." And Theophil Nigg supplements this prehistory of the Drachenloch excavations (Toni Nigg, 1978, page 14 f.): "When I came to my home valley, namely to Vättis, as a teacher in 1908, my resolve was firm to investigate the Drachenloch cave known there for its content as soon as possible. ... But a number of years passed before I actually got round to carrying out my long-planned visit to the Drachenloch. I used for this purpose a school-free afternoon — it was the 7th of July 1917, a Saturday."

The following chronicle encompasses the excavation records of the excavators, their correspondence during the years 1917–23 insofar as it has been preserved (86 letters from Emil Bächler, 16 from Theophil Nigg), as well as first publications in journals and yearbooks of those years (partly complete, partly extracts).

Notes on the Structure of the Chronicle and on Sources and Illustrations

  • Italic type: Records and letters of the excavators.

  • Italic type, bold: Findings considered archaeologically significant according to the excavators' account or the editor's assessment.

  • Normal type: Additions, comments by the editor.

  • Underlinings of words or formulations: taken over from the original.

  • Orthography has been partially adapted to current rules; & has mostly been written as "und" (and).

  • Abbreviations in the original are partly retained, partly written out in full, at the editor's discretion.

  • The layout of the letters with indentations or new paragraphs follows the original.

  • The sign // indicates that a new page begins in the original.

  • Weather reports have always been included; air pressure and temperature measurements have been included in part.

  • Up to 1919, Nigg wrote a second, usually shorter version of his excavation records and sent it to Bächler in St. Gallen (called "Tagebuch" / diary, first entries from 1917 even before the start of excavations); where the first and second versions agree word for word or show only minimal differences in content, the second version is dispensed with; in the rarer case, both are combined.

  • All of Nigg's records — his notebook and 4 sketch booklets — are stored numbered in the State Archives of the Canton of Graubünden in Chur (STAGR) in a box with the call number D V/6. (Citation: D V/6 + number of booklet + page number; additionally, for the 4 sketch booklets, a 5 is prefixed.)

  • All of Bächler's records in notebooks are stored in the City Archive — Vadiana — St. Gallen, Private Archive Emil Bächler, Box No. 8; these notebooks carry no call number. Citation follows the excavation year written by Bächler himself at the beginning of the booklet + page number; where page numbers are absent, they are supplied.

  • The 16 letters from Nigg to Bächler reproduced in the chronicle are kept in Box 32 of the Bächler Archive. — Of Nigg's letters to Bächler, a large proportion have unfortunately been lost!

  • The 86 letters from Bächler to Nigg transcribed into the chronicle are in the private possession of Mr. Rudolf Mettler, Chur, and were kindly made available to me, for which warmest thanks are expressed.

  • The correspondence of the two excavators from the years 1917–23 contains, alongside important matters, much that is incidental or personal; nevertheless, all letters are reproduced in full and unabridged. — For a person who repeatedly came under crossfire of criticism from both Nigg and Bächler on account of persistent disruptive manoeuvres, the pseudonym "Neumann" has been used.

  • Bächler's records and letters are predominantly written in German cursive script (Deutsche Schreibschrift) — in the rarer case, so too those of Nigg — and had to be transcribed.

  • From December 2005 to November 2006, the editor photographed weekly in the Kirchhoferhaus of the city of St. Gallen — closed to the public — where to this day the main depot of the find material from the Drachenloch excavations is located. My warmest thanks are due to Dr. Toni Bürgin, the director of the Natural History Museum situated opposite, and to the responsible committee for granting access. — For illustrated material, this location of storage is not separately indicated; where the photographed material originates from the second, smaller depot, namely the local museum in Vättis with the permanent exhibition — the only one still accessible to the public — on the Drachenloch excavations, this is specifically noted!

  • All photographs of cave bear skulls, bones, and Seewerkalk objects from the Drachenloch originate from the editor; as do those of sketches and drawings from the notebooks and publications of the excavators and from the museums. — Figs. 3 and 5 originate from "La naissance de l'art" by Lorblanchet.

1917

Cave Diary "Fundhöhle 'Draggaloch' (Drachenloch)"kept by Th. Nigg, Teacher, Vättis (D V/6 2, 1)

1917 Saturday, 7 July

Excursion to the "Draggaloch"

Discovery of prehistoric animal remains (bear remains) in the rubble of the cave floor.

These lay at a depth of approximately 50–60 cm in the soft ground of the first left side cave.

I extracted them from two square-shaped holes dug with a spade, each one spade-width across. Among the bone remains there is a well-preserved bear tooth. After returning home via Alp Ladils, I sent the finds to Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen, for examination. Present at the discovery were my two boys Theophil and Anton, and the boy Leo Bonderer, herdsman on Gelbberg.–

Vättis, 7 July 1917

Dear Mr. Conservator!

The purpose of this letter and the accompanying parcel is to draw your attention, honoured Sir, to the cave "Draggaloch" (Drachenloch) on the Gelbberg near Vättis.

I visited it today and found therein, at a depth of 30–60 cm, the enclosed bone fragments and the tooth (bear tooth?). With a spade I dug with ease two small test shafts in the soft ground, approximately 60 cm deep and roughly one spade-width across. I would now be very interested to learn whether the bones and the tooth are remains of extinct animal species, and whether you consider it worthwhile to investigate the cave systematically. If you believe the cave might contain valuable relics, I would recommend that you examine the matter on-site as soon as possible, as unfortunately my find has not remained unknown, and it could easily happen that local spa guests might search there on their own initiative for such things. — I would like to have the tooth back.

Hoping you will excuse me for troubling you, I remain, with excellent respect,

Th. Nigg, Teacher.
St. Gallen, 10 July 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg, in Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Sir!

For your kind communication of the 7th of this month as well as for the dispatch of the animal finds you made in the "Draggaloch" cave, I extend my sincerest thanks.

I must congratulate you on your find, as it concerns genuine b e a r remains — specifically of a species that comes close in size to that of the cave bear. The discovery is therefore of value, and I would urgently request that you ensure no unauthorised hands become involved, as otherwise the value of the entire discovery becomes illusory. Moreover, the Canton of St. Gallen will, in accordance with the provisions of the Swiss Civil Code, lay claim to it, since such localities must be investigated scientifically using the latest methods, and the canton is the lawful owner of these finds.

I imagine you will keep your discovery secret so as not to lose the priority. Simply say that the matter will be investigated from St. Gallen, and make it clear that no one has the right to dig except the specialists ordered to do so by the state. I will immediately take steps with the government. I shall then come to Vättis in the course of next week to visit the Draggaloch, which I know well, with you. The further investigation will then show that you have acquired a fine workplace, for which I will give you all the guidance, as I in any case could not always be present. Under all circumstances the discovery remains bound to your name, and you may rest assured that nothing of your priority as discoverer will be taken from you. I will see to this myself.

I have visited the Draggaloch twice during my botanical work in the Calfeis valley, the last time in 1904; I have a precise plan of it at 1:250. Did you make the finds in the front large section (27 m in length), or in the rear right large alcove (the domed chamber), or possibly even in one of the rear sections, i.e. behind the narrow passage on the left side at the back of // the large entrance cave? I assume the former. When I noted the cave for my cave map at the time, Teacher Graf, then in Vättis, and I found only the superficially lying bones of grazing animals (dragged in by foxes). I always had a suspicion that, despite its altitude, the cave might at least contain bones of Ursus arctos (common bear). However, the Wildkirchli investigations kept me firmly at that latter site. Now you have got there first, and that is right.

Even if in the end it can hardly involve a prehistoric settlement (though one should be on one's guard!), the site must nevertheless be very carefully worked through under all circumstances, because the stratification by layers and the remaining fauna are very important.

Any digging without exact method would thoroughly devalue the cave, since today it is no longer merely a matter of finds, but of their precise interpretation. Only in this way does the cave acquire genuine scientific value. Therefore lodge an immediate protest against any plundering of the cave. In an emergency contact the municipal office of Pfäfers or the district office of Sargans immediately.

I assume that, in rightful appreciation of the matter, you will miss nothing that protects the site from desecration until I have taken the necessary steps from here to secure it.

The bones and the tooth I will bring to you personally in Vättis, as I still need to carry out an examination of them.

Accept once more my sincerest thanks and the friendly greetings of your devoted

Emil Bächler

Friendly greetings to the "Lerche."
Vättis, 11 July 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

Most esteemed Sir!

Your letter today brought me a joyful surprise. Even though I suspected that the bone remains might be of some interest, I had not expected this result. The thought of having such a naturally valuable site nearby, which might yet surprise us, quite stirs me up.

Of course I shall do everything possible to protect the cave from plundering. Above all I shall no longer mention my find or the preliminary result at all. Then tomorrow I shall go to Alp Gelbberg and give the herdsman there, a native of Vättis, instructions to leave the cave undisturbed. (His boy, who is also there, was with me in the cave!) Moreover I shall charge him with keeping watch over the cave until further notice and in particular keeping strangers away from visiting it, or at least (by accompanying them) from doing any digging in it. Could you not obtain an appropriate official letter for me, which could be handed to the herdsman as legitimation? I think the man can be appropriately compensated for his trouble and I shall promise him this on my own account. The best thing will, however, be if the investigation is undertaken without delay, and I therefore await your arrival here with impatience.

The bones do not come from the large entrance cave but from the first (dry) rear section, which one enters from the large cave through the first narrow passage. It seems to me that finds might perhaps even be made further back. Of particular significance appears to me the circumstance that among the bones I found small traces (something less than pencil-thickness) of wood (human?), which unfortunately must have been lost during transport home. Whether these came from deeper layers or fell down from the surface during digging I cannot judge with certainty. —

Thank you very much for your kind information.

Looking forward to your speedy arrival in Vättis with impatience, I remain with respectful greetings

Your most devoted

Th. Nigg.

DIARY NIGG

Thursday, 12 July 1917 (D V/6 2, 2)

After Conservator Bächler had informed me by letter on 10 July of the results of his examination of the finds (fossil bear remains) and at the same time requested me to ensure that the site remained intact, I went back to Gelbberg on 12 July and gave the herdsman (only the boy was present) written instructions to observe the cave and to inform any visitors that neither digging nor removal of anything was permitted. If necessary he should always accompany visitors to the cave himself and inform me immediately of any occurrences. I held out the prospect of appropriate compensation for his trouble. Furthermore he should not speak to anyone about the matter without necessity.

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 14 July 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg, Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

Only today was I able to bring the matter of the "Draggaloch" finds before the Justice Department. The first step must now be taken with the owner — the local municipality of Vättis — to secure the cave.

For the moment it would be best to present your discovery in Vättis either as a complete deception — bones of currently living animals! — and then fill the cave back in where you dug, until the authorities have been approached.

Or alternatively: if you have said too much, inform the local president Mr. A. Jäger that the discovery has been communicated to the government and that the government will approach the local authority, since the finds belong to the canton under civil law. The local authority should for the time being issue a prohibition on searching in the cave, as it must be investigated scientifically.

I myself unfortunately cannot get away from here before next Thursday, as I have very pressing matters. Please write to me quickly whether that day suits you and whether you can keep the business secret.

With best greetings I am yours

E. Bächler
Vättis, 15 July 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

Most esteemed Sir!

Many thanks for your communication. It will be best if for the time being I stop speaking to anyone at all about the matter.

For only very few people know that I brought bones from the cave; the matter has caused no further stir as far as I can observe. Nobody knows anything of the significance of the find. The herdsmen on Gelbberg have been instructed; they will not speak of the matter to anyone without necessity. I believe that the danger is not great as long as the local authority has not been informed. Afterwards the matter will immediately become generally known, and then, despite the prohibition, I cannot answer for anything. I consider it absolutely essential that work in the cave begin without delay, and I request you to act accordingly with the government.

Next Thursday I am at your disposal with pleasure. I now have holidays (July and August).

In the meantime, once more many thanks and best greetings!

Your most devoted

Th. Nigg.

(Dig with trowel, not spade)
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 17 July 1917

Confidential! Please keep this letter!

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg, Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

At the very moment I receive your kind communication of the 15th of this month, for which I thank you most warmly, I receive the urgent mandate for a judicial investigation that will detain me for more than 10 days, as an uninterrupted series of microscopic examinations is required. I therefore cannot appear with you next Thursday, much to my great regret.

Since I now see that you — which I understand perfectly — are on tenterhooks about your discovery, I feel it my joyful duty to give you immediate guidance for the start of your work in the "Draggaloch." It is entirely right. Keep the matter entirely to yourself and do not inform the supervisory board for the time being either, as it will immediately cause a terrible commotion and you will then be put on the spot. You will not be punished; I shall see to that by law. We kept quiet about Wildkirchli for a full year 1903/04 and fared best that way. "First dig it out, then spread the word" my great, late geologist Eduard Fraas in Stuttgart once said in my ear, and he was right. Simply say in Vättis that you are looking for minerals (calcite); let the bone finds pass as domesticated animal finds (dragged in by foxes). When it comes out later, let the stupid, nosy // people talk; the sensible ones will view the proceedings correctly. I will back you up throughout. — How do you stand with colleague "Neumann" ? Would he not want to preempt you in the matter? If not, so much the better! Then I am glad!

If you do not trust the situation, then fill in everything where you have dug and stop the mouths of the herdsmen on Gelbberg! We will speak to the local authority only after the government has spoken. One must confront it with the fait accompli. Otherwise there will be quarrels. I know that. One must, but should avoid it.

Before the matter is settled with the government, however, we should not begin together. For when I come to Vättis, the people will in any case smell something, since I am known everywhere for the fact that wherever I go, something must be "going on." I consider it better for you to set about it now quietly; then the matter seems less important. We will then already have positive, more substantial results; the matter itself must not be rushed in the excavation. When we meet in Vättis, it must be inconspicuously; we meet "quite by chance" as it were. We then go up to the "Draggaloch," work there for two days. Then I will, if appropriate, according to my judgement, present the report on the findings to the management council, which can then no longer be against it and cannot forbid you anything, because you are then working for cantonal science. And if you do this during the holidays, no supervisory board of the municipality or the school can object. //

It is completely impossible for me at the moment to get away for several weeks. You yourself distribute the work up there over several holidays. When the finds then come to St. Gallen, you will receive compensation for your work and your costs. Perhaps I can get away for 8 days in autumn.

Today's guidance and my personal instruction in one of the following weeks will put you in a position to be self-sufficient. I wish and require that your name, as discoverer, remains fully associated with the matter. The actual scientific processing will be undertaken by us both. Some fine chapters will remain for you. You take on, for example, the topographical, the situation, description of the cave. Legends of the Draggaloch, history of the discovery. First works. — Sections and excavations.

The discussion of the sections as well as the geological, odontological, and osteological description of the finds, and the temporal delimitation, I will take on. Thus we share further.

It is very important that you do not excavate everything alone without my having carefully checked at least 1 longitudinal section and one cross-section. So leave a complete section standing. You now work through one good section all the way to the bottom, following my first instructions. Then you can already discuss things, which will give you great pleasure! — You will thereby become a cave researcher — there is still enough work for you! The "Draggaloch," the highest bear station in the world! Good luck! As soon as I can get away, I will come to you. Should anything go wrong, send me a telegram: Aeroplane, meaning it is absolutely necessary that you come here immediately. On the telephone (1321st. Gallen) you probably cannot converse well, because of the "Lerche" people, who are very attentive when it concerns my address. Vous comprenez!

With best greetings E. Bächler

St. Gallen, 17 July 1917

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preparation of a plan (floor plan and cross-section) of the find-cave section.
  2. Precise marking of the original height of the relevant cave floor surface. (With red pencil, red chalk, red paint, or driven thick iron nails at the side cave walls, so that one knows how high the rubble floor formerly lay.)
  3. The already started excavation site, dig straight through to the bottom; the trench should be 1–1½ metres wide. Work the two side sections of the trench, i.e. the cross-sections from wall to wall of the cave, into as exactly vertical walls as possible (so-called cross-sections). Compare the two cross-sections to see whether they are the same with respect to stratification (floor layers).
  4. Very precise discussion and examination of these layers from top to bottom. Note precisely:
    e.g. above
    a.Rubble, rock debris, small or large, blocks, larger ceiling collapses.
    b.Fine, sandy, dry, loose rubble, easily crumbled in the hand.
    c.Loamy, moist layer
    d.Hard and very hard, compressed or hard calcified sections, etc. etc.
    e.Cave floor (rock), cave bedrock. Native rock floor
  5. Preparation of a section drawing. Course of the layers in cross-section at both trench walls. Precisely enter and note depth measurements of the individual layers from metre to metre or half to half metre, note colours of layers!
    (Here Bächler sketches the example of a layer sequence.) //
    The determination of the layers is among the most important things for a good interpretation. The layers usually distinguish themselves by the colour of their rubble, earth, etc., by their varying nature with respect to hardness, consistency — sandy, loamy, calcified. The precise course of the layers and their thickness (depth!) must be entered into the section.
  6. Very precise identification of the locations where the finds (bones, etc.) lie. In which layer do they begin, in which are they absent, do they extend to the rock floor?
    All bones from the individual layers are placed in bags (paper) or in general wrapped in paper and labelled: Layer I, II, or III, etc.?
    At the start, stretch a horizontal cord across the top of the original cave floor, or also higher up, and then measure and note the depth of the finds (counted from the cord above).
    These entries are enormously important. Work only slowly; there is no hurry; the eye grows accustomed to seeing, everything becomes clearer through the work itself. Therefore patience!
  7. Digging work:
    a.Lighting: Acetylene light if at all possible. Candlelight too weak. Bicycle lantern already decent enough that one overlooks nothing.
    b.Pickaxe only in the find-free layers and to remove blocks.
    In find layers only the scratch iron:
    Iron rod, approx. 30 cm long, with handle (cloth around it), bent upward at a right angle with a point. (Drawing of a scratch iron)
    // The use of this scratch iron (one can also file away a tine from an old iron rake!) renders the best service, because one can easily detach the finds, causing little or no scratching. Multi-tined instruments are not good. In the find sections one therefore scratches! — Pickaxe and spade damage the finds. It goes more slowly, but more solidly.
  8. Finds: therefore precisely note where found, depth, layer. Where are most finds, in which layers, at the walls or in the middle, in niches, etc.?
    Clean finds of the coarser dirt; but wash them first in the valley with a brush, carefully. Careful removal and detachment from the earth, scratch further to keep them as complete as possible. For complete finds simply scratch around carefully in the section, do not take away immediately if brittle, but let them dry and harden (!) somewhat in the cave air. Moist bones break quickly; if left exposed longer, they dry and harden noticeably. — Therefore, as many complete finds as possible. Pieces that belong together but are broken should immediately be wrapped in paper on the spot, so that one can later immediately have the belonging pieces together. If you should come across a skull (complete), cover it; I will then give you instructions for its recovery: slow, careful digging around with the scraper until it lies completely exposed; then let it lie 1–2 days (to dry) in place. When lifting it, it will come apart nonetheless; then carefully lift piece by piece, as it "allows"; carefully lay piece by piece in moss, lichens, grass, well padded; skull separately in a box! (best) or basket (not rucksack — all together!) for transport to the valley. Reassembly is something in itself and can be done later. //
    Complete finds should be individually wrapped in paper (newspapers), as should individual parts that can be reunited into the whole.
    Always put a small label with find details into the find packets.
  9. Notebook — Note everything precisely: work per day (date). Record of all findings. Anything striking is noted particularly. Nothing is trivial. Note everything that is new to you, that you as a beginner also find worth knowing. That gives pleasure. Ask yourself questions that you want answered.
    Main questions:
    1. Is Ursus arctos in the uppermost layers (II onward)?
    2. Does a larger bear then appear further below?
    3. Are both together in one layer?
    4. What other animals are in each case still associated with the bears in the various layers?
    5. Are the bones more complete, or strongly broken in the section? Very important! Where complete, where more broken, and why?
      Most important: Collect all bones (including splinters)! Throw nothing away!
      Watch out for very small animal remains (tiny teeth) even from mice.
      Watch out for sharp-edged and rounded bones!
      (sharp-edged or rounded at the break) //
  10. Possibly: Prehistoric finds! (Possibly; I consider them excluded for the moment, as the cave is too high, too far from the tree line. (the former and the present)
    But one cannot know! Therefore:
    Pay close attention to the rubble stones in the depths where bone finds are made (bear). Examine the cave rock carefully (on a fresh break, and weathered, broken with a hammer!)
    Then test rubble stones to see whether hard or softer, i.e. whether they give a white mark when scratched with a knife; those are not artefacts.
    (The excavators only recognised later that the hard Seewerkalk, the cave bedrock, was best suited for the manufacture of artefacts, e.g. a backed knife — see Figs. 21 a–c, pp. 29 f.; artefacts of other materials were absent from the Drachenloch!)
    Fig. 21 a, Flat Seewerkalk artefact found in 2004 near the figurine (Fig. 17); maximum dimension 174 mm. "All-rounder": edges — including point and 2 "encoches" (notches) — sharpened all round and in part retouched!
    Fig. 21 a, Flat Seewerkalk artefact found in 2004 near the figurine (Fig. 17); maximum dimension 174 mm. "All-rounder": edges — including point and 2 "encoches" (notches) — sharpened all round and in part retouched!
    Fig. 21 b, Retouched edge of the above artefact.
    Fig. 21 b, Retouched edge of the above artefact.
    Fig. 21 c, (of the same) Clearly visible retouches!
    Fig. 21 c, (of the same) Clearly visible retouches!

    Or otherwise hard (possibly red, black, green colour!) or so hard that no knife point or blade scratches it — pick it up immediately, keep it safely; note precisely where found in the section. Send telegram here immediately: Bächler-Natural History Museum St. Gallen: (keyword:) Potatoes! I will understand. If artefacts appear, the method must be sharpened; special instructions necessary because of the most precise interpretation.
  11. Dug and removed rubble: If possible, bring into the front, large cave into daylight, so that it can be searched through again. Otherwise throw to the back! Set aside separately. First lay newspaper on the upper rubble cave floor, then throw the earth on top of it, so that one immediately knows where the floor previously was.
Vättis, 19 July 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen

Most esteemed Sir!

Many thanks for your communications of the 17th of this month as well as for your instructions, which I shall study thoroughly. What a shame that your arrival is being postponed again! Today would be a splendid day for ascending to the "Draggaloch." If I now resolve — admittedly not with a light heart — to begin alone, it is only because there is decidedly danger in delay that the site might yet be desecrated. If I had been able to work for some time under your guidance, the matter would have gone considerably more easily for me. I now hope that the government will have dealt with the matter sufficiently by the time of your arrival, so that during your presence here the local management council can receive notification from the higher authority. No difficulties will certainly be made for us by the local authority, but if it (and especially the rest of the public!) can be confronted with a fait accompli, all the better. In the end one can trust nobody, least of all Mr. "Neumann." It is truly painful for me to have to say this; however I have had such unpleasant experiences with him over years that I am gradually capable of believing anything of him. I beg you to excuse my candour: I hold that, in view of the matter, I must simply // come out with the truth! — I shall therefore begin quietly for the time being; but when you come here, the government should in my view fire the shot. For in the long run the matter can hardly remain unnoticed, and then it is in any case only useful when it becomes known that up there work is being done under the commission and protection of the government. One then certainly has easier means at hand to keep away troublesome or even harmful visitors.

I have already studied your instructions for the first time during a partly sleepless night, and have come across some details that are not yet entirely clear to me.
  1. Where should I start digging? If the rubble is to be transported to the outer cave — which seems best to me — would it not be best to lay the first trench right in front of the narrow passage (thus still in the first, large cave)? In this way the passage would be widened and the transport of the excavated material made easier.
  2. How does one dig? Is layer by layer to be removed along the entire length of the trench, or is it better to work straight down to the bottom at the start of the trench? The latter seems to offer certain advantages once a shaft has been created to depth: (Better recognition of the layers, less danger of damaging or destroying the bones by treading on them)
  3. Sections: I imagine that digging is done transversely to the direction of the cave, so that the trench walls represent // cross-sections. Where do the longitudinal sections then appear? Surely where a trench has not been excavated along its full length?
  4. Is it correct if I designate the find locations as follows (Nigg draws a cross-section with layer sequence), e.g. Find x: I 3 b — I (1st trench) 3 (third metre from left to right) b (layer b from top to bottom), or is it also necessary to note at what horizontal distance from the two trench walls they lie? —

Those are a few preliminary questions; no doubt there will be more in time.

I shall now make the necessary preparations for the start of work and tomorrow take the measurements necessary for the preparation of the plan. For assistance I shall take my bigger boy (6th grade): he is in it body and soul and will carry a fine memory for his whole life from this work. —

In the meantime I thank you once more sincerely for the kind and unselfish manner in which you stand by my side, and I assure you that I shall use every opportunity to prove my gratitude to you. —

With respectful greetings

Your devoted Th. Nigg
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 19 July 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Sir!

I wish to report to you briefly that I have forwarded the matter concerning the "Draggaloch" to the government in a lengthy submission, and indeed through the proper cantonal channels through the Education Department and the Justice Department. Since the canton has all rights over the caves as natural monuments under the civil law, the "Draggaloch" will be declared a cantonal natural monument by the government. Thus nobody may do anything with it except the persons authorised and commissioned to do so.

It will now proceed as follows:
The local municipality of Vättis will receive notification from the government that the cave has been declared a natural monument for the purpose of investigation, according to §§ 702, 723, and 724 of the Swiss Civil Code, and that the Conservator of the St. Gallen natural history museum has been appointed to carry out the investigation, and will designate further collaborators on his own account (in which you are named first, as discoverer of the new finds).

The excavation is at the expense of the museum. The finds pass into the ownership of the museum, and a portion will be given free of charge to the school of Vättis or the local municipality of Vättis. No trade may be carried out with the finds. The local authority will not be informed of your discovery until I have viewed the situation up there. So whatever happens, you can cite the fact that the matter is pending with the government and that all outside interference is thereby prohibited!

Of course you may continue with your work, // if possible quite inconspicuously. If snoopers are present, concern yourself with measurements and other things. First the matter with the government must be in order. I assume you understand me correctly. Instead of the two telegraphic code words communicated to you in my last letter, use Yes (if all is well and quiet), No (if my immediate arrival is necessary, i.e. if things should not go smoothly). I was thinking, namely, that the code words mentioned earlier would not be permissible under the current censorship, and inconveniences could easily arise.

So keep calm; the matter will come right.

With the best greetings I am yours

Emil Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 20 July 1917

Confidential! (Old letters please keep!)

Mr. Teacher Nigg, Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

Many thanks for your kind letter of yesterday. I am very glad to know your attitude toward Mr. "Neumann," whom I have known personally for 20 years from the same side as you. An unfortunate type of person. It is very necessary that we both arm ourselves against him. Therefore I have mobilised the government and the nature conservation commission so that he does not make a mess of the matter. The written submission to the Education Department went off yesterday, as you can see from the enclosed copy, which I send you for inspection and prompt return. The matter will now come right. Your priority is secured for the discovery and excavations, since I in any case cannot be there for long. Of course your right to individual chapters of the publication, as communicated to you in my last letter, remains secured on my part.

So remain perfectly calm and inconspicuous until the government's decision. Then we will proceed. The local authority therefore knows nothing yet. I will inform you immediately when the matter is settled.

Question 1) Where to begin? At the front, yes. Clear the first front passage from I into II so that there is space, and transport rubble into the front large space. Leave it there! (Because of possible later investigation!) Excavate passage I completely, leaving only about 20 cm standing at the right // or left wall (to wait for the longitudinal section and the layer strike in the longitudinal section, see sketch.) See Fig. 22, p. 45: sketch enclosed with the letter of 20 July 1917; for the situation in the antechamber before the excavations, see Figs. 31 and 32, p. 59! —
Fig. 22, Bächler's sketch of the floor plan of the Drachenloch cave with notes, enclosed with the letter of 20 July 1917 to Th. Nigg.
Fig. 22, Bächler's sketch of the floor plan of the Drachenloch cave with notes, enclosed with the letter of 20 July 1917 to Th. Nigg.

Legend of Bächler's floor plan of the cave from bottom to top:

(With arrow) to the cave portal, I — front large cave, (with arrow marked) narrow passage — start of excavation — (with following) bottleneck —, right domed chamber, (at left margin) longitudinal axis of the cave section (i.e. II), (at very top) to the inner cave sections (i.e. III etc.)

Bächler's comments on the sketch from right to left, top to bottom, line by line:

Leave longitudinal section standing!
Leave longitudinal section at wall approx. 20 cm standing!
Cross-sections from metre to metre:
first dig 0–1 to floor,
then note, draw section 1–1!
from 1–1 + 2–2 scratch off horizontally!
to see whether finds are present. If
none present, move quickly forward!
Space II (Here first finds actually? — Bächler is mistaken, see Fig. 25, p. 47!)
Divide floor into square metres I, II, III, in longitudinal axis metres 6, 7, 8, etc.
Finds: details
by square metre and depths and layer sequence.
*Note:
The finds must be noted so precisely
that their former position can be
precisely reconstructed again
from the sections, plans, depths,
etc.!
Fig. 25,Longitudinal section and floor plan of the Drachenloch cave from the dome structure onward at the end of the entrance hall; the spot of Nigg's first finds is marked in red.
Fig. 25,Longitudinal section and floor plan of the Drachenloch cave from the dome structure onward at the end of the entrance hall; the spot of Nigg's first finds is marked in red.

Create a passage (quickly dig the narrow passage to 1 m depth), note layers (thickness, colours, consistency)

If no finds present, then quickly the following metre and so forth.
  1. How does one dig?
    According to 2 guidelines:
    a) vertically, from top to bottom. That gives the vertical sections, the layers from wall to wall of the cave = cross-sections
    b) horizontally, distributed over square metres of the surface.
    Both guidelines must be used alternately, once the 1st square metre has been worked through.
    Always from longitudinal metre to longitudinal metre of the longitudinal axis of the cave, until one draws a complete cross-section (from rock wall to rock wall).
  2. and 4.Your sketch (cf. Nigg's letter above, p. 42), likewise the designation, is correct! (Bächler draws the same — cross-section with theoretical layer sequence — from memory.) Statement of the horizontal distance from the walls then no longer necessary!
    Note:
    1. How bones are lying: horizontal, oblique, or vertical in the ground?
    2. Whether pieces belonging together are together or scattered?
    3. Very fragmented or complete?
    4. Bone breaks sharp-edged or rounded?
    5. Bone nests — accumulations, with completely empty spots nearby!? Please do not damage cave walls! Possibly scratch marks from cave bear claws! Attention!
    6. Precisely identify empty layers, find layers (sections)!

In this way nothing that is important can escape you. — I am enormously pleased to have in you such an insightful disciple of cave research.

Excelsior and greetings to your filius. You are right. He will never forget something like that!

With best greetings

Yours Emil Bächler (in haste)

DIARY NIGG

Friday, 20 July 1917 (D V/6 2, 3)

Today I ascended to the cave in foggy weather in order to measure it. With the help of my children (Theophil and Klara) I carried out the following work there:

  1. Marking of the cave's current surface floor with red oil paint on the cave walls (in the find cave) — Fig. 26, p. 47

    Fig. 26, Red marking on the wall of the passage.
    Fig. 26, Red marking on the wall of the passage.

  2. Surveying of the cave for the preparation of a plan (floor plan, longitudinal section, and cross-section)

Vättis, 22 July 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen!

Most esteemed Sir!

Thanks for your letter of the 20th of this month and for all your efforts on the matter. It gives me reassurance and pleasure to know that the site will soon come under the protection of the canton.

Last Friday I was back on Gelbberg to take the plan survey, on which occasion I examined the conditions in the cave once more precisely insofar as they have a bearing on the work. The more I approach the thought of beginning, the more I come to the conviction that the work cannot be commenced without comprehensive preparations if it is to turn out properly. The particular conditions on Gelbberg must under all circumstances be taken into account. The considerable distance and altitude of the cave, the arduous path (3½ hours!), the transport of work materials, etc., make it appear very difficult to take up the excavations alone and inconspicuously. At present the old, decrepit hut (a pile of stones!) that you may perhaps know still stands on Gelbberg. But the new hut will be erected there (the week after next, as far as I know); the timber has already been transported to the site. So long as the construction work // on Gelbberg is not finished, work on the excavations should not begin — for the reasons of accommodation mentioned, and also because in any case the matter cannot be carried out unobserved while the workmen are up there. I can however use the time until then usefully by making all preparations with the greatest care. On my last visit to the cave another working method occurred to me with regard to the excavations, which would in certain respects again have its advantages and which I would like to submit for your assessment. I found, namely, that a start could also be made at the back of the find cave. In this case the transport of the excavated material away over the comparatively level current cave floor and out through the passage would be made quite easy in the following manner: From a low crate I would make myself a simple trolley by attaching small wheels made of round pieces of wood to the crate. A sufficiently long rope would be attached to the front and rear of the crate, so that this trolley can be conveyed in and out through the passage without one needing to squeeze through oneself. It is only necessary that one person stand in the outer cave. If the material is deposited outside in this way, box by box, it can quite easily be done in such a manner that it can still be perfectly determined afterwards from which excavation site it originates. I think these are certainly advantages worthy of attention. — As for the lighting, I have found that ordinary (good) bicycle lanterns are somewhat too weak. Perhaps in St. Gallen you might be able to obtain something suitable. Carbide has already been procured.

I therefore believe that it is, despite the danger that lies in delay, better if I wait a while longer until we have together inspected the locality and discussed everything and until all preparations have been carefully and thoroughly made. The latter can be done quite inconspicuously, which would not be the case with the excavations. The main thing now is that the government decides promptly in the sense of your submission.

In the meantime I shall construct the floor plan and sections of the cave from my measurements (scale 1:25); I think this will suffice. Some additional measurements may perhaps be needed for verification. —

If you happen to come here sometime (the sooner the better!), it would be best for us to meet at the "Tamina," as long as it needs to happen inconspicuously. And for this reason there, because in the "Lerche" and the "Kurhaus" Mr. "Neumann" has his base and is always sniffing around: —

I have just observed also that "Neumann" is associating with an alpine hand from Ladils (Vättis alp) who knows that I brought bones from the cave. Please, would you therefore immediately take the necessary precautionary measures: I smell danger. He would be unscrupulous enough to desecrate the site out of envy!

In the meantime, once more my best thanks and warmest greetings!

Your devoted Th. Nigg

(Enclosure! Submission to the government, copy)
Telegram to Teacher Nigg Vättis, 22 July 1917

Government decides Tuesday — report Education Department ready — cite law and our letters — protest: no one but you and I authorised — letter follows

Bächler
Vättis, 26 July 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

Most esteemed Sir!

Today I can inform you that the cave is still intact, and that the herdsman on Gelbberg reported nothing to me. To all appearances, however, Mr. "Neumann" did not after all carry out the predatory raid I had feared, although various circumstances (which I shall then explain to you verbally) were very suspicious.

In the meantime I was daily expecting your report on the government's decision. Has the matter not yet been settled? As I already told you, the new hut on Gelbberg will be finished this week, and excavations could therefore begin next week. I would very much like to discuss the work with you beforehand and begin under your guidance. It would also hardly be possible for me to carry out the work alone and without further assistance. For it will be necessary for me to devote myself entirely to the work in the cave; but I can only do that if I need not concern myself with the transport of provisions, etc. For this purpose it should be possible to engage a further person. The conditions on Gelbberg are not exactly favourable in this regard. (The supply of milk is also // likely to be difficult!) So, as said, I would like to discuss the entire organisation with you first and only then begin. Is it not possible for you to come here at the end of this week or the beginning of next, so that no more time is lost?

Awaiting your kind reply, I remain with the most respectful greetings

Your devoted Th. Nigg
St. Gallen, 27 July 1917

Mr. Th. Nigg, Teacher, Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Sir!

The head of the Education Department has, after consultation with the Justice Department, addressed a submission to the local administration of Vättis to the effect that it declare the "Draggaloch" a "natural monument" on its own authority under the St. Gallen cantonal introduction act to the civil code, place it at the disposal of the council for scientific investigation, and has designated us two as investigators of the cave. The local administration of Vättis should today be in possession of the letter from the Education Department. That is the path of special cantonal regulation. The local municipality cannot be bypassed, as it is the owner of the cave.

Should Mr. "Neumann" now involve himself in the matter, we will file a complaint with the Department! Therefore try immediately today to find out whether the management council there has received the letter and whether it will soon hold a session to make a decision. "Neumann" is (although he calls himself a geologist) not competent in cave research — we insist on that — as are you once it comes out that only you and I can be considered: you as discoverer, I as expert in cave research. I assume that you will get the upper hand over "Neumann" with the management council in Vättis, all // the more so because you and not "Neumann" are the discoverer. The Department makes no mention of the finds made, so as not to agitate the management council. Keep your discovery to yourself as long as possible; but if anything is contested, we will defend ourselves. As a precaution we must first let the local management council have its say. Should "Neum." undermine things there, defend yourself.

I am so hopelessly absorbed in my work that I certainly cannot get away from here for a week; the judicial expertise is nearing its end, but then I must finish the annual report for the museum. I will come immediately, however, when I can get away.

Please bear a little more patience until the matter with the local management council and the government is settled.

But fill the whole business entirely in if you do not trust the situation.

With best greetings I am your most devoted

E. Bächler
Vättis, 1 August 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

Most esteemed Sir!

Until today I have not yet been able to find out whether the local authority has already made a decision regarding the "Draggaloch." I expect no difficulties, however. Today I shall speak with President Jäger (of course without mentioning the finds already made) and try to secure his support; this could be valuable to us under certain circumstances. "Neumann" will now probably not be able to undertake much against us anymore; for he has also alienated himself from the local authority through violent and impudent conduct in municipal affairs; attempts to undermine would have little prospect of success! Nevertheless it will now be good if we also soon lay hands on the site in practice, for the matter can certainly no longer be kept secret for long. In the meantime I have made all preparations for commencing work. Above all I have assembled the work materials listed in the enclosed inventory. Perhaps you will wish to make additions. — The hut on Gelbberg has now been erected (Fig. 27, p. 48) and so work could begin once the matter has been settled by the authorities. As I already told you, the particular conditions on Gelbberg make it necessary that // an assistant labourer be engaged, to whom the material and provisions transports and other ancillary tasks can be assigned. I consider it advisable to look around in good time to find a suitable, reliable, and discreet man. I therefore request your instructions as to whether I can be given authorisation to engage a man and agree on wages with him. As soon as the authorities have settled the matter, I would begin with the work, i.e. first with the transport of materials. I hope that it will be possible for you to come here next week in order to set the matter on the right track. — This week I shall, if at all possible, go to the cave once more to inspect it and repeat some measurements.
Fig. 27, In the foreground the Gelbberg hut. Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 27, In the foreground the Gelbberg hut. Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.

In the meantime I remain with the best greetings — with all respect

Your devoted Th. Nigg

P.S. Would it be possible for you to bring a compass, as well as an aneroid barometer for determining the cave's altitude in metres? I would also be grateful for references to literature on cave research.

INVENTORY of materials assembled for the excavations in the "Draggaloch."
  • Tools: 1 spade (short-handled)
  • 1 pickaxe
  • 1 scratch iron
  • Newspaper (as underlay for rubble disposal)
  • 1 hammer (or axe)
  • 1 lantern (bicycle)
  • 1 tin of carbide — water bottle
  • 1 basket (or crate, possibly hand-cart) for material transport
  • 1 tube of oil paint (brush)
  • Paper bags (for storing finds) (small crates)
  • Pegs for securing lanterns
  • Writing and drawing materials — measuring materials
  • Diary (ink and pencil eraser)
  • Pad, envelopes.
  • Millimetre paper for making the sections
  • Small sponge — small labels
  • Portfolio — instructions
  • Measuring tape, measuring rod, spirit level, plumb line, folding ruler
  • 1 bundle of cords, pegs

Still to be procured: possibly a strong acetylene lantern; furthermore: provisions and woollen blankets, etc. — cooking equipment —
St. Gallen, 2 August 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg in Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

I have just received a report from the Education Department of the Canton of St. Gallen that the matter concerning the "Draggaloch" has been settled in a straightforward manner on the part of the local municipality of Vättis. I have all the files in hand. Tomorrow I shall give a report to the management council of Vättis on the matter and designate you as collaborator and authorised supervisor of the whole. Any interference from third parties is thereby excluded. Your priority is thus secured and everything that might have had to be feared is eliminated.

The municipal council of Pfäfers has already issued an announcement dated 31 July, according to which entering the Draggaloch cave without authorisation from the Education Department is prohibited on pain of a fine. Contraventions of the prohibition must be reported immediately to the municipal office of Pfäfers, and the informant receives half of the fine imposed.

In order to be entirely correct, it is best if you carry out no excavations until my arrival next Tuesday. I would like to have the matter discussed with the management council of Vättis, in order that everything be smoothly settled for you in particular. Since the management council of Vättis wishes that as far as possible people from Vättis be involved in the work, you could best select 1–2 men of your choosing for the heavy work. The first day the two of us would be up there alone to look at the matter thoroughly. We would in any case meet in Vättis on Tuesday. You will receive further notice of the time of my arrival; it would be nice if you could come to meet me a little of the way, say as far as St. Peter. I may have you called to the telephone on Monday evening at 6 o'clock. — Have you already got acetylene lighting for up there?

When clearing away the rubble we must bear in mind that no rubble is thrown down the slope, as the municipality of Vättis does not permit this.

So far everything is thus settled for the start. The competition is eliminated. Now it is only a matter of keeping watch! Tomorrow I shall send you the authorisation.

Looking forward to a happy first meeting and with the best greetings I am yours

E. Bächler

Many thanks for your prompt conduct in the matter!
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 3 August 1917

Mr. Teacher  T h. N i g g,  Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Sir!

Herewith you receive the authorisation document announced to you yesterday, for your hands and as proof of identity for any possible legitimation prior to my arrival in Vättis. You are thereby protected against all chicanery from certain persons. The passage concerning the right to the finds is in the spirit of the law and relieves us both of all false interpretations. The Department has been notified of the authorisation I have granted you. The authorities of Vättis and Pfäfers will likewise be informed today.

With best greetings I am yours

E. Bächler





AUTHORISATION

The undersigned, who on 2 August 1917 received from the honourable Education Department of the Canton of St. Gallen the authorisation to investigate and excavate the Draggaloch above Alp Gelbberg, belonging to the local municipality of Vättis and declared a natural monument by the municipal council of Pfäfers on 31 July 1917, hereby appoints

Mr. Teacher  T h.  N i g g  in Vättis

as collaborator in the entire investigation of the Draggaloch, as well as director of the excavations during the absence of the undersigned and supervisor of this natural monument during the entire period of research therein, with the powers to call upon the state police authorities.

In the interest of the proper scientific study and investigation of the Draggaloch, the authorised and commissioned Mr. Teacher N i g g undertakes to adhere to the instructions and directives drawn up by the undersigned chief director of the research and excavations at the said site.

The costs of the research will be regulated by a special agreement with the Natural History Museum of the city of St. Gallen in accordance with the dispositions of the undersigned conservator thereof.

The finds of every kind brought to light by the research pass into the ownership of the Natural History Museum of the city of St. Gallen, and a portion of them likewise into the local school of Vättis.

The directors of the excavations and research have no entitlements whatsoever to any finds from this natural monument. Equally, all labourers involved in the excavations are strictly forbidden from appropriating finds, on pain of prosecution for theft.

In all matters that may become disputed, the cantonal Education Department decides.

St. Gallen, 3 August 1917

Emil Bächler, Conservator of the Natural History Museum of the city of St. Gallen.

DIARY NIGG

Friday, 3 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 4)

The first measurements in the cave make a repeat measurement desirable. Furthermore I wish to satisfy myself that the site is still intact. I therefore undertake a new ascent to the cave today.

Departure at 8 o'clock in the morning, accompanied by my two boys Theophil and Anton.

Arrival before the cave after a 1-hour rest on Gelbberg at half past 12 midday. All measurements are taken anew (Figs. 28–30, pp. 49 f.) Around four o'clock completion of work. The cave has, according to information from the herdsmen, remained unvisited; the inspection also shows that everything is still intact. The hut on Gelbberg is finished, but the construction of a second "Tril" is necessary due to lack of space.

Fig. 28, Floor plan of the passage and H II.
Fig. 28, Floor plan of the passage and H II.
Fig. 29, Longitudinal section of the passage and H II.
Fig. 29, Longitudinal section of the passage and H II.
Fig. 30, Cross-section in H II, at the 2nd metre of the longitudinal axis, north of point B.
Fig. 30, Cross-section in H II, at the 2nd metre of the longitudinal axis, north of point B.

Descent from Gelbberg at 6 o'clock, arrival in Vättis 7 o'clock in the evening.

Vättis, 4 August 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen

Most esteemed Mr. Conservator!

Many thanks for your good news of the 2nd of this month as well as for the authorisation. The matter has thus after all been settled according to our wishes. Yesterday I was in the "Draggaloch" again for inspection and repetition of the measurements, which according to the statement of the appointed herdsman had been visited by no one in the meantime and which also, according to my personal observation on the spot, remained intact. I have now constructed the floor plan, longitudinal section, and cross-sections from my measurements. I am very pleased to be able to welcome you here in the coming days. I shall come to meet you as far as Pfäfers and request you to let me know by when you are to be found there (at the "Adler"). Here I place a room in the schoolhouse at your disposal; we can there best and freely discuss and arrange our matter. Otherwise I would, as I already remarked to you previously, in the interest of the matter recommend the "Tamina," as we are there most likely to be spared disagreeable snoopers. I sincerely hope you will not take this remark amiss; I make it in the interest of the matter. On Gelbberg today there is accommodation for only one — possibly no — man, i.e. sleeping space in the // hut (depending on whether one or both herdsmen are there).

A "Tril" for two men can however very easily be constructed there, and I would gladly have it fitted up immediately if you would authorise me to do so. Could you not by tomorrow, Sunday evening, give me the telephone message that I could still give the relevant instructions on Sunday? Everything else verbally.

In the meantime I remain with the best greetings

Your devoted Th. Nigg
St. Gallen, 4 August 1917

Mr. Teacher Th.  N i g g  in Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

Our letters have crossed. I am pleased that you approach the matter with such clear purpose. Your foresight is impeccable. The inventory is correct. I am bringing a new acetylene lamp with reflector — that is, I am sending it ahead by post. Barometer and compass I always carry with me. Engage a man you consider reliable for Wednesday. In the first arrangement do not go beyond the locally customary wage. We shall then make further arrangements with him separately. You may proceed with the transport of materials. You will receive sufficient literature from me.

Should I unexpectedly be unable to get away one day later, I shall inform you. I still have a court case to evaluate.

We shall then draw up a financial plan so that we are always provided with funds. So Excelsior! All is well! The letters to the local authority of Vättis and to the municipal council of Pfäfers went off yesterday and today. We alone are on the scene!

With warmest greetings in haste

Yours E. Bächler

DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 8 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 5)

Arrival of Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

9 o'clock in the evening: conference with the management council of Vättis to discuss the work on Gelbberg.


Thursday, 9 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 6)

Ascent to the "Draggaloch" with Mr. Conservator Bächler, accompanied by Mr. Management Councillor August Bonderer. First examination of the find cave by Mr. Conservator Bächler.— For the cave floor before the excavations see Figs. 31/2 and 34, pp. 59 and 61! — Work begins with the opening of a test section in the find cave.— Concerns section metre 2 in H II/BC, cf. below Nigg, 20 Sept. 1918 (p. 153) and Fig. 71, p. 144. — Bone finds in the surface layer. On the current cave floor of the third cave numerous bear bones are likewise recorded. In the evening descent to the Gelbberg hut, where in the meantime a new Tril had been constructed by two labourers. During the day, during the ascent, there was a violent Foehn wind; in the evening heavy downpours. — Discussions with Mr. Conservator until midnight; then climbing up to the new Tril.

Fig. 31, The entrance hall (H I) before the start of excavations in 1917.
Fig. 31, The entrance hall (H I) before the start of excavations in 1917.
Fig. 32, Drawing by Toni Nigg after the above photo by F. W. Sprecher. To the right the dome, in the middle the 'narrow passage' to H II and III.
Fig. 32, Drawing by Toni Nigg after the above photo by F. W. Sprecher. To the right the dome, in the middle the 'narrow passage' to H II and III.
Fig. 34, The recent floor before the start of excavations, in longitudinal profiles.
Fig. 34, The recent floor before the start of excavations, in longitudinal profiles.


Friday, 10 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 7)

Morning half past 4, reveille.

10 cm of fresh snow on Gelbberg.

The intended ascent to the cave is impossible. — Discussions in the hut. The weather appears to clear up in the course of the morning but deteriorates again toward midday. Since the melting of the snow can no longer be expected today, at midday it is decided to descend to Vättis. In the meantime the carrier Bonderer (Fig. 36, p. 62) has arrived with the acetylene lamp.

Fig. 36, Abraham Bonderer.
Fig. 36, Abraham Bonderer.

Approx. 12 o'clock descent to Vättis. Saturday morning departure of Mr. Conservator Bächler to St. Gallen.


RECORD NIGG

Friday, 10 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 2)

(simple sketch)

Layers established in the middle cave during the test excavation, 10 Aug., with Mr. Bächler:

  1. Disturbed layer or youngest layer of Ursus arctos.

  2. First layer.

  3. Dark earth, soft, crumbly, somewhat moist.


Preparations for Monday, 13 August (D V/6 1, 3)

  • Material to bring:

  • Woollen cloth for reflector

  • Small bags for material from layers for model

  • Laths for horizontal of the cross-section

  • Sliding laths, stakes (laths: 1 pc. at 3½ m, 5 pcs. at 2½ m = 6 pcs. as stakes)

  • Carrying bucket (or tin canteen) crate for bones

  • Cigar boxes, newspaper, possibly packing paper —

  • Small nails for prohibition sign — crate lid (for sorting bone earth)

  • Small axe —

  • Knife, fork, salt, provisions, file

To be ordered:

  • Hand-cart — wall cupboard (lockable)

  • Small table for the cave — prohibition board (board 24/32 cm)

  • 1 board for provisions shelf

To be fetched at the cooperative:

  • 200 g polenta, 50 g coffee, 1 packet essence, 4 tins: 3 pcs. at 1.90, 1 pc. at 1.80
    Tobacco, — 55.
    Cheese


DIARY NIGG

Monday, 13 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 8)

Start of the excavations.

Ascent with one labourer to Alp Gelbberg, Sunday 12 August at 6 o'clock in the evening.

Daily schedule:
5 o'clock reveille, 6 o'clock breakfast, afterwards departure to the cave with provisions and all manner of materials. The water for the acetylene lamp must be carried up from the alp, as there is none up above.

Continuation of excavation work at the started section. In the 3rd metre, approximately between the second (first, second layer partly disturbed) and third layer, a considerable number of bones appear, partly lying in nests.

Midday 12: coffee and tinned meat. After the midday meal 1 hour's rest, then continuation of work until 6 o'clock in the evening. Descent to the hut and evening meal. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks are omitted.


RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 14 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 5–6)

To be ordered in St. Gallen:

  • approx. 15-litre tin canteen

  • Tins or sausages — noodles or macaroni

  • Write regarding lard, putty for the burner, cleaning powder

  • Provisions etc. in Vättis:

  • Matches — army knife

Notes on finds 14 Aug.

BC 3/m 4 in the niche at the right wall at 50 cm depth near the northern section a small skull.

(The find locations of all skulls excavated and recorded by Nigg and Bächler are numbered in chronological order of their discovery and entered in a floor plan of the cave on p. 412 below! — Characteristic of the situation right at the very start of the excavations, Nigg gives here and in general in the first excavation campaigns no closer indications regarding an artificial deposit of skulls using larger and smaller stone slabs. On the one hand one could barely reckon with a prehistoric find site at first — see above — and on the other hand prehistoric research in general was not at all yet prepared for such traces of early human activity. Decisive for their discovery by the Drachenloch excavators was the situation at the exit of H II, or rather before the entrance to H III — see below!)

At this spot a nest of a considerable number of bones.

Lighter earth with a considerable amount of rubble.

On the boundary between BC 2 and BC 3 in the 3rd metre, right, close to the niche, i.e. towards the 4th metre, at a depth of 45 cm a bear skull appears, as well as teeth and bones. The skull // lies face down.

Provisions:

  • 3 loaves, 300 g cheese, 200 g polenta — midday.

  • Matches — tobacco — 6 tins

  • small pliers for burner


DIARY NIGG

Tuesday, 14 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 9)

Continuation of excavation work at the started section: opening of m 3 and deepening of m 4 and partly also m 3 to approximately 50 cm.

At this depth the uncovering of several larger and smaller skulls (see above), and also jaws as well as other well-preserved bones and teeth. The work is carried out exclusively with the scratch iron and the rubble examined once more carefully for finds.

In the evening descent to Vättis, as tomorrow is a public holiday.

Observations:

Many mice in the outer cave; jackdaws also visited it briefly.

Vättis, 14 Aug. 1917

Mr. Conservator Bächler, St. Gallen.

Most esteemed Sir!

I have just returned (because of tomorrow's public holiday) from the "Draggaloch" and I would like to give you a brief account of the results so far.

The work is going very well and succeeds better day by day. It seems to me that the cave will yield a rich harvest, as the finds are already quite numerous. Among other things today we found several small and two very large jaws, as well as enormous canine or proper corner teeth. The jaws (the large ones) particularly strike me because they bear resemblance to horse or cattle jaws (large diastema) — but also display canine teeth. It seems a quite agreeable company has lived side by side or in succession in the "Draggaloch." The bones are here; but I still need to clean them. In the meantime I shall dispatch them as soon as possible.

We work on Gelbberg as a rule from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening. Morning and evening we eat in the hut, at midday in the cave. Since we must carry both water and wood up to the Draggaloch, we provision // ourselves there with tinned food. Since we must pay 1.90 per tin here, it might perhaps be more practical if you were to supply us with these from St. Gallen. You might perhaps get them cheaper there. We need two tins per day; so approximately 28 more would be needed for the month of August. Possibly these could also be partly replaced by sausages. Furthermore it is impossible to get pasta (noodles or macaroni) here. Perhaps it would be possible for you to send us approximately 15 to 20 pounds from St. Gallen. With these we could at the same time save on the hard-to-get polenta. A further difficulty is the procurement of the necessary cooking butter. We have supplies only for this week; whether we succeed in obtaining more here is questionable. We need 2 pounds per week. For transporting water to the cave a 12/15-litre tin canteen would be best. Perhaps it is best if you procure this directly in St. Gallen as well. We are also missing cleaning powder for the acetylene lamp (which otherwise works well) and putty for possible replacement of the burner. And finally I would like to ask you to replenish the cost advance, as besides the many transports various material purchases (hand-cart, small table, crates, boards, etc.) are also to be paid for. Above all I shall pay the wages at the end of this week.

And now please excuse me if // I burden you with so many requests; I am confidently hopeful that the results of the excavations will fully justify the costs. —

Enclosed are the copies of the diary to date. Please let me know whether this form suffices, or whether more detailed text is desirable. — I also enclose a nice illustration by Mr. "Neum." in the "Oberländer Anzeiger." The author is bank manager Stoop in Flums. He apparently knows the gentleman from the better side too. Please return the issue in due course. —

In the meantime warmest greetings!

(in haste) Your devoted Th. Nigg

RECORD NIGG

Wednesday, 15 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 7)

At home: cleaning of part of the find material, packing it into crates; dispatch of a skull.

6 o'clock departure for Gelbberg with Abraham Bonderer.


Thursday, 16 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 7–12)

Fog and cold.

BC 3 m 2 third layer to 50 cm depth: brown, moist, crumbly, few finds.

Because of the accumulation of rubble in the find cave and inadequate functioning of the lamp, in the afternoon work begins on the excavation in front of the passage in the outer cave.

In all sections from now on measurements are taken from the centre (axis) outward in both directions, i.e. 1st m left, 2nd m left, etc., or 1st m right, 2nd m right, etc. (as hitherto, incidentally).//

(10) At approximately 65 cm depth (depth measured from the horizontal axis — cord! — , earth layer therefore considerably less, see section, Fig. 38, p. 63) already bear jaws and bones. Thus:

Fig. 38, Above: cross-section at point (AB) 0; below: longitudinal profile m 0–1.
Fig. 38, Above: cross-section at point (AB) 0; below: longitudinal profile m 0–1.

AB 0–1
m 1–2 l bear jaw 65 cm below horizontal axis. Earth crumbly, almost without rubble.
m 1 l few finds, earth more rubble.
m 1 r almost no finds, very much rubble (ceiling collapse).

AB 0–1
II. Layer — earth somewhat more loamy in depth, increasingly rubbly and moist. // (11)
m 2 l. The II. layer at approximately 1 m depth below the horizontal becomes increasingly rubbly. Bones appear almost exclusively fragmented (ceiling collapse); charcoal also comes to light occasionally at this depth (?); on the left at the cave wall a side cave appears to open. (Widening of the passage?)

At approximately 95 cm depth the layer becomes very moist and more firmly cemented; the fissure on the left under the cave wall widens. A large bone comes to light, firmly cemented, frozen (ice crystals), evaporative cold?

The deeper, the more loamy and wet. Earth or loam often frozen hard against the bones. //

(12) Leo Bonderer brings table and board from Vättis.


DIARY NIGG

Thursday, 16 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 10)

Departure for Gelbberg Wednesday evening at 6 o'clock (with Abraham).

Continuing to dig at the started section in cave II. Since the excavated rubble material is already greatly constricting the space in the cave and the lamp produces strong soot and smoke, in the afternoon work on this section is stopped and excavation of the passage in the outer cave begins. In order to obtain sufficient opening, point A in front of the passage is moved back 1 m and thus a further section 1 m wide is excavated in front of the passage; here too, already in the uppermost layers, bear jaws and other bones. At approximately 1 m depth we strike a loamy, wet, very rubbly, and frozen layer.


RECORD NIGG

Friday, 17 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 12)

Leo Bonderer's boy to Vättis with letter and to fetch measuring rod, laths, and other materials.

After yesterday's foggy and cold day (fresh snow on the peaks) wonderfully warm and bright weather. Magnificent view over the Graubünden mountains.

Continuation of excavations in section AB 0–1. The ice layer, or rather frozen earth, continues downward in the 2nd m left. Sparse finds, mostly fragmented. — At depth there appear ever more and larger rock fragments. Finds almost entirely cease. Since the fragments (slabs) are stuck more or less upright // (13) in the ground, but the layers in the bedrock are nearly horizontal, I suspect that we have not yet reached the native rock floor. — We proceed to:

m 1 left
2nd layer, more rubble, begins at approximately 60 cm depth, a fair number of finds.
3rd layer, loamy, moister, up to porridge-like, from approximately 75 cm finds slowly decrease in number.
4th layer, frozen rubble, begins at approximately 1 m below horizontal, finds ever more sparse. Large broken stones, slabs, ceiling collapse or native floor? // (14)

AB 0–1
1st m right
2nd layer, crumbly, fairly dry earth, fairly rubbly.
3rd layer, moist to wet, loamy, much rubble.

Close to AB 1 at 75 cm depth jaw of a young bear under a heavy broken stone. Animal possibly killed by ceiling collapse? — The cave bear bones reached the cave exclusively through the agency of man! According to the view of the ethnologist and book author of "L'homme et l'ours," Jean-Dominique Lajoux, the Drachenloch cave, which he visited himself, is (and was) entirely unsuitable for bears as a site of hibernation! —90 cm below horizontal, earth already very wet but also very rubbly.

Toward AB 1 in the 1st m right, immediately in front of the right side wall of the passage, a shattered bear skull appears under heavy broken stones in the 2nd and 3rd layer.


DIARY NIGG

Friday, 17 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 11)

Continuation of excavation work at section AB 0–1. In the lowest layer a massive, slate-like slab comes to light; work on deepening is therefore halted here. This slab presumably extends far into the floor of cave I and directs the water that at times trickles down from a niche in the eastern cave wall toward the western wall. It would in this case be regarded as the cause of the moisture in the deeper layers. Right at the entrance to the bottleneck toward cave II we excavate a shattered bear skull (see above) that lay under fairly large broken stones (cave catastrophe? — see editor's commentary above). — Work then begins on section AB 1–2. No finds in this so far. —

St. Gallen, 17 August 1917

Mr. Teacher T h. N i g g , Vättis.

Most esteemed Sir!

The mandate of Fr. 150.— was dispatched to you this afternoon, as was a small crate and a parcel of provisions from Roth here. Enclosed you will find the liquid cleaning powder, which is simply to be applied, left to dry, and then the reflector rubbed bright with a woollen cloth. Scratches are to be avoided as much as possible. —

The account book is also enclosed herewith. — Regarding accident insurance I have negotiated with the agent; for only 14 days for three men it comes to quite a lot (45 Fr.). As a precaution we will make the outlay all the same, and the matter will be forwarded tomorrow.

If I can get the aluminium canteen, I shall send it to you tomorrow (Saturday) yet. Please take good care of it and recommend this to whoever carries it.

Should your esteemed wife be able to supply blackberries or lingonberries for my wife, I would be very grateful to you and to her. I told my wife about the Vättis berries, and her mouth watered.

Accept my warmest greetings into your dear home from yours

E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 17 August 1917

Mr. Teacher N i g g , Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Sir!

My sincerest thanks for your kind communications of the 14th of this month. By special arrangement I can today send you through the colonial goods store R o t h here the following provisions for our research: 3 rations each of butter, maize, rice, sugar; 3 tins of beans; 1 large salami; furthermore 10 packets of spaghetti and 2 packets of vermicelli — the latter two I was able to purchase before the buying ban came into effect. If you need more tins, obtain them from Mr. Sprecher at the Tamina, as they are not much cheaper here. Pasta is momentarily no longer to be had until the ration cards are issued. The consignment will reach you directly by post through Mr. Roth.

Furthermore you will receive a mandate for Francs 150.—, going from here today. The tin canteen for the water is a problem, as having one made currently comes to too much. I shall still see whether the aluminium canteen is perhaps suitable, only it would need to be taken good care of, as it was very expensive. Cleaning powder I shall send you yet by post.

The diary notes are perfectly adequate. You will receive them back along with the account booklet and the Stoop newspaper notice. Quite right so!

The lamp reflector is gently coated with the cleaning powder, left to dry a little, then rubbed to a shine with a woollen cloth.

I shall come again next week, probably on Tuesday. If the weather is good, I shall go straight up the same day to the Gelbberg hut. If one of your boys comes along, that is fine — though I know the way up there.

With warmest greetings to you and your dear family

Yours E. Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 18 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 16–18)

AB 1–2
1st m l: uppermost dry layer approx. 10–15 cm thick, almost no finds. Ceiling collapse.
1st m r: as on the left.

At 50–80 cm below horizontal second layer, crumbly earth, approx. 30 cm thick, finds appear: 1 jaw of a young bear, close to the right wall. Here also quite a lot of ceiling collapse.

1st m left, third (loam) layer begins at approximately 75 cm depth below the axis and at approximately 80 cm (below horizontal) at the left wall. It thus descends from right to left. From 80 cm below horizontal the layer is already somewhat frozen (thickness 40–50 cm); it contains throughout a lot of finer //(17) and coarser rubble (though it is here considerably less wet than at AB 0–1). In this layer too individual finds, which seem to increase toward AB 2. At 1.3 m below horizontal the layer becomes somewhat looser again (especially toward the inside, i.e. AB 2), (under the larger blocks) less frozen and less rubbly. Few finds. I designate it as 4th layer. 5th layer soft, no longer frozen at approximately 140 cm below horizontal. Darker, drier earth. At the front near AB 1 at 1.4 m below horizontal still frozen, but here too at 1.55 m almost abruptly again a soft layer as at AB 2. At the very bottom this earth is dark, can be moulded, but contains a fair amount of rubble. Finds sparse. //(18)
1st m left: 1 m 80 below horizontal, 6th layer begins — white loam, cohesive and dry.

Leo Bonderer brings the hand-cart from Vättis today.


DIARY NIGG

Saturday, 18 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 12)

Continuation of work at section AB 1–2. The frozen layer also appears here, with isolated jaws, mostly close to the side walls. It is in places very hard and large stones are embedded in it, and work therefore proceeds slowly. The layer is 40–50 cm thick. Below it there appears almost abruptly a layer of softer, dry earth (approx. 140 cm below horizontal) that can be moulded. It contains few finds, but a lot of coarse rubble. 1 m 80 below the horizontal cave axis a new layer begins: white, fairly dry loam (without finds so far). We do not reach the cave floor today.

St. Gallen, 18 August 1917.

Mr. Teacher N i g g in Vättis.

Lucky man!

First, congratulations on nothing but bears! The skull is also bear! Halloh, something new! Almost cave bear, but not common bear, namely Ursus arctos, but arctoideus — All bear skulls and bones from the Drachenloch belong to "Ursus spelaeus" (= cave bear; Rosenmüller & Heinroth, 1794) — That is quite splendid! A pity the roof is missing, or have you perhaps still got the pieces? It would be possible to reassemble that. That would be brilliant.

Now it begins! Work slowly where such fine things come along — cabinet pieces for the cantonal collections! Yes indeed, it is worth the cost! Good luck!

At a depth of 50 centimetres you will certainly find no domestic animals at all, as everything is prehistoric, all old fauna! Do pay attention to all finds; everything is valuable, especially also the small things.

Now be quite still; we will work in peace. In a fortnight it will be firmly barricaded! — Let me also inform you that today I have insured you and t w o further men against accidents (at Fr. 8,000.— per person, valid from 18 August of this year until 31 August.)

If at all possible I shall come up on Tuesday. It may be night by the time I am up there.

With warmest greetings into your whole household

Yours E. Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Monday, 20 August 1917

(see diary)


DIARY NIGG

Monday, 20 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 13)

Because of a bereavement (funeral service) I do not go to Gelbberg until the afternoon. The labourer Abraham and the carrier Leo Bonderer have ascended in the morning with provisions and boards. The labourer occupies himself in the afternoon with mowing bedding hay, fitting a shelf in the cellar, and transporting the hand-cart to the cave. At half past 5 in the evening, just before the storm brewing in the air sets in, I arrive at the hut. In the evening dense fog and heavy rain.


RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 21 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 18–20)

AB 1–2
1st m right:
At 1 m 15 cm below horizontal, layer hard and frozen; indications of frost somewhat higher up already. //(19) Finds mainly toward the right wall, throughout — mainly toward the bottom of the layer more numerous — partly coarse rubble (large ceiling collapses). 135 cm below horizontal at section AB 2 and 145 cm below horizontal at section AB 1 in the middle — cave axis — measured, the deeper unfrozen, softer layer begins again. —

Close to section AB 2, directly under the axis, at a depth of 160 cm below horizontal: traces of charcoal? Fire? Man? (Hunter?) Bones alongside too! — Figs. 39 and 40, p. 64 — Nigg comes upon the "open fireplace" — F 1. Like the "closed hearth" — F 2 — in front of the entrance to H III, it yielded charcoal that was recovered by the excavators and sent in 1958 to the C-14 laboratory in Groningen for dating. The stratigraphic position of both fireplaces at the boundary zone of layers III and IV led one to expect more or less the same age for both. The result from Groningen was different: as already mentioned in the Prologue above, the measurements of the charcoal samples from the "closed hearth" reliably yielded > 49,000 and > 53,000 years BP respectively, whereas those of the charcoal from the "open fireplace" at the front behind the passage from H I/H II produced an evidently far too young age of 5,370 +/− 35 BP — GrN–12277. The latter measurement was made, incidentally, only in 1984. The sample from F 1 had certainly been contaminated; since 1923 it had been exhibited in an open cardboard box in a display case at the Heimatmuseum of St. Gallen! — Fig. 41, p. 81; in greater detail: Leuzinger/Leuzinger-Schindler, Die C-14-Daten der Feuerstellen im Drachenloch, Pfäfers SG, in: SGUF 82, 1999, 227–229.

Fig. 39, Hearth 1.
Fig. 39, Hearth 1.
Fig. 40, Hearth (F 1) behind the passage; drawing by Toni Nigg.
Fig. 40, Hearth (F 1) behind the passage; drawing by Toni Nigg.
Fig. 41, Charcoal from F 1 — Drachenloch room, Kirchhofer house.
Fig. 41, Charcoal from F 1 — Drachenloch room, Kirchhofer house.

At 1 m 66 cm vertically below horizontal the loam layer begins (at section AB 2).(Situation sketch, cf. Fig. 39, p. 64!) //(20)
The loam layer appears to extend still further into the depth. Since the second trench has already reached a depth of 1.9 m, we proceed to

AB 2–3
and begin with the excavation of
m 1 r, 1st layer (horizontal cord at the height of the central axis, approx. 0.2 m above the cave floor, 1st m r approx. 0.17 m.)
Very few finds, dry, almost dusty layer with a fair amount of rubble.


DIARY NIGG

Tuesday, 21 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 14)

Continuation of work in trench AB 1–2. At a depth of 160 cm below the cave axis we come upon a curved, horizontally running narrow layer that is coal-black and actually does contain charcoal. Traces of man — perhaps a prehistoric hunter? Here too (as on the left) the loam layer begins again in the depth, containing crystal stones but no finds. We dig approximately 30 cm deeper in it. Still no native rock. The work becomes very arduous because of the depth of the trench. It is therefore necessary to take up section AB 2–3 first.


RECORD NIGG

Wednesday, 22 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 20–21)

1st m l
Section 2, 1st layer: finds not numerous, mainly toward the wall.
1st m r.
Few finds, but much rubble, up to approximately 70–80 cm depth. This layer can also be called the second //(21) as it differs only slightly from the upper one.

1st m left
On digging deeper the left upper side wall, which I intended to leave standing as a complete section, collapses. The layers here are therefore loose. Above, under the rock ceiling on the uppermost layer are nests (jackdaws?) and below in the earth numerous bear bones, skulls, jaws, etc.— Presumably a larger bone deposit assembled by man directly next to the fireplace and beneath the receding cave wall, which was responsible for the collapse of the supposedly compact longitudinal section left standing! — "D 11," Figs. 42 a–d, pp. 81–83, comes from this bone deposit; the skull belongs to a young animal whose present molars show only a slight trace of wear. It is the age class habitually preferred by Neanderthal Man in his bear hunting! Cut marks on it point to defleshing. —

Fig. 42 a, 'D 11', left side.
Fig. 42 a, 'D 11', left side.
Fig. 42 b, 'D 11', detail showing muzzle and forehead.
Fig. 42 b, 'D 11', detail showing muzzle and forehead.
Fig. 42 c, 'D 11', molars with slight traces of wear. Aged 1½–2 years.
Fig. 42 c, 'D 11', molars with slight traces of wear. Aged 1½–2 years.
Fig. 42 d, 'D 11', detail: cut marks from defleshing.
Fig. 42 d, 'D 11', detail: cut marks from defleshing.

I collect together what must be taken out of the rubble and leave the rest standing, as Mr. Bächler is coming here tomorrow.

Leo brings the wall cupboard and the crowbar from Vättis.

At 9 o'clock in the evening Mr. Bächler arrives, accompanied by my boy.


DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 22 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 15)

Work on trench AB 2–3 continues. On the left under the wall of the passage we come upon a whole nest of bear remains — skulls, jaws, vertebrae, etc.The niche created by the collapse of the longitudinal section left standing on the left side no longer belongs to the bottleneck as such, since it was originally filled completely (up to the cave ceiling) with rubble. The bones that came to light through the collapse I therefore collected separately. At 5 o'clock work in the cave is broken off, as various things (washing bones, fitting the wall cupboard) still need to be attended to in the hut.


RECORD NIGG

Thursday, 23 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 22)

Mr. Cons. Bächler is present and takes the notes.


Friday, 24 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 22)

Likewise. Leo brings 2 crates and some cigar boxes from Vättis. Theophil brings provisions. Continuation of the excavations in the presence of Mr. Bächler.


Saturday, 25 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 22–23)

AB 2–3
2nd m right
Surface layer (approx. 12–15 cm): very few finds. (Many snails) //(23)

II. Layer (approx. 20 cm thick)
Initially a great deal of flat, smaller ceiling-collapse material.
The layer contains throughout almost exclusively rubble and only few and almost exclusively fragmented bone material.

The burn layer begins at approximately 150 cm below horizontal.


DIARY NIGG

Thursday–Saturday, 23–25 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 16)

Continuation of work in the presence of Mr. Conservator Bächler. In section AB 2–3 the charcoal layer observed there is examined with particular care, with the charcoal being identified on the spot as originating from burned wood.On the lowest loam layer no further digging is done, as various test samples showed it to be devoid of finds. Tests by piercing with a crowbar showed that the native rock floor is at approximately 70 cm below this layer. Saturday midday departure from Gelbberg (with Mr. Bächler).

The labourer does not return until the evening.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1917

"Notes concerning Drachenloch/"Draggaloch" on the Drachenberg above Vättis, August 1917" — The notebook begins with entries from 1903 and 1904; there is no page numbering. After a few pages Bächler begins Part II — II. Entries for 1917!)

II. Date: 23. 24. 25. August 1917.E. Bächler in the "Draggaloch."
Mr. Teacher Nigg, after digging in cave II to 50 cm depth and making finds there that suggest numerous further yields, has taken up the passage from cave I (the large one) into II from the outside, i.e. from cave I. It quickly became apparent that this passage too contains very many finds, especially in the niches to the left and right of the entrance — mostly as complete bones (including Ursus skulls). Toward and in the middle of the cross-section there are fewer complete bones, more splinters, ankle bones, hand- and foot-root bones. — (Bears at the wall), beside older specimens mostly young, 2–8-year-old ones (? — cf. p. 388). — At the wall edges the rubble material is loose, collapses by itself, in the middle compact. // The stratification of the rubble is only quite disturbed at the surface (I. Layer); already in the II. everything is intact; layer follows layer, usually fairly sharply defined by consistency and colour; the bones and soft layers are red (phosphorus content) — to brownish red. (cf. bone colour) Whereas the edges contain more associated bone material, the middle is accompanied by scattered, often non-associated bone finds. //

I. Larger cross-section A.–B.

I. Superficial rubble layer, disturbed; in this, dark (dark-brown to blackish) earth, powdery, not very moist, partly almost dusty; thickness very variable: 12–15 cm / — 25 cm. Finds only few and scattered; in between lighter stratification, calcified, whitish.

II. Layer. Brownish earth, already strongly reddish, since already many finds, which consistently increase toward the bottom; often whole nests, especially along the cave walls; earth crumbly, soft, very workable; rubble not particularly plentiful; stones smaller; thickness approx. 30 cm.

III. Layer. Dark reddish earth, approx. 40 cm; drier in the upper part, wet toward the bottom; little ceiling-fall rubble, but very many finds. Many young, 2–10-year-old Ursus.(cf. p. 388!)//

IV. Layer. Similar to III. in colour, but with coarse and plentiful ceiling-fall rubble from C 4, also larger pieces, finer rubble below. Remarkable in this layer is that it is frozen, i.e. there is crumb formation, crust-like, the glittering xx. The layer is therefore hard, workable only with the pickaxe. The broken-out rubble then thaws, becomes completely wet. — Ceiling rubble smaller toward the bottom — finds in this layer less frequent than above, but for the most part cease entirely. Thickness 40–50 cm.

V. Layer. Soft, reddish-brown — ochre, dry; at the top partly frozen, then almost abruptly soft, powdery. — Finds sparse; still rubble, but finer.
Below this then a charcoal smear (firesite), typical mountain pine charcoal, in part still with much preserved structure. (Vouchers, s. Fig. 41, p. 81) //
(The earth of the burn layer very friable)
Burned earth, very reddish; C 4 rubble burned (vouchers). Bones more splintery: foot bones, teeth, foot-root bones (vouchers). 2–5 cm.

VI. Layer. Rapid transition, occurring abruptly.
White loam layer, dry, crumbling, loam lumps. Without finds. (to date) 50 cm. Whether base layer? — Piercing with the crowbar shows that the loam layer continues deeper (50 cm), i.e. that the native floor (rock) has not yet been reached. It cannot be much further away, however, as the rod already strikes stone (whether native rock or fallen stones?).
The total depth of the section with the portion of the loam layer excavated to date (50 cm) is approximately 2 m. //
The loam is crumbly, more dry than moist, moreover separated into cube-like and similar forms. — Very interesting is the typical loam layer — white below — which must be of climatological significance, already for the sake of its great thickness and uniformity. It is typical cave loam, attesting to a significant, long-lasting CaCO₃ deposit. A significant leaching must have taken place, over a long duration of water-fall — the melting of the ice of the front cap of the Drachenberg and of the cave ice. — Before the last ice age, cf. Prologue, p. 12! — The many round erosion pockets of the domed chamber of cave I point to strong water scouring. The excavations in the floor of the domed chamber will show whether the loam layer of the passage from I to II is a uniform phenomenon throughout the entire cave system and thereby attests to a climatological period. — //
The most striking fact, however, is the occurrence of a burn layer, lying above the loam layer, at a depth of 1.05 m below the surface (1.6 m below horizontal). Of a thickness of 2–5 cm as completely black charcoal remains — cf. Fig. 41, p. 81 — (smear) — thickest in the middle, becoming narrower toward the edges and then pinching out. The length in the section is approximately 1 m, the width approximately 80 cm–1 m; it lay almost level (horizontal), dropping only slightly toward the right (seen from the front).
The actual charcoal remains are quite typically mountain pine wood (vouchers taken for precise examination on 25 Aug. 1917 to St. Gallen. — During this precise examination in St. Gallen the contamination of the charcoal samples from F 1 may have occurred; cf. above, p. 73! —

It is thus a typical firesite in an absolutely undisturbed position; it is thus prehistoric, contemporaneous with the occurrence of Ursus arctoideus = sibyllina. — In the Drachenloch only Ursus spelaeus (= the cave bear) is represented! — cf. above, p. 72.//
This burn layer is an irrefutable proof of the presence of man in the cave at the time of Ursus arctoideus-spelaeus. (Written on 24/25 August 1917 in the Gelbberg hut!) This find opens up an entirely new aspect in the research, since from now on it is a matter of searching for further evidence (artefacts) of prehistoric man.

It is impossible to think of any other interpretation of the burn layer; it is absolutely not carbonised or peatified wood, or wood rotted under exclusion of air, but carbonised by fire. (Nor is it a matter of black streaks of the Gloeocapsa polydermatica alga, since the wood structure of the black remains is already absolutely and clearly identifiable to the naked eye and with a magnifying glass.) — One might also consider, incidentally, how wood could have reached this cave at 2,440 (2,427) m at all, and without any human agency. The idea of someone having dug in a charcoal site (metres deep!) is not to be entertained, as the layers are entirely intact. //

Another proof of the firesite is now in particular the nature of the cave earth beneath the burn layer. This earth is typically fired red, mealy, crumbly, very soft, relatively dry.

Also the bones of Ursus contained in the earth are all scorched, covered with a black, colour-transferring layer that is not decomposition (a putrefaction product of the soft parts of Ursus).
Very striking and further proof is the complete firing of the Seewerkalk ceiling-fall pieces in this earth. The C 4 pieces are totally burned white to the core (not subterranean weathering), like the Seewerkalk that was fired until recently at Rüti (Rhine Valley). Some C 4 pieces are also coated coal-black; the coating does not derive from decomposed bones — or from Gloeocapsa. //

This red, crumbly earth therefore certainly derives from the pervasive heat of the hearth. Part of the earth may itself again be wood ash mixed with calcite deposit from the cave itself.

This discovery of a typical burn layer thus ushers the research at the Draggaloch into a new era. Excelsior! //

The stratification in the section is in part very pronounced with respect to consistency, colour, inclusion of ceiling-fall rubble, and earth.

Striking is the absence of very large ceiling collapses down to a depth of 2 metres — in general the absence of very many larger stones. Much more earth, this mostly (with the exception of the frozen layer) soft, often even crumbly. Moisture not excessively strong, only above the burn layer, where the earth has thawed and no drainage through the loam layer could take place.

The sections originated through calcite processes and bone deposition; cf. also loam layer (preceding notes).

Peculiar is the scalloped smoothing of the ceiling under the entrance I–II (passage): Cause — swirling water, ice pressure, sliding of ice, abrasion by bear hides??? —
(The ceiling and walls of cave H II and H III are overall of this quality — cf. Fig. 43, p. 83 — as the result of a normal weathering process under the action of water — condensation water and drip water — on the surface of rock ceiling and walls! There are no bear-polish marks in the Drachenloch!)

Fig. 43, Ceiling and walls of H II behind the passage; F 1 approximately in the centre.
Fig. 43, Ceiling and walls of H II behind the passage; F 1 approximately in the centre.
What would the native floor look like in comparison? //

Nature of the bones:
The greater part of all bones is preserved; the decomposition is natural, with a progressive advance at increasing depth.

Only in part is there very fragmented material, which does not yet constitute reliable proof of fragmentation by human hand. Striking only is that the finds are more complete toward the walls, more splintered toward the middle (long bones, teeth, hand- and foot-root bones, foot bones = complete almost everywhere).

Dispersal by predators in the middle.(Bächler will only in the course of the excavations understand that the prehistoric hunter brought the bear bones into the cave; as for their fragmentation too, he was at the beginning of the excavations still unclear as to its cause — cf. below; he does mention below the occurrence of so-called flute-beak fractures, particularly in fibulas — cf. Fig. 44, p. 84, without having yet wished to draw from these the necessary conclusions regarding human activity!)

Fig. 44, Fibula (calf bone), left end with so-called flute-beak fracture.
Fig. 44, Fibula (calf bone), left end with so-called flute-beak fracture.

Colour of the bones: this follows the earth layers.
Above: white, calcified
Middle: more light-brown-yellowish, splendid colour (Layers III–IV)
Below: darker — reddish-brown.
In the burn layer: black — blackish
Bone breccias absent to date! //

Broken bones:
Most: a) ribs, b) shoulder blades, c) pelvis.
In many long bones the epicondyles are absent, though some also have them. The fractures do not yet permit the conclusion that they were shattered by human hand — cf. above. Flute-beak fractures rare, in the fibula — various vouchers. Nevertheless complete ribs are also found.
Beside a few almost completely preserved half-pelves, a larger number of acetabulum portions.
In the jaws the rear large wings are mostly broken and removed; in one jaw completely intact. — //

Fauna:
(Bächler 1940, 179 also speaks of a 99.5% representation of the cave bear for the Drachenloch!)
Ursus arctos fossilis.
Ursus arctos subfossilis is certain
likewise U. arctoideus and finally
!! Ursus spelaeus 2,440 (2,427) m above sea level.(Not a single skull of Ursus arctos = brown bear is attested from the Drachenloch; at this early stage Bächler is still also unclear regarding the species assignment of the bear bones!)
Beside this, other fauna also occurs.
(Ruminant) = Capra ibex L. (alpine ibex)
Polecat, birds
Of the Ursidae all age classes are represented, from the smallest to the oldest individuals.

  1. The number of young specimens is very large, such that conclusions must be drawn therefrom
    either regarding posthumous specimens (The Drachenloch was not a hibernation site for cave bears, as Bächler himself later recognised! What he meant by "posthumous" in this context is unclear. Nothing is known of very young specimens — neonates — from this area of the cave.)

  2. regarding hunting by man.(In the course of the excavations this assumption is confirmed!)//


RECORD NIGG

Monday, 27 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 24)

Morning fresh snow (wood transport, laundry)

Midday ascent to the cave.

Sorting through material from AB 2–3 m 2 r. The material contains many small bone splinters!

Continuation of work at 2nd m r. The burn layer is also present here and contains again traces of charcoal and ash.The lowest loam layer sinks 1 m right of the axis (at 1.70 m depth) almost abruptly (0.4–0.5 m — with sketch) into the depth.


DIARY NIGG

Monday, 27 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 17)

Ascent to Gelbberg Sunday evening. In the morning, after a violent nocturnal Foehn storm, fresh snow has fallen. The ascent to the cave is postponed until midday. In the morning transport of two barrier laths (for the planned cave closure) from Krächeli to the hut. I do a bone washing. By midday the snow has gone and we ascend at 12 o'clock to the Draggaloch.

Deepening of section AB 2–3 in the 2nd m right to the loam layer. Here too in the burn layer once more burn traces, though on a smaller scale. Below this, a fair number of bones, partly with burn traces.

The lowest loam layer here suddenly sinks only approximately 30 cm deep.


RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 28 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 25–27)

Foehn conditions, stormy, weather uncertain.

Morning: start of work at m 1 l (AB 2–3).

Here on the left the section, which is very loose, keeps collapsing far under the left cave wall.A whole nest of bones, including a skull, remains of several bears, comes to light.(Part of the bone deposit already mentioned above on p. 74 — Fig. 45, p. 84; "D 11" — cf. above, Record for 22 August — may also have come to light only on this day. This larger bone deposit lay behind an artificial wall of stacked stone slabs — see below!) Similarly again burn traces (charcoal) deep in the niche, approximately 1½ m left of the axis, but here only approximately 1 m deeper than the axis. Here also a scorched wood splinter comes to light. It lies 1 m below the current surface and 1 m 40 below to the left under the receding left cave wall (measured from the point where the current upper cave floor surface touched the left cave wall).

Fig. 45, Bone deposit beside F 1, under the rock wall and behind a wall!
Fig. 45, Bone deposit beside F 1, under the rock wall and behind a wall!

Here, as on the right, the lower //(26) loam layer also plunges directly beneath the cave axis with a steep embankment into the depth; beside this loam layer the burn layer thus goes deeper. This is here filled with much ceiling rubble, but bones — mainly vertebrae — are also present. The white loam layer here thus forms a ridge in the middle of the passage. On the left side under the entrance to the passage large broken stones are densely stacked and make almost the impression of an intentionally stacked stone wall.I leave this corner standing, so long as it does not collapse by itself.

In the burn layer of the left niche there appears — hurrah! — the first artefact!!! — Remarkable here is //(27) that burn traces already show in the loam layer. This also displays here the properties of the earth in the actual burn layer. — Otherwise many bones of all kinds and yet more heavy and light ceiling rubble.


DIARY NIGG

Tuesday, 28 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 18)

Continuation of work at 1st m left in section AB 2–3. Here on the left under the side wall the very loose layers keep collapsing, more than 1 m 50 cm from the cave axis.Here in the third (loam) layer numerous bear bones (including skulls), in many cases complete, come to light. Also again very clear burn traces (scorched wood splinter), but still in the third layer. The burn layer is here little developed but nevertheless does show charcoal traces and rises rapidly (like the lower, white loam layer) toward the depth. In the burn layer the first artefact (bone) appears — hurrah!! (a piece like that in Fig. 44, p. 84!)

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK

28 August 1917 (Bächler in St. Gallen)

  1. Arrival of 3 crates of bones.

  2. Dispatch of the first bone artefact by Teacher N i g g

  3. The nature of the object leaves no doubt that it concerns an instrument used by human hand — i.e. its upper broken end is smoothed, namely through rubbing and polishing on a harder surface. — the end of a fibula.
    2nd bone artefact from a long-shafted bone with 2 rubbing surfaces at the broken edges.


DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 29 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 19)

After a stormy Foehn and rain night, snowfall begins in the morning and continues until midday.

We therefore descend to Vättis in the afternoon, all the more since I must be there tomorrow because of a funeral. In the afternoon the bones brought down are cleaned and the artefact is dispatched.

In the evening the weather appears to be improving again, so that a continuation of work on Friday may be counted on.

St. Gallen, 30 August 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Mr. Nigg!

The three small crates with the Ursus and other species I have duly received. There are splendid things among them. But everything is trumped by your find of this midday — the polished fibula (fibula of the Ursus), which on first examination I can only designate as artificial, that is worked by human hand.Nevertheless those of Wildkirchli are still smoother and more polished, which of course is no counter-proof for the artefact nature of your find. But now attention is called for, as when this find is there, it must be confirmed by further ones. So onward — "Good luck!" For there is still much material belonging to the charcoal hearth. Hopefully the hunter from the Drachenloch was not already miserly. We have a very fine era of 1918 and 1919 to look forward to. And I can inform you at the same time that we will get the financial means for that too.

We will of course not tell anyone anything yet of a prehistoric station, as otherwise people will become very agitated and that could damage the matter. We will first take out the finest part. In any case we would be wise to speak only of bear finds, and then have the right article drafted by the government so that all the little doors remain shut.

I have sent you today by mandate another Francs 150, with which you can settle the running costs. You will then account at the end to see whether more is needed. I shall come to Vättis next week in any case and we shall discuss everything further.

In the meantime be greeted with your dear family by yours

Emil Bächler

P.s.:
Warmest thanks for the berries that your dear wife sent. The last time I was glad of the post. Behind St. Peter, Mr. "Neum." came almost toward me. // The letter to the local management council of Vättis will go off at the end of this week. I speak only of bears — thus prehistoric animal finds; I leave the rest out.

Yesterday evening Mr. Landammann Ueli Scherrer of the Education Department was here. Great pleasure! He too urged calm and caution. — Say nothing yet of the prehistoric. First dig it out neatly. Only look for "bears"! Now and then uncover one.

So nobody gets a permit from the Department to visit the cave. Should anyone arrive without written authorisation from the Department or from me — refuse him absolutely.

Most warmly yours E. Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Friday, 31 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 27–30)

Ascent in fresh snow, cold.

Section AB 3 (s. Fig. 46, p. 85)//

Above in the third layer and directly below the axis, approximately 30 cm from section AB 3 toward AB 4, 55 cm below the surface, a bone is found suspicious as an artefact (for type see Fig. 44, p. 84!). Toward the depth the layer so far designated as 3rd changes. From approximately 70 cm below the surface it becomes lighter, more rubbly and harder, but still contains bones.

Fig. 46, Cross-section AB 3, Nigg (D V/6 1, 28–29).
Fig. 46, Cross-section AB 3, Nigg (D V/6 1, 28–29).


DIARY NIGG

Friday, 31 August 1917 (D V/6 2, 20)

Ascent to Gelbberg Thursday evening.

Weather Friday: fog.

Taking of section AB 3. Start with section AB 3–4 / 1st m left.
Here the layers clearly emerge. The hitherto so-called third loamy layer barely deserves this designation any longer. Above it is reddish-brown earth; below it is lighter and very rubbly, and appears here in the section by colour and structure as a distinct layer. On the left the walls of the longitudinal section collapse here too, as they are very loose and also contain many bones.(The bone deposit established above under the left rock wall finds a continuation.) At the very bottom and very top of the 3rd layer I find two bones with suspiciously smooth fractures. —


RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 1 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 30–31)

AB 3–4 / 2nd m l (under the l. wall)
1st layer descends under the wall, thin, a fair number of bones.
2nd layer very many bones, burn traces; stones, wood, large long bones partly split or sharply //(31) broken through the middle. The third layer becomes more compact toward the depth here, but contains throughout very much ceiling-collapse rubble. Toward the depth under the left cave wall the layers are so loose and bone- and rubble-laden that no clear demarcation is any longer visible in the section here. — Deposit!


DIARY NIGG

Saturday, 1 September 1917 (D V/6 2, 21)

Continuation of work in section AB 3–4, namely at the 2nd m left.Here again very numerous bones appear, but in many cases strongly fragmented; the long bones in particular are partly split lengthwise, partly sharply broken transversely (man or ceiling collapse.— The latter "anterior" — it is incapable of splitting lengthwise!) Here in the third layer again a suspicious bone (artefact?) All in all there is a whole quantity of bones here under the receding left cave wall — a whole bear cemetery.— It is evident that the niche under the left, receding rock wall in the closer and wider vicinity of fireplace F 1 served as a larger bone deposit of the bear hunters — cf. above!

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK

6–8 September 1917.E. Bächler in Vättis, not on Gelbberg, because Mr. Teacher Nigg not up there — snow — see daily records.

Inspection of the finds.

9 Sept.Journey to Zurich for the natural researchers' festival — 10/11.

Wednesday departure to St. Gallen.


RECORD NIGG

Monday, 10 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 31–32)

Ascent: morning with Abraham. Fetching and splitting of wood. Evening walk to the alp for lard. On this occasion we take the upper path along the walls of the Vättnerkopf in order to reconnoitre the caves there. In places the path is, however, difficult (over steep slopes). The caves are without exception not deep-going — either mere so-called Balmen (rock shelters), or else narrow, rubble-//(32) filled fissures. Almost all are also more or less damp, some hard to access. An investigation of the cave floor was therefore not undertaken. —


DIARY NIGG

Monday, 10 September 1917 (D V/6 2, 22)

Because of the Emdet (second cut) work has been suspended until today.

Ascent in the morning with Abraham. Fetching and splitting of wood, as the supply was exhausted. Evening walk to Alp Ladils for butter. On this occasion we take the upper path along the walls of the Älplikopf (= Vättner-head) in order to investigate the caves there.

Result: all the caves are only superficial "Balmen" (rock shelters) or narrow and damp fissures, and moreover difficult of access, and do not come into consideration for closer investigation in any case.


RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 11 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 32–33)

Work at section AB 3–4, m 2 and 3 l, and start on m 1 r.
In m 2 and 3 l we work in the 3rd and 4th layers. The 4th layer is here only weakly developed. No charcoal traces are found, but much rubble — in particular in m 3 l, where in places there are almost nothing but stones. Finds here not particularly numerous.

Remarkable is that under the left cave wall, which here descends steeply into the depth, the layers are no longer clearly defined (as was already noted previously). In m 3, which only appears at the depth //(33) of the 3rd layer, since the cave wall here lies precisely that deep, the upper 2 layers can no longer be established. —

We finish somewhat early, as Abraham is to make a trestle for the hand-cart. —


DIARY NIGG

Tuesday, 11 September 1917 (D V/6 2, 23)

Work at section AB 3–4 / m 2 and 3 l, and start with m 1 r.
In m 2 and 3 l the 4th layer is only weakly developed. No charcoal traces are found, but very much rubble — especially in m 3 l, where in places there are almost nothing but stones. Finds here not particularly numerous.

Under the left cave wall, which here descends steeply into the depth, the layers are no longer clearly defined.

Evening: construction of a trestle for the runway.


RECORD NIGG

Wednesday, 12 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 33–34)

Work: Leo brings 3 crates and various small boxes from Vättis. —

Continuation of work at section AB 3–4 / m 1 r. The upper two layers are here also not sharply separated and do not contain many bones. The third, actual find layer is, on the other hand, more sharply delimited and also considerably thicker than the rest. It is distinguished above all by numerous bones and very much rubble.(The bear hunters appear to have deposited the bones on both sides at and under the receding rock wall.) It is moreover more firmly compressed. The fourth layer here no longer has //(34) such typical burn characteristics as at m 1–2. Nevertheless here too there is genuine burn earth. The 5th layer (white loam) is also present here.

We leave the cave at half past 5 and descend quickly to the hut, for the weather gives no good sign. Barely have we reached the hut when a heavy thunderstorm races over from the Calfeisen valley: storm — heavy rain, lightning and thunder without interruption — Mr. Bächler will probably not come! —


DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 12 September 1917 (D V/6 2, 24)

Continuation of work at section AB 3–4, m 1 r.
Upper two layers here also not sharply separated and contain few finds. Third, actual find layer, on the other hand, more sharply delimited and considerably thicker than the rest. Characteristics:numerous bear remains and very much rubble, more firmly compressed.

Burn traces in the 4th layer no longer so typical as further forward; nevertheless here too genuine (crumbly) burn earth.

Evening: heavy thunderstorm! Mr. Bächler will probably not come!


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 13 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 34)

In the morning snow, stormy, foggy, and cold. We go to Vättis toward midday, as there is no prospect of better weather.


Friday, 14 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 34)

(Investigation of the cave in the Balmentobel.)


DIARY (= RECORD) NIGG, Friday, 14 September 1917 (D V/6 2, 26)


RECORD/DIARY NIGG

Monday, 17 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 35; 2, 27)

Morning: ascent to Gelbberg.

Mowing of bedding hay. Fetching and splitting of wood, as the supply was used up. Sorting through bones.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Tuesday, 18 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 35–38)

Taking of cross-section AB 4.(s. Fig. 47, p. 85)

Fig. 47, Cross-section AB 4, Nigg (D V/6 1, 36–37).
Fig. 47, Cross-section AB 4, Nigg (D V/6 1, 36–37).

Continuation of excavations AB 4–5.
We begin with m 1 r.
Layers 1, 2, and 3 show in general the same picture as in the previous section. Only the 5th layer — white loam — seems gradually to be rising, and therefore the 4th layer (burn layer) also lies somewhat higher. No actual burn traces are found here, but the earth is noticeably more crumbly, looser, and also contains less rubble than the 3rd layer lying above.
Here in the 4th layer //(38) also comparatively more bones than in the previous section.

Theophil brings the carbide from Vättis.


Wednesday, 19 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 38–39)

Work at section 4–5 / m 1 and 2 left.
Layer sequence as before. In m 1 l the 3rd layer no longer contains so many — and mostly fragmented — bones. They are already blackened in the lower part of this layer. The 4th layer here is no longer a pronounced burn layer. Burn traces absent. Bones very friable, mostly already completely decomposed, thus no complete pieces any longer. The earth here loses somewhat the reddish colour of the 3rd layer — becomes more grey. // Transition to the loam layer?

Theophil brings the carrying crate in the evening.


Thursday, 20 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 39–40)

Section AB 4–5 / m 2 and 3 l.
In m 2 and 3 l, numerous bones appear again in the third layer, including skulls and skull fragments (among others "D 43," Fig. 50, pp. 90 f.; Figs. 51–53, pp. 92–95).

Fig. 49 a, Lower jaw fragment with canine tooth from AB 3–4, 2nd m right, layer III.
Fig. 49 a, Lower jaw fragment with canine tooth from AB 3–4, 2nd m right, layer III.
Fig. 49 b, Reverse side.
Fig. 49 b, Reverse side.
Fig. 49 c, As (a). The piece, fitting well in the hand — a 'bone pic'?
Fig. 49 c, As (a). The piece, fitting well in the hand — a 'bone pic'?

Fig. 50 a, Skull fragment 'D 43' from AB 4–5, 3rd m left, layer III.
Fig. 50 a, Skull fragment 'D 43' from AB 4–5, 3rd m left, layer III.
Fig. 50 b, Forehead with scratch and cut marks.
Fig. 50 b, Forehead with scratch and cut marks.
Fig. 50 c, Detail of 'D 43'; clear cut marks at the 'temple'.
Fig. 50 c, Detail of 'D 43'; clear cut marks at the 'temple'.
Fig. 50 d, Detail of (c): cut marks!
Fig. 50 d, Detail of (c): cut marks!
Fig. 51 a, Young bear skull fragment (inner surface) from AB 4–5, 1st m left, layer III.
Fig. 51 a, Young bear skull fragment (inner surface) from AB 4–5, 1st m left, layer III.
Fig. 51 b, The same, outer surface, with scratch and cut marks!
Fig. 51 b, The same, outer surface, with scratch and cut marks!

Fig. 52 a, Young bear skull fragment (parietal) with scratch and cut marks.
Fig. 52 a, Young bear skull fragment (parietal) with scratch and cut marks.
Fig. 52 b, The same, detail, with clear scratch and cut marks.
Fig. 52 b, The same, detail, with clear scratch and cut marks.

Fig. 53 a, Upper arm bone (humerus) fragment from AB 4–5 (collapsed section).
Fig. 53 a, Upper arm bone (humerus) fragment from AB 4–5 (collapsed section).
Fig. 53 b, (a) from below. The bone is massively broken in the middle!
Fig. 53 b, (a) from below. The bone is massively broken in the middle!
Fig. 53 c, Detail of (a): with many scratch and cut marks!
Fig. 53 c, Detail of (a): with many scratch and cut marks!
Fig. 53 d, Break: no bite marks; this break is of human origin!
Fig. 53 d, Break: no bite marks; this break is of human origin!

The layer contains very much — in part heavy — ceiling collapse. In the 4th layer too bones still lie. Below it here again loam. We investigate its thickness here with the crowbar and drive it in 80 cm deep without reaching the end or stones or native floor. — Theophil and Anton clear out cave III. The bones gathered from the current cave floor there fill // a decent crate.— Of cave bear bones! — The sediment formation in H III is much less than even in H II; the deposits are at — only a little below — the surface, but presumably have approximately the same age as those in H II!

(Observations: Three eagles, two old and one young — a magnificent specimen, large and with beautiful white patches on its wings and tail.)

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 21 September 1917

Mr. Teacher Theophil Nigg, Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Quite against my will I cannot get away before next Thursday the 27th, as I am completely taken up this week and the beginning of next by official duties. Moreover the general assembly of the wildlife park commission has been postponed to next Wednesday evening. I would thus arrive in Vättis only on Thursday evening, or leave Ragaz on Friday morning. —

We would thus conclude at the Drachenloch for this year on the 30th of September, as the insurance also runs only until the 30th. By then the cave closure should be completed and all material (the good pieces) should be below. If I myself can get just one more look at the section, that is perfectly sufficient. —

Over winter I must draw up for the authority a full work and cost plan for 1918, so that we can then get briskly into things. That will give a fine era to which we may look forward. People everywhere are eager for the results.

If you can still collect the surface finds in cave III (the good ones) — already done on the 20th! —, that is likewise all right. For the time being we may be thoroughly satisfied.

With the warmest greetings to you and your loved ones I am yours

Emil Bächler

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Friday, 21 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 40–43)

(Leo Bonderer, hurrah, brings 2 tins of food)

Taking of section AB 5.(Fig. 54, p. 96)

Fig. 54, Cross-section sketch AB 5, Nigg (D V/6 1, 41).
Fig. 54, Cross-section sketch AB 5, Nigg (D V/6 1, 41).

Attack on section AB 5–6.
I begin with m 1 l. The layer sequence remains consistent throughout. The third layer, designated in the first sections as a loam layer, is in fact not one; it consists of reddish, cohesive earth that has no loamy character whatsoever. It separates itself particularly sharply from the second layer. This is crumbly, dark reddish, and almost without rubble; the third // by contrast already contains from the top a great deal of rubble and also (again in contrast to the second layer) many bones. The transition to the fourth layer is then again less abrupt. The fourth layer is characterised by relatively less rubble and fewer, mostly blackened bones. The earth here also has a somewhat darker colouration. The 5th layer, white loam, begins in the middle, under the cave axis somewhat higher up, and sinks everywhere toward the side walls fairly abruptly into the depth — usually only 20–30 cm.

This layer is thus the first, uppermost loam layer, and what lies above it will presumably be postglacial deposit (for the age of the 3rd/4th layer from section BC 4, a dating > 53,000 years BP of the charcoal from the closed hearth F 2 is available! — see above). Test boring with the crowbar showed (as reported yesterday) a considerable layer thickness. We observe that, despite driving the crowbar to 80 cm // depth, neither larger stones nor the native floor were reached. I conjecture beneath this loam layer the deposits of the last interglacial period, as I regard the loam layer as a product of the last glacial period. (In this case the native floor may be expected only at a considerably greater depth. What secrets might this glacial deposit still conceal? How generously and in what mighty letters does Nature write her history!!)


Saturday, 22 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 43–46)

Continuation of work at section AB 5–6 at m 1 l. Furthermore excavation of part of m 1 r (up to the longitudinal section) to the 5th layer. In general the usual picture in the layers. In the 4th layer here the burn // traces are again clearer: dry, light earth, blackened bones and some charcoal. A new depth test with the crowbar yields 1.1 m without our having struck collapse blocks or the native floor. Individual bones somewhat suspicious as artefacts, as in the previous section, are placed without special marking in the find bags for further investigation. —

End of work at approximately half past 3; the labourer is to finish at 6 o'clock. At 4 o'clock the evening meal is still cooked in the hut; at 5 o'clock descent to Vättis. — The entire week, with the exception of Friday morning (rain and fog), the finest autumn weather, whose only unpleasant consequence for us is that today we had to carry // the water from the alp to the cave.

Moreover this is the first full week on Gelbberg. —

On the basis of observations to date I draw up the following layer table:

  • I. Surface layer: approximately 20–25 cm deep, dry, dusty above, gradually becoming crumbly toward depth, dark-brown (above) to reddish-brown (below). Contains: moderate weathering rubble, recent bones, now and then also bear bones (especially on the side toward the left cave wall.)
    Transition to the second layer gradual.

  • II. Layer: approximately 30–35 cm thick. Very soft, crumbly earth, little rubble, few bones, reddish-brown, but somewhat lighter than layer I. Separation from layer III very sharp.

  • III. Layer: approximately 60–80 cm thick. Reddish-brown, crumbly to cohesive earth, very strongly interspersed with weathering rubble, in part also larger slabs and blocks; contains, in particular along the walls, very many bones (find layer).
    Appears in the // section grey (rubble!). Transition to layer 4 abrupt.

  • IV. Layer: approximately 15–20 cm thick. Likewise reddish-brown (somewhat darker), strikingly dry and crumbly (burnt earth!), blackened bones, occasional charcoal traces. Finds less numerous than in layer 3, but absent nowhere. Much less rubble than in the 3rd layer. No transition — abrupt separation from layer 5, very sharp.

  • V. Layer: whitish loam.


Monday, 24 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 46–47)

(Ascent Sunday evening)

Continuation at section AB 5–6 / m 2 l. In the third layer again many bones, as always. Likewise in m 3 l (under the overhanging rock wall! — Figs. 55 and 56, pp. 96–99). During the work the longitudinal section of m 4–6 suddenly collapses for unknown reasons (at the right cave wall; cf. sketch in Fig. 54, p. 96). The clearing of the rubble will take place only tomorrow, // as it is nearly quitting time.

Fig. 55 a, Rib fragment from AB 5–6, 2nd m left, layer III.
Fig. 55 a, Rib fragment from AB 5–6, 2nd m left, layer III.
Fig. 55 b, Detail of (a) — the fracture of the rib at the cut point!
Fig. 55 b, Detail of (a) — the fracture of the rib at the cut point!

Fig. 56 a, Tubular bone fragment (femur?), AB 5–6, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 56 a, Tubular bone fragment (femur?), AB 5–6, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 56 b, The point fashioned by man, with traces of working.
Fig. 56 b, The point fashioned by man, with traces of working.
Fig. 56 c, Length 92 mm — bone point for a bear spear (?) or tool?
Fig. 56 c, Length 92 mm — bone point for a bear spear (?) or tool?
Fig. 56 d, Inner surface of the tubular bone fragment.
Fig. 56 d, Inner surface of the tubular bone fragment.


Tuesday, 25 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 47–48)

First the rubble of the collapsed section is cleared away, and lo and behold, beside numerous bear bones there lies in it a nearly undamaged bear skull together with both lower jaws.Unfortunately it has nonetheless suffered somewhat from the collapse. One cheekbone is broken off, as the fresh fracture shows; likewise the wing of one lower jaw is broken off by the fall. In the rubble we find part of the broken cheekbone and the wing of the jaw, as well as all the teeth that fell out except one. What a pity that the skull could not be recovered by digging; // that would have given a complete and flawless specimen.(Fig. 57, pp. 99 f.)

Fig. 57 a, Skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, left side, without lower jaw.
Fig. 57 a, Skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, left side, without lower jaw.
Fig. 57 b, Complete cave bear skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, right side and with lower jaw. Aged 10–15 years.
Fig. 57 b, Complete cave bear skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, right side and with lower jaw. Aged 10–15 years.

Once the 4th layer of the section at m 2 and 3 left has been dug down to the loam, we begin in section AB 5–6 to excavate the loam layer (5th layer). —

During the midday break we climb to the summit of the Gelbberg. Rock climbing, not recommended for the inexperienced!

Leo brings boards from Vättis.


Wednesday, 26 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 56–57)

Excavation of the loam layer at section AB 4–6. —
To approximately 1.2–1.3 m we encounter no resistance. Everywhere soft loam that can be cut with the spade. Neither finds nor rubble are present. At 1.2–1.3 m depth heavy blocks, between which the loam appears to continue even deeper. Tests with pickaxe and crowbar show that these blocks do not yet belong to the native rock. Nevertheless the crowbar at approximately ½ m depth strikes stone everywhere — whether native rock or larger slabs we cannot establish for the moment.

We break off work at half past 3, as it is not possible to remove the large blocks. //

(Christian Kohler, Wasen, and Christian Gort, Buel, bring boards from Vättis to the hut and each carry down a "share" of bones. Chr. Kohler the heavy crate, Gort the lighter bag.)


Thursday, 27 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 57)

Leo brings the boards for the benches. Transport of boards, laths, and posts from the alp to the cave. Laths must be fetched at the "Krächeli."

Sorting through bones from cave III and washing them.

Evening: descent to Vättis with bones.

On the way we meet Mr. Dr. Bächler, who is on his way up with Theophil. I turn back and accompany Mr. Bächler to the hut, while Th. takes over the bones in the rucksack and goes with Abraham to Vättis.


Friday, 28 September 1917 (D V/6 1, 58)

Morning at half past 8, Abraham, coming from Vättis, arrives at the hut again. We now ascend with Mr. Bächler to the cave. There: clearing of the collapsed section by me and Mr. Bächler. Taking of section AB 5–6 by Mr. Bächler (Fig. 63 b, p. 122). Meanwhile Abraham constructs the cave closure. Evening at approximately 4 o'clock descent to the hut with all the bone material and tools. Scratch iron, hand-cart, and crates remain in the cave. In the hut still a feast consisting of fried potatoes and coffee, then descent to Vättis — four of us with all manner of materials — since we cannot bring all the material away, Abraham and Theophil ascend again to the cave on Saturday, 29 Sept. 1917, in the afternoon to // fetch the rest.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK

Record. 27/28/29 Sept.

E. Bächler on Gelbberg. Inspection of the section, conclusion of the 1917 campaign.

The passage from cave I into cave II, which formerly could only be crawled through on one's belly (since there were only 50 cm of clearance in the rubble floor to the rock ceiling), is now completely excavated — i.e. through to the entrance to cave II. However the native floor has not yet been exposed; it presumably lies somewhat deeper still than the depth of 1 m 30 in the typical whitish-yellow loam layer reached so far. //

Passage I/II

Nature of the cross-section and longitudinal section.
A clear stratification in the cave rubble can be established, which from a stratigraphic standpoint provides a perfectly clear insight into the animal remains preserved in the rubble and their belonging to the layers.

(Bächler begins with the description of layers I and II but breaks off midway; the complete stratigraphy is found in Nigg, Record for 22 September 1917, see above!)

Mode of occurrence of the finds

The following general picture emerges.

  1. The finds are sparser in the upper part — i.e. in the uppermost find layers. Many of the finds (bones) coming to the surface have been tilted upright or, as a result of sinking of the rubble in the middle, at the edge of the rock have been raised to a higher level.— A remarkable notion of Bächler's! The fact is that the hunter had deposited the cave bear bones at and under the receding walls of the passage! This changes at the exit of H II and in H III — see below!

  2. The most numerous and best-preserved finds are consistently at both rock walls, where they form whole bone deposits. This type of marginal occurrence gives the impression that man heaped them intentionally against the wall, after the flesh and marrow had been taken from them.

  3. As a result of the looseness of the marginal rubble the finds are relatively very well preserved — much better than in the middle of the passage.

  4. The marginal finds too rarely contain associated pieces; everything is thoroughly mixed together. Only in a few places are rows of associated vertebrae found. //

  5. The middle of the section (of the passage) contains fewer and more poorly preserved finds — i.e. they are mostly more fragmented.

  6. Long bones appear only at the margins toward the two rock walls.

  7. Striking is the number of complete skulls at the margin, while the middle contains none.

  8. Striking: the large number of the first two cervical vertebrae, especially the atlas pieces. (Man!) — Figs. 58 a–c, pp. 101 f.

    Fig. 58 a, Atlas from AB 2–3, 1st m left, layer III.
    Fig. 58 a, Atlas from AB 2–3, 1st m left, layer III.
    Fig. 58 b, The same, dorsal view — both wings are worked.
    Fig. 58 b, The same, dorsal view — both wings are worked.
    Fig. 58 c, The same, with various cut marks.
    Fig. 58 c, The same, with various cut marks.

  9. Likewise a large number of acetabulum pieces are found, from which the broad, flat-surface ends are missing. The rims of these sockets are strongly rounded; it appears that the rim has been worn away (Man!) Not a single complete hipbone found to date! — Figs. 59 a/b, pp. 102 f. This observation of Bächler's is justified; what can be established is that they were worked by human hand; for what purpose he needed them remains unclear. Bächler 1940, 109 f., thinks of a function in hide-working — perhaps in cleaning and smoothing the skin! //

    Fig. 59 a, Acetabulum, inner surface. AB 0–1, 2nd m left, layer II.
    Fig. 59 a, Acetabulum, inner surface. AB 0–1, 2nd m left, layer II.
    Fig. 59 b, The same — outer surface, with worn socket rim.
    Fig. 59 b, The same — outer surface, with worn socket rim.

  10. Very many long bones are lacking their epiphyses (knocked off); in part separate epiphyses are found (often only one — e.g. in the femora.) — cf. Fig. 48, p. 86: thigh bone with knocked-off joint head!

    Fig. 48 a, Thigh bone (femur) from AB 3–4, 1st and 2nd m left, layer III.
    Fig. 48 a, Thigh bone (femur) from AB 3–4, 1st and 2nd m left, layer III.
    Fig. 48 b, The same, reverse side.
    Fig. 48 b, The same, reverse side.
    Fig. 48 c, Detail: clear cut marks from the 'hunting knife' on the shaft.
    Fig. 48 c, Detail: clear cut marks from the 'hunting knife' on the shaft.
    Fig. 48 d, Further detail with additional clear cut marks!
    Fig. 48 d, Further detail with additional clear cut marks!

  11. In a surprising manner finds of young bear individuals dominate at 99%; notably jaws of 1–3-year-olds and very small ones.— Figs. 60 a–c, pp. 103 f.Remains of very old animals have come to light so far only in very small numbers. This can be explained by the hunting of man, for he appropriated above all the younger, more easily caught animals by means of animal traps. Another explanation of the constant occurrence of young individuals.(A bear hunt by ambush, surprise attack, and possibly subsequent drive hunt — armed with wooden throwing spears, the latter possibly fitted with a bone tip; cf. note to Fig. 56, p. 390! — is manifestly to be presupposed already for the period of Neanderthal Man more than 50,000 years ago! — A flint splinter in a cave bear vertebra from the Hohle Fels is regarded as the broken-off projectile tip of a spear or lance — the remnant of a bear hunt 30,000 years ago; cf. Arch. Korrbl. 31, 325.)

    Fig. 60 a, Right lower jaw fragment of a young bear from AB 1–2, 1st m left.
    Fig. 60 a, Right lower jaw fragment of a young bear from AB 1–2, 1st m left.
    Fig. 60 b, The same — outer surface.
    Fig. 60 b, The same — outer surface.
    Fig. 60 c, Detail of (a), with fine cut marks.
    Fig. 60 c, Detail of (a), with fine cut marks.
St. Gallen, 1 October 1917

Mr. Teacher Th. N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Mr. Nigg!

This morning I sent you by postal mandate Francs 400.—, with which amount you are to settle the outstanding daily wages for Abraham Bonderer, transport costs, provisions (cooperative), construction of furniture, etc. — The remainder I request you to keep for your own account as a payment on account toward your personal services and work in the Drachenloch, as we wish to have it henceforth called. The general accounting with respect to the gratuity accruing to you will take place once I know your record compilation and the number of days you have devoted to the whole matter, including cleaning of bones. — For the 400 Fr. I request the usual receipt confirmation for the accounts, as a matter of order.

I gladly use today's occasion to express to you on behalf of the Natural History Museum the most excellent and warmest thanks for the thoroughly splendid services you have rendered to the new cantonal research at the Drachenloch through your own initiative and most untiring, most capable work, and an expressed joy in research. I look forward greatly to being able to continue the research campaign up there with you again next year, and hope that we shall bring the whole to a conclusion gratifying equally to the canton and to patriotic research within the foreseeable future.

With the kindest greetings I am yours

Dr. E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 1 October 1917

My dear Mr. Nigg!

To the officially composed letter of the Natural History Museum, which you will kindly keep (especially on account of passages II and the gratuity), I would yet like to add a few words of a private nature.

At the close of Campaign I at the Drachenloch it is a need for me to tell you how greatly I rejoice that the Drachenloch research is bound to your person. For I hold it as eminently important that research should bind itself to upright, sterling characters endowed with joy in research and sound sense and modesty — that modesty that every genuine research simply demands, one which strives only after truth. I understand by this modesty in the ideal sense. But if a gratuity is also intended for you, that goes entirely without saying, as the work must also be valued from this side, in order to maintain the enthusiasm. This gratuity — which however must not be equivalent to the so-called daily wage — you may pocket for the future too with the most tranquil conscience, as having earned it fully and completely.

I am glad to be permitted to hold you in personal high esteem for the sake of your fine human qualities, which make a sympathetic impression and already give one pleasure in advance at being permitted to remain associated with you for further years. To the official thanks I therefore add also my personal thanks — for you and your dear family, who received me so warmly and cosily and in whose company one feels at ease, because it comes from within.

So we hope joyfully for what is to come. The matter has been set on a good course, and we may look forward with confidence. — Research will of itself yet create many a grateful prospect, from which we ourselves will become brighter and more joyful.

So much for today! Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, with your dear family, my warmest and my loved ones' warmest greetings.

Your friendly and devoted

Emil Bächler

On Saturday I arrived home safely. Everyone flung themselves with enthusiasm upon the Ursus spelaeus skull — wife and child and all.— It was in all probability the large, complete skull from the collapsed longitudinal section AB 4–6 that made such an impression on the Bächler family; s. Fig. 57 b, p. 100. — If you can still send me the last skull in the aluminium canteen — the one with holes in the head — I would be grateful to you (For comparison with the other perforated one). The other you may quietly keep there for demonstration in the school.

Literature to follow.
St. Gallen, 10 October 1917

Mr. Teacher Theophil N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

First accept my friendly thanks for your penultimate kind letter!
(This letter mentioned here, and many further reply letters from Theophil Nigg to Emil Bächler, can no longer be found — i.e. presumably Bächler did not keep them!)

What was said therein stands, and that is valuable for us both. There is a blessing in every work directed from within. —

Concerning the enquiry from Dr. med. Eberle in Gossau, you are experiencing precisely what I went through at the time with Wildkirchli. Even the best friends would gladly have a token of friendship in bear teeth (!).

I know Dr. Eberle as a good friend of our museum. Does the museum not owe him the splendid elk skeleton from Gossau? I would wish to oblige him above all others, if we both had the right over the finds. But we do not possess it, and we could easily find ourselves in great embarrassment if we were to give away or sell even a single tooth on our own account. We will keep a clean conscience and keep ourselves free of possible later accusations. — I kept to this with Wildkirchli and was often very glad of it. For there are also malicious people!

You are therefore doing the right thing! You cover yourself with the indication that the finds are not our property but belong to the canton, to the museum which is covering the excavation costs, and to the local municipality of Vättis, and that we have no right of disposal over them and that any unlawful delivery of finds would put us in an unpleasant situation that could endanger the whole enterprise. — Whether perhaps finds will later come up for sale is not within our competence. With all regret at being unable to comply, we both remain neutral.

In this sense you yourself expressed entirely the right thought! Let us hold to it!

With warmest greetings from house to house

Yours Emil Bächler.
St. Gallen, 18 October 1917

Mr. Theophil N i g g in Vättis.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

The considerable consignment of crates (one appears to have got stuck in Ragaz) as well as your letter dispatched today with enclosures have arrived here in the best condition. I have been able to open only the large transport crate — everything is well kept. — I shall write to you in the coming days, as I am at the moment simply bombarded with every possible kind of thing. — Please have a little more patience with me!

One more thing! The Natural Science Society urgently desires a lecture on the Drachenloch, which I may not withhold from them, as they stand in the closest connection with the museum. — The lecture is probably next week already — probably on Friday — at the Schützengarten. — I would like to encourage you to attend the lecture at the expense of our enterprise. If it were necessary I would ask your school board to give you Friday and Saturday free. The definite date I would inform you of in good time. So please see to it that you can get away — I would like to have the discoverer present too. You would of course be my guest.— A newspaper cutting from the St. Galler Tagblatt of 6 November 1917 refers to Bächler's presentation; the Frohsinn Hall in the "Schützengarten" had been full to the last seat. Nigg was present too!

Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, with your dear loved ones, our warmest greetings

Your faithful E. Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 7 November 1917

Mr. Teacher Theophil Nigg, Vättis.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I thank you warmly for your recent communications and am glad that you have arrived safely back at your "residence," where people are not so agitated as among the large mass of the city. One really must not let oneself be agitated; I know that best. Therefore we let all the grumblers quietly hold forth — Mr. Huber in any case. Dr. Rehsteiner (president of the Natural Science Society of St. Gallen) has of course quickly come round again too. —

Another person seems to be stung by the matter, but he plays the good fellow in front of himself — your colleague "Neum." Do look at the enclosed postcard that he sent me the day before yesterday. (You will send it back in due course for my files.) "What does he want now with his scribbling?" one might ask. Perhaps to participate nicely? Non Monsieur! cela ne va pas. He is capable of small roguery. Therefore watch out, and watch out again. But we say not a word to him. For propriety's sake I shall briefly acknowledge his card; he may yet let his true face show. But all sweet-talking or whining is of no use. —

I am not at all satisfied with the reviewer Dr. E. Sch. in the "Tagblatt" (of yesterday), as firstly he made "blunders" and again forgot — the dunce — what I had additionally charged him to do. I shall // make up for it in the appropriate place. The wretched scribblers.

I have had to take rest willy-nilly these last 10 days, despite a mountain of work awaiting me. By special parcel I am sending you the two books by Obermaier and Forrer, which should suffice for now. Later you must especially also have Hörnes, who is brilliantly written.(general prehistory literature; more precise titles in Bächler 1940)

The first thing I shall do now is settle the account for the 1917 Drachenloch — I ask only for a little more patience.

With the most heartfelt greetings to you and your dear family from mine and from myself, I remain your faithful

Emil Bächler

P.S. Have you already enquired about the electric current in Vättis (for the photographs)?



St. Gallen, 8 December 1917

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I am barely yet out of the rush of catching up with things left undone, of clearing up and moving, and am burdened on top of it all with a terrible chest catarrh. I genuinely look forward to next summer, when I can unwind for once in favour of the renewed research. I would end up being eaten alive if it continued like this. —

It is entirely right if you write an article about the Drachenloch for the "Oberländer," as I myself on principle will publish nothing in print yet. It works out very well, however, if at least the people of the Sargans region learn something, and that you can and should do. It creates a good atmosphere for us both, since it shows that we are in solidarity and grant each other equal standing even before the outside world — all the more so since you are the discoverer and the one with the greatest toil. We both have — fortunately — already gained plenty of enviers; that is the main thing: the more, the better! — If you send me your manuscript beforehand, that is welcome to me, so that we are both responsible for it, and we need not accept any corrections from the side of science. As a precaution I would in your place absolutely stipulate from the publisher: "Reproduction prohibited." Otherwise every "dolt" copies away as he pleases. I know this from Wildkirchli, where I often became furious over the heap of nonsense that was repeated. — There someone actually writes that in the Drachenloch — human teeth had been found, etc.

You have seen that in my lecture here I intentionally kept the Drachenloch brief. Why: if you say too much at the beginning — and it is, with the listeners, to 11/12 ths nothing but curiosity that drives them there — then later, when it comes to the so important further research, you can no longer offer much that is new; interest wanes quickly, and the danger is there that you no longer get the subsidies, because everything is already known (just "bears") and nothing "new" is being brought to light any more. I unfortunately had to experience this very much with Wildkirchli. We must be strategic if we want to bring the whole to a good conclusion. A main thing is always to have the necessary money available.

In your article you will therefore do well to provide first a historical-prehistoric outline, a brief chronology of the Stone Age (Old Stone Age, New Stone Age), Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages — in the last of which we today (!) still find ourselves. — I tend to use the retrospective, i.e. backward-going method ("from the known to the unknown"). Then the research in Switzerland: pile dwellings (= Neolithic) — Old Stone Age: Kesslerloch — Schweizersbild and others = youngest Old Stone Age (Magdalenian), then Wildkirchli and Cotencher (Canton Neuchâtel) = Middle to older Old Stone Age.

Then describe the find site — the Drachenloch — as fully as you see fit. Then the discovery by you, etc. Start of the excavations. Sketch a fine picture of how one digs (not like Italians in a drainage ditch) and what comes to light for the researcher's delight — such a fine bear skull, nota bene from the long-extinct cave bear, and many other bones of this and other animals; how it is then necessary to determine all that precisely, to examine the bones as to their condition, to investigate whether humans too were present — one of the most difficult tasks, since not all the time need the dead have been buried if there were none (!). You may well hint therein that such traces of humanity are already present (charcoal hearth — but not a modern one), very primitively worked bones, the bones throughout from young and younger prey animals of man.Thus to date the picture from Wildkirchli. — No stone artefacts yet. But it is now all the more a matter of pressing forward with research, so that the most unified and complete picture possible of the whole is obtained. Something like that is what I mean. Encourage all to contribute money to the research.

In general I would like to ask you, when there is grumbling here and there, when people interfere, etc., always to challenge those concerned to make a quite substantial contribution to the excavations — without which they would have no right whatsoever to interfere. You understand me already.

As for my lecture in Vättis, I would not give it before Christmas — rather in the Christmas–New Year week, or else in the second week of January — i.e. when the avalanches cannot yet have selected my humble self as their victim. But how does it stand with the heating of the hall? Is the wood being brought up? To reduce the costs regarding the apparatus, Ragaz might perhaps help out if they have one. I shall still enquire with Mr. Wirth in Ragaz. — But now another thought occurs to me! Would not you like to give the lecture in Vättis yourself — without lantern slides, admittedly? Perhaps the Vättis people might find it even more agreeable if their teacher speaks rather than the city-dweller. Please tell me frankly and freely what you think of my proposal. I leave the mandate to you very gladly.

The district conference has made known to me through Mr. Wirth its resolution, but I have not yet given any reply at all. I shall still // make enquiries there and put the matter right. I am not against an enlightening of the teaching staff in that area; on the other hand an excursion to the Drachenloch will probably not take place.

On the other hand the Piz Sol section wants to make an excursion there next year. That is something different. But I would like to off-load one thing and another onto you; otherwise I may end up succumbing to "lecturitis" in the end. We must still talk about that.

The stone from Christian Kohler has arrived here; I shall send him the Fr. 5.— next week.

It is very fine if you undertake a winter inspection of the Drachenloch. But take care that you are completely safe from avalanches. You know the terrible accident of the teachers from Weite-Azmoos! That sort of thing you must not provoke! Do bring the thermometer — I have measured thousands of temperatures in Wildkirchli for my specialist publication on cave ice. Enclosed I am sending you two popular treatises, which I request back in due course, as they are the only copies I still possess.
(The following Monday will follow, along with a journal abstract extract.)
Study this problem too (which problem Bächler means is not clear!), there are still dozens of them in the cave.

I have not yet acknowledged "Neum." 's congratulation out of sheer lack of time. — When you have studied the literature, I shall send you a second series; it is fine when you get briskly up to speed — there is still enough that is strictly scientific, part of which gives one a headache. Obermaier is and intends to be popular, and in this sense is unconditionally the best. You must then also digest his scholarly works — i.e. the typology, the fundamentals!

I am now in the process of finally doing the reckoning for you, and would like to get a clear conscience yet in the old year.

Receive, dear Mr. Nigg, with your dear loved ones, the warmest greetings from all of us — especially from yours

Emil Bächler

As an appendix to the 1917 campaign: "Dr. E. Bächler's Preliminary Report on the First Excavations at the "Drachenloch" above Vättis. 2,440 (2,427) metres above sea level," from the Annual Report of the Natural History Museum in St. Gallen (1 July 1917 to 30 June 1918), pp. 8–11:

The Drachenloch cave, known in the vernacular as "Draggaloch" and also "Drachenloch," has long been known to the local people and in more recent times visited by tourists as well. Since the rearmost part of the cave is distinguished by the occurrence of crystallised calcite (in the only with difficulty accessible section 6 of the cave; see longitudinal section in Fig. 25, p. 47!), it was also honoured with visits from mineral seekers. In 1903 the present writer also explored it with Teacher Graf in Vättis and Fritz Iklé of St. Gallen. Already at that time the many bones on the surface of the cave floor caught our attention. We placed the cave on the wish-list for prehistoric research in our homeland years ago — all the more so since we were able to demonstrate the remains of extinct bear species in the Säntis region not only up to an altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level, but on Alpeel (Furgglenfirst) even to precisely 1,800 metres.

Prompted by our cave researches, Mr. Teacher Nigg in Vättis betook himself to the Drachenloch on 8 July 1917, dug there in cave II of the overall space to a depth of 60 cm, and brought to light a number of bone splinters which he sent to us on 9 July for assessment of their significance and nature. These were quickly identified. With the consent of the local management council of Vättis, the municipal authority of Pfäfers, and under the auspices of the cantonal Education Department, which elevated the find site to a cantonal natural monument, the work could begin. (9 August 1917.)

Regarding the situation of the Drachenloch cave the following is to be said: The cave, whose mighty entrance portal or rock window is already clearly visible from the valley (Vättis), 950 m, (see Fig. 1, p. 5), lies at the foot of the precipitous rock-face drop on the south-eastern side of the 2,635-m-high Drachenberg. The latter, together with its neighbours the Vättnerkopf (2,619 m) and the Gigerwaldspitz (2,295 m), belongs as the "Drachenberg Klippe" (Blumental) to the geologically so interesting smaller nappe fold of the Panärahörner in the Ringelspitz group, which also encompasses the uppermost part of the magnificent Calanda. Drachenberg, Vättnerkopf, Gigerwaldspitz, and Calanda summit are erosion-separated parts of the once-connected Panära-Calanda nappe fold, which once extended across the Calfeisen-Taminatal. The said mountains lie today as geological "Klippen" — as older rock (Cretaceous and Jurassic) — above the youngest rock (Flysch) of the "autochthonous dome of Vättis." The Drachenberg summit consists of the uppermost layers of the Cretaceous: the Seewen Schist and Seewen // kalk (Seewerkalk; approximately 200 m thick). Below the Seewerkalk runs the dark, widely visible, and narrow, approximately 2–3-m-thick rock band of Gault around the mountain (east, south, and west sides). The cave itself lies right at the contact boundary of the two Cretaceous members, though still entirely within the Seewerkalk.— Figs. 61–63 a, pp. 121 f.

Fig. 61, View from the Ladils alp; upper left the entrance to the Drachenloch.
Fig. 61, View from the Ladils alp; upper left the entrance to the Drachenloch.
Fig. 62, Detail of Fig. 61; aerial photograph by Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 62, Detail of Fig. 61; aerial photograph by Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 63 a, 'Geological view of the Drachenberg' — cf. Figs. 61/62; drawing by E. Bächler.
Fig. 63 a, 'Geological view of the Drachenberg' — cf. Figs. 61/62; drawing by E. Bächler.
Fig. 63 b, Cross-section sketch AB 6 by E. Bächler, see p. 111.
Fig. 63 b, Cross-section sketch AB 6 by E. Bächler, see p. 111.

The formation of the cave is entirely the work of nature. Dislocations (rock displacements) of various kinds and erosion, or rather chemical leaching as well as (mechanical) weathering, have worked hand in hand to create the approximately 70-m-long, on average 4–5-m-wide, and nowhere more than 7-m-high hollow space — divided into various sections (approximately 6) — which extends in a consistent direction from WNW to ESE, and in its inner parts almost horizontally (see Fig. 33, p. 60). The floor of the cave consists of earth (sinter), loam, and weathered rubble from the cave ceiling and walls, as well as accumulations of animal bones. The maximum depth of this floor rubble has not yet been determined; the excavations have so far progressed only to a depth of 3.3 metres. Moreover only a very small area could be worked through — i.e. the narrow passage from the front, large, and lit entrance cave to the small cave II (surface area = 5 m length, 3–4 m width, and 3.3 m depth). The unexpectedly large number of finds made a more rapid advance in the excavations impossible, since the former must not be damaged.

For reasons of space and logistics only a few persons could participate in the first campaign. Mr. Teacher Nigg, whom we had initiated into the details of modern cave research, was able together with a reliable assistant from Vättis to attend to the main work; the present writer attended to the overall control and direction. For the not altogether easy transport of provisions from Vättis, for the removal of the finds, etc., the herdsmen of the Gelbberg hut were called in. In the most obliging manner, the local administration of Vättis, the owner of Alp Gelbberg and the Drachenberg (and thus also of the cave), placed at our disposal free of charge the just newly erected Schäflerhütte there, 2,076 m, for accommodation and as a base camp during the night. On the other hand we had, at the cost of our enterprise, several immovable items constructed in the hut (hay-storage loft, lockable cabinet for important finds), which have now passed into the ownership of the hut proprietress. Part of the mountain cooking was attended to by the herdsman. The weather of the months August and September was without exception very favourable and greatly and essentially furthered our work.

The result of the same was simply astonishing. Let only the most important be mentioned here: Already the occurrence of a prehistoric fauna (animal world) in the Wildkirchli was a unique phenomenon with respect to the altitude of 1,500 m above sea level; here, regarding the well-preserved remains and their richness, it is surpassed yet further. This applies in particular to the magnificent finds of various bear species //— predecessors of our present-day brown bears (Ursus arctos fossilis — Ursus arctoideus), as well as of the actual cave bear (Ursus spelaeus — all of them!), which is here found at an altitude little below that of the Säntis summit — thus almost 1,000 m higher than at Wildkirchli — in considerable numbers in the lowest find layers. The number of well-preserved bear skulls already today exceeds 12, beside a quantity of excellently preserved extremities and other bones — in particular teeth. Besides the bear species, finds also came to light of the marmot, chamois, ibex, stone marten, voles, and birds (99.5% Ursus spelaeus!). The list will quickly receive additions.

Most striking of all, however, are now the indications of a former settlement of our cave by prehistoric man.These are so pronounced that hardly any other interpretation is possible. In brief:All bear bones come from young animals; only a single old tooth with jaw remnant points to the dragging-in of an older individual. The young animals are prey of the primeval hunter, who could seize them more easily than the more dangerous adults. The greater part of the skeletal bones is enormously scattered — not in their associated positions in situ. There are veritable bone magazines that could only have been stacked up in such a manner by man — behind specially positioned small stone walls. The epiphyses of many extremities are knocked off the shaft; they are absent in the vicinity of the diaphyses entirely, etc.

To all this is added the presence of a hearth of more than one square metre in area, situated in the cave bear layer, with clearly recognisable remains of charcoal (mountain pine), with burnt stones (Seewerkalk), and the burnt, powdery-dusty earth beneath it. The contemporaneity of this centrally dome-shaped charcoal hearth with the remains of Ursus spelaeus (cave bear) could be demonstrated with all rigour. Nowhere was a disturbance of the clearly separated layers and their sequence observable through any later — perhaps already historically contemporary — churning up. The hearth lay in a completely intact, original situation. Its nature is of the same kind as the fireplaces that the present writer saw in the prehistoric find sites of the Vézère valley in southern France (e.g. Le Moustier). The fireplace in the Drachenloch can only have originated from cave bear hunters of the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age). A full confirmation of the assumption that we are dealing at the Drachenloch not only with a refuge of wild animals, but also with an ancient human settlement, is proved by the occurrence of numerous, strongly fragmented bones, as we found in the Wildkirchli at the artefact (stone and bone tool) locations. Such a comminution of the bones could only have occurred by human hand, and not through falling stones or through dispersal by wild animals. To all this are added two further important circumstances. //

Among the hip-joint sockets of cave bears found so far, virtually all lack the characteristic processes for the entire, complete hipbone. Furthermore the large preponderance of the first two cervical vertebrae (atlas and epistropheus) over the other vertebra types is surprising. To conclude well, already at one of the most important spots several bone fragments were found on which the use by human hand can be demonstrated unambiguously, and which in their kind correspond exactly with those of Wildkirchli. They are bone tools, whose broken edges have been rubbed smooth and polished through manifold use, and which may have served as hide-scrapers and hide-smoothers, as we are still able to demonstrate today among a number of peoples in a state of nature.

It is not by chance if among the cave sections worked to date we have not yet encountered any stone tools of quartzite (as at Wildkirchli). The quartzite rocks are indeed present here in the area of the Graue Hörner in the so-called Wildflysch, though somewhat further from the cave itself. It will emerge whether the Drachenloch inhabitants perhaps also used the limestone of the cave rock itself — Seewerkalk — for the manufacture of their stone tools, as we already discovered one such piece at Wildkirchli.— Discovered in 1920 and drawn by Bächler: these tools of Seewerkalk are depicted below in Figs. 102/3 and 105/6, pp. 211 ff.!

But we need not indulge here in conjectures. The further investigations — which are absolutely necessary — will shed light on many a problem yet that so greatly occupies the retrospective science of prehistory, one of the main foundations for the illumination of the present-day so-called "culture" of man!

So much is certain: that at the Drachenloch we are dealing with a fully-fledged palaeontological find site, interesting on account of its extreme altitude, whose thorough uncovering will most essentially advance and deepen our knowledge of past animal and human generations, of prehistoric climates, of the tree and snow lines at the time of the Diluvium. — It is a good sign of understanding for the value of homeland research that authorities and private individuals bear witness to their sympathy for this new discovery — which gives us the certainty of being able to make it the foundation of fruitful scientific investigations.

St. Gallen, 31 December 1917

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Despite all the effort and rushing about I have not yet managed to settle your matter. Please do not lose faith in me! Before Christmas I cut myself deeply in my left hand, which festered and caused me enormous pain right up until today. Then the Pfanner case has suddenly become urgent and pressing; I must have the 40-page expert opinion ready for the court by 4 January. But then your matter comes. // Definitely. —

For the New Year, however, good fortune and blessings for you and your dear family, and a happy flourishing of our research up there on the Drachenberg.

This is the heartfelt wish of

Your Emil Bächler.

(More report in a few days!)

* * *

1918

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 9 January 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Your kind New Year's letter (not preserved!) has given me the most heartfelt pleasure, and I thank you most warmly for your friendly words. For my part I shall certainly do what I can, and I hope, as you do, that we shall bring the whole to a good end and remain true to each other.

I could now set my lecture for Sunday, 27 January in Vättis. I would then come to Vättis already on the Saturday. Can you procure the apparatus from Pfäfers? Getting it from here costs far too much. If it cannot be managed, we shall in the end do without the // slides, which would admittedly be a pity. But in an emergency that would work too. The man who operates the apparatus should, however, understand something about electric current, or perhaps a special electrician — I have been made wiser by experience. A number of alpine flowers in between would still be nice, and a few Wildkirchli images.

So please, direct the matter! Hopefully the weather will be good, so that one can at least reach Vättis without danger. I would of course still telephone beforehand to make sure of everything. From the 27th and thereafter I cannot easily get away — not until spring in any case. In March and April it would probably be dangerous.

Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, with your dear loved ones, the warmest greetings

Your faithful E. Bächler
(Häberlin to Nigg) Pfäfers, 15 January 1918

Esteemed Mr. Teacher!

For your kind invitation to Dr. Bächler's lecture I thank you most kindly. Whenever possible I shall be glad to attend. We are happy to place the projector at your disposal for such a purpose. If Dr. Bächler's projection slides are of the standard format (8½ × 10), I would recommend you the smaller apparatus with Nernst lamp, which in a room of not too great dimensions gives very bright and fine images. For the Tamina hall, for example, or for a schoolroom, it would be perfectly adequate. It has the advantage of being connectable to any ordinary wall socket, whereas for our large apparatus with arc lamp you would have to install a special connection. We have this apparatus on a special socket (25 amperes). It can also be used for larger images.

With respectful greetings

Dr. Häberlin
St. Gallen, 18 January 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

A stroke has been drawn through my lecture programme by the "Kamor" Rheineck section, which can only have the Alpine flora lecture on 27 January because of the hall. Consequently I must willy-nilly postpone the lecture in Vättis to 3 February. I cannot on the 10th, as this year I have my 50th birthday precisely on Carnival Sunday! — and on that day I belong at home and with the family. The following Sundays are taken up for me by Glarus (Tödi section) — all about alpine flowers. Should the 3rd of February not be feasible from Vättis's side, I must postpone the lecture to the spring — I shall come without fail before the start of our work. If only the war were over and there were breathing room!

Please give me a report of how things stand and how it can be arranged. Hopefully you and your loved ones are well. I am still buried in a solid pile of work.

Accept with your dear loved ones the warmest greetings

Your faithful and friendly devoted Emil Bächler
St. Gallen, 28 January 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

For your kind communications (not preserved!) accept my warmest thanks! Your arrangements are good in every respect, especially the various invitations. One cannot do too much there. I would thus arrive in Ragaz at 2 o'clock on the Saturday and go straight up to Pfäfers (Adler) (cable car). — And then by post coach, if one runs, since the glass slides are rather heavy, to Vättis and spend the night there. — If only the weather holds. — Should it become really bad, you would telephone me on Saturday morning by 10 o'clock at the Natural History Museum (Telephone 802), as I depart from here at 11 o'clock. —

As for the apparatus, I think we can manage well with the smaller one (with Nernst lamp). I would then simply leave out the 9 × 12 slides, as the majority are 8½ × 12 cm. I shall still inform Dr. Häberlin personally on this. — So have the apparatus brought to Vättis by Saturday evening, or earlier. —

Do you have someone who can operate the apparatus? Inserting the slides, regulating the lamp, etc.? That is after all the main thing. The man will of course be compensated. —

We must of course also // have the canvas (projection screen) from Pfäfers; without one it is impossible. —

We can of course set the lecture for Saturday afternoon, provided the hall can be made completely dark. For if it is not well darkened, with the shutters closed, then the images will be poor. —

Of course I am glad to present something to the pupils on Saturday evening, but we need a good hour for that. For even for children only the best is good enough.

Is there already someone there on Saturday who can operate the apparatus? — In that case I would need to leave here as early as 6.32 in the morning so as to arrive in Vättis in good time. A trial run with the slides should be done first. —

I shall naturally not drag along any original material; we will show that separately from the new finds at the back in the summer, to the grown-ups and the children.

So arrange the matter as you see fit; I adapt entirely to circumstances. —

I look forward greatly to providing enlightenment, which can only benefit us and the whole enterprise.

Accept the warmest greetings with your dear loved ones from yours

Emil Bächler

Very probably I shall depart this morning at 6.32 after all, so as to be in Vättis in good time. //
I have also just written to Dr. Häberlin, also regarding an apparatus operator whom he could send from Pfäfers to Vättis.

DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 6 February 1918 (D V/6 2, 41–43)

Inspection tour to the Drachenloch (accompanied by game warden Vogler).

Weather: somewhat Foehn-like, sky mostly overcast.

Departure from Vättis 6.30 in the morning.
Patina: 8 o'clock.
Gelbberg hut: 10 o'clock.
Ascent to the cave: 11.15.
Arrival at the cave: 12.20.

Snow conditions very favourable: snow bearing. Cave closure intact, as is the prohibition sign in front of the entrance. Massive, level snow cornice before the cave entrance and at the cooking spot. Behind the closure a little wind-blown snow; otherwise cave I completely free of snow; ice formation very slight. Only on the floor at // a few spots a little ice formation, but negligible; on the left (south-western) cave wall some smaller icicles, and in the niche (on the right at the back toward the dome), where water always trickles in summer, a little ice formation. Otherwise cave floor in cave I very dry. — In the passage, on the ceiling, magnificent leafy ice crystals. Sections completely intact, dry. Cave II: quite dry, without ice formation.

Cave III: somewhat more moist; at one spot water drips.— Too damp for bear hibernation! — Here we discovered on the ceiling and walls all manner of initials, and at one spot also the year 1766. // The more rearward sections (H IV–H VI) we did not visit. The temperature difference between the inner and outer parts perceptible without further ado.

I have moreover carefully measured the temperatures at various points. Results:
Temperature outside the cave: −1.6°C
Cave I, outer section: −1.2°C
"before the passage: −0.6°C
"dome: −0.4°C
Cave II: +1.8°C
Cave III, front and rear: +2.6°C
before the alpine hut, 3.30 in the afternoon: −0.4°C

A further inspection tour is planned, conditions permitting, for the end of March and also in April.

St. Gallen, 23 May 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I have irresponsibly long kept you waiting for a decision regarding the resumption of our further work at the Drachenloch. Please do not be angry with me for this. — But my burden of work is so great and terribly absorbing that I have not even managed to work through the finds from last year. A series of expert opinions that have become very extensive through series of microscopic examinations and biological experiments; lectures at the business school; completion of manuscripts; a new expert opinion on the mosquito calamity at the municipal sewage plant, which still requires several weeks of the most delicate kind of investigation — all of this has completely filled my time. So it comes about that before the month of August I cannot think of going to the Drachenloch. — Then these times, when it is even more difficult than last year to obtain provisions. I kept hoping that the wretched world war would come to an end this spring yet. During the war the matter comes at a very high cost. I genuinely ask myself: would it not be better after all to wait with the further work until somewhat normal conditions are established in the world, and one can work without greater misgivings. At the moment it is also difficult to put the whole on a solid material footing; whenever I try, they always cite the world war and indicate that after the end of the world calamity the funds will flow so that we can then finish in one go and without further interruptions.— An impressive document of the times! The perseverance, tenacity, and enthusiasm that distinguished these pioneers of alpine archaeology like Nigg is certain; he will certainly have resisted Bächler's proposal (see below) of an interruption to the excavations in 1918 to the very core of his being!

What do you think of this matter? — Above all, first your account — i.e. what you are owed — must be settled, for without that I would not have a single spade set in motion. — Generally I would first and foremost like to have the financial side of the entire excavation put in order, so that we can work without anxiety and with pleasure. —

I shall shortly enquire of the authority as to its definitive position regarding possible further work at the Drachenloch in 1918; the main difficulty is precisely the costly provisioning question, which increases the costs for the whole so greatly that it may perhaps after all be better if we wait for the end of the war. The matter will not escape us, and the raising of the greater funds will then cause me no more worry. — If conditions regarding the war improve quickly, we could still make use of a month in this year. //

As for our dear Abraham Bonderer (Fig. 36, p. 62), I would under all circumstances like to have him with us again. Must he commit himself permanently if he carries out other work before August? A definitive decision regarding the continuation of work at the Drachenloch I must leave to the museum's administrative authority.

I would now like to hear your frank opinion on the whole matter. Before the public we have the understandable excuse of the difficult, expensive times — that we do not wish to pay too dearly for the pipe and are simply waiting for the end of the war, in order then to devote ourselves all the more eagerly to this research. —

This summer my wife and I have also become farmers, tilling 200 square metres of field; now one must get up at 4 o'clock in the morning every now and then — as for example today. But things are going splendidly and we take great pleasure in it.

Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, my and my dear wife's best greetings.

I am always your faithful Emil Bächler
St. Gallen, 3 August 1918

Mr. Teacher Theophil Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I can give you the joyful news that the administrative council of the local civic community of St. Gallen, in fulfilment of what I already wrote to you concerning the Drachenloch, has approved for this year still a credit of 1,500 Francs for the excavations up there. Mr. S a u r e r in Arbon will also again donate 500 Fr. We can therefore regard the entire research up there as secured from now on, as the council will make the funds available for the following years according to my budget. — Let us therefore rejoice in the good outcome in all quietude. If you are asked who is paying, simply answer: The administrative council of the city of St. Gallen — full stop.

Unfortunately I am still unwell since the influenza and extraordinarily tired — above all not yet capable of climbing. Fortunately the Swiss Alpine Club's Swiss Week is also cancelled because of the influenza danger; they have written to me from Ragaz. The young people too have postponed. So this year we shall still have a nice rest from the interferers.

How shall we go about it now? Before the 15th of this month I can hardly get away from here. I must still take care of myself. But you could begin up there, and I think you could, until I come, take on cave II from where you left off last year. When I then come, we will work from the outermost cave from the current section cut into the dome — i.e. into the rearmost part of the front, lit cave — as I expect fine finds there. — In cave II simply leave one wall side of the section standing for control; if you like, on one side or the other or one side piece entirely, the other halfway or a quarter of the way. You will see how to make best progress. —

Can Abraham Bonderer come again? That would be very good. And can you get the rations? Hopefully August and September will still turn out well.

I am glad to hear your reply and am with the warmest greetings to you all from our house, especially from your faithful

E. Bächler

P.S.: Of Mr. Saurer you will say nothing — he does not wish it. For the moment Mr. Kaiser — a relative of Mr. Saurer — is in Vättis. Mr. Kaiser, to whom please convey my best regards, will probably want to go up sometime. Mr. Kaiser is a capable expert on the Sinai, a naturalist, a lion hunter, and a pleasant man. — But you should not react to secrets. —
St. Gallen, 10 August 1918

Mr. Teacher Th. N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Both your letters of 4 and 5 August are in my possession.(not preserved!) Best thanks! Would you kindly set the preparatory work in motion. — Begin in cave II. Abraham should repair the path. If you can see to provisions as far as possible, that is very good. Here in the city things are desperate for obtaining provisions. The purchase of a sheep would be ideal, if one can be had. The money for it is there. —

I am sending you today by mandate 400 Francs for the start. Regarding tinned meat I shall still make enquiries. I am working on the museum's annual report, which must be finished before I come there. — Unfortunately my condition is not yet rosy; the catarrh will not go away and at night I still cannot sleep properly. The influenza got a strong grip on me and I was exhausted in body and mind. But what a year it was. —

This year we want to make only the most necessary acquisitions in tools — these, however, without restriction. The Tril we want to leave as it is this year. Fortunately we are now secured for better times, and will then finish the work with pleasure and energy.

Will you let me know whether three men are to be insured against accidents again this year? I would see to it in the course of next week.

As things stand today, I cannot appear before 18 August — I must still recover and rid myself of the terrible fatigue and the catarrh.

The cashbook and a cave book I shall also send to you today. — The receipts for your accounts I have kept here. The bill from Simon Kohler, smith, I shall settle from here.

With warmest greetings from house to house I am your faithful

E. Bächler

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Monday and Tuesday, 19 and 20 August 1918 (Cave diary for 1918, start of work 19 August — end 30 September, D V/6 4, 3)

Abraham devotes these two days to the most necessary improvements to the path, mainly below Patina and at the Krächeli.


Wednesday and Thursday, 21 and 22 August 1918 (D V/6 4, 3)

Abraham occupied with transport of materials (provisions, carbide, tools) to the hut. Then wood-cutting.

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 21 August 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I thank you for the last kind report.(not preserved!) It is good that the path up to the Drachenloch is improved first and foremost, so that I can at least get up. For unfortunately I am not yet so restored that I can safely endure longer tours. The confounded influenza has still completely checkmated me and I shall not provoke the danger of a possible lung infection. In any case I could not go up with a rucksack; I must have it carried up, and I must take things very gently and must absolutely not expose myself to any chills. If at all possible and my condition allows, I shall come to Vättis on next Sunday by post coach. Should I not come, I would inform you by report, by telegram or telephone via the Tamina. —

You will agree with me if we give Abraham one Franc more daily wage. The scale will also benefit you at the general accounting for the 1917 and 1918 campaigns, which we can now well take together, if you agree. The credit is now arranged. —

I would be very grateful to you if you would not yet take on the "dome" — or at most only from the side — as the sections there must be taken absolutely precisely. I understand that like me you are itching with curiosity. But we want to do this in all calm, especially when there are no more hares-in-the-field — i.e. day-trippers — around. Then we shall be all the more pleased. —

Addio and till our happy reunion

Your faithful E. Bächler

Do you perhaps have a carpet underlay and a covering carpet for me on the hay?

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Saturday, 24 August 1918 (D V/6 4, 3–4)

Ascent with Abraham to the cave. Everything is intact, the sections too. The cave is, despite the past dry weather, strikingly moist — especially in the excavated passage. At the entrance to the latter, in the depth where the blocks stand, there is even a thick ice crust covering the excavated cave floor. It is at the same spot where last year too we struck ice. Since no water flows in the cave, we cannot operate the large lamp. //

In the front part of the hut, fox (?) tracks are observed — they have thus climbed over the closure. Descent at 5 o'clock in the evening.

St. Gallen, 25 August 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I was already ready to travel. Then three urgent matters intervene that I absolutely must still attend to. As the telegram informs you, I shall come to Vättis on Wednesday evening. It would suit me if someone could carry my rucksack to Gelbberg for me on Thursday morning early, as I must be unencumbered.

With warm greetings

Your E. Bächler.

DIARY NIGG

Monday, 26 August 1918 (D V/6 3, 2)

Ascent from Vättis to begin work.

To our surprise we find the pot placed under the water fissure in the cave on Saturday empty — despite the heavy thunderstorm rain that had fallen on Saturday having almost caused flooding in the valley. So the precipitation on the Drachenberg appears to have been considerably less than in the surrounding area. — Since we must now fetch the water, which takes over an hour, we forgo operating the lamp for the rest of the afternoon. We use the time to construct a better cooking spot in front of the cave and fabricate a table and bench from the boards of the enclosure. Descent to the hut at 6 o'clock in the evening.

Weather: changeable; afternoon: fog drifting, hailstorm.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Tuesday, 27 August 1918 (D V/6 4, 5)

Start of excavations at m 5–6 AB — Note the difference: at the end of the 1917 excavation campaign one was last working at AB 5–6 — i.e. at section metre 5 in the 1st section of H II (= AB). Now the move was from section metre 5 to section metre 6. This section metre — including the additional "corner segment" produced by the reorientation of the cave axis! — cf. cave floor plan, Fig. 33, p. 60 — can also be counted as part of the 2nd section of H II (= BC), and therefore designated as "BC 0–1"! — For the division of H II into 2 sections, see in addition to the floor plan in Fig. 33: Figs. 29 and 30, p. 50, and Fig. 43, p. 83. In Fig. 43 one can recognise the natural "constriction" of H II: the 1st section (= "passage") has a lower, more even ceiling; the second, a high, dome-like one — cf. Figs. 29 and 30!
1st m r, uppermost layer
10–20 cm thick, few finds, earth dry, crumbly.
1st m l: as on the right, finds more sparse.
2nd m l: finds more numerous, fragmented bones, much and coarse rubble. Earth as above.
2nd layer: earth crumbly to approximately cohesive; in part at the walls weakly calcified; layer approximately 20–30 cm thick.
1st m r: finds increase. Fracture surfaces of bones sharp-edged, cross-breaks and longitudinal breaks; occasionally slightly blackened bones.
1st m l: finds somewhat more sparse; otherwise all as at 1st m r.

In the course of the afternoon, owing to somewhat insufficient filling, the lamp goes out and we are obliged willy-nilly to stop.

Weather: morning fog, rain, raw; afternoon clearing.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Wednesday, 28 August 1918 (D V/6 4, 6–7)

Continuation of work at AB 5–6 (imprecise for m 6 AB = BC 0–1!).
2nd layer
2nd m l.approximately 50 cm (below the recent surface) fibula, suspicious of being an artefact; bones partly blackened. — Long bones mostly sharp-edged cross-breaks, partly also longitudinally split (phenomena as in the first metres of the passage — see above!) — earth reddish-brown, little rubble.
3rd layer
2nd m l: earth strongly interspersed with partly coarse rubble pieces; many bone-jaws (= jaw fragments).
1st m l: here again individual bones with more or less smooth, oblique fracture surfaces (= flute-beak fractures!); otherwise as at 2nd m l, only somewhat fewer finds. Occasionally bones more firmly cemented to the earth.

The lamp fails again, despite having been completely filled with carbide. We descend — after having searched in vain on the western side // of the Gelbberg for a closer water source — to the hut. At approximately 5 o'clock descent to Vättis, as this evening Mr. Bächler is coming and we must moreover still fetch various materials, provisions, etc., from there.

Weather: fine, Foehn-like.


DIARY NIGG

Thursday to Sunday, 29–31 August and 1 September 1918 (D V/6 3, 5–8)

Thurs: Abraham goes alone to Gelbberg, where he occupies himself with clearing rubble out of cave I and with wood-cutting.

Mr. Bächler waits here (in Vättis) for better weather before ascending. I stay here too.

Fri: Since the weather is still bad, we cannot ascend today either. Abraham is busy up there as yesterday.

Sat: Abraham continues working up there. Since for the moment there is no prospect of improvement in the current raw weather, Mr. Bächler travels back to St. Gallen.

Sun: The weather improves; we therefore ascend to the hut in the afternoon.

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Monday, 2 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 9–10)

Construction of the new sorting table.

AB 5–6 (= BC 0–1)
3rd layer, 1st m r: partly blackened bones; otherwise as on the left.
4th layer, 1st m r: much rubble, in part coarse stone slabs, ceiling collapse. Under the receding right cave wall the rubble lies very dry, so that hollow spaces are encountered everywhere. Finds not particularly numerous — individual pieces suspicious as artefacts.
1st m l: somewhat less rubble and somewhat more finds; the find pieces consist for the most part only of bone fragments. Individual traces of charcoal or rotted wood.
2nd m l:finds likewise somewhat more numerous, but by far not as // frequent as in the first metres of the passage, where regular bone deposits followed one after another — see above! Likewise much coarse rubble; bones for the most part only as fragments.

Weather: foggy, damp-cold; in the afternoon in the front cave it begins to drip from the water fissure.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Tuesday, 3 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 10–14)

AB 5–6 (= BC 0–1)
4th layer
1st m r: nothing particular, much rubble.
5th layer
1st m l: few finds; the loam bank uneven, undulating — as already further forward in the passage.
2nd and 3rd m l: very much and in part coarse rubble, ceiling collapse — especially toward the 3rd m, of which only approximately 10–15 cm is broken into // — then follows the laterally retreating cave wall; bird and rodent bones, especially in the loose rubble at the cave wall.
1st m r: sparse finds; under the receding cave wall a hollow space with large slabs.

Taking of section AB m 6 (= BC m 1, start of the 2nd section metre in BC, thus before the work in BC 1–2! — Fig. 64, p. 135.)

Fig. 64, Cross-section sketch BC 1, Nigg — D V/6 4, 13, redrawn by Toni Nigg.
Fig. 64, Cross-section sketch BC 1, Nigg — D V/6 4, 13, redrawn by Toni Nigg.

General remarks on m 5–6 (BC 0–1)
As already noted, the finds fall short of expectations in terms of number and variety. Here the position at the entrance to cave II seems to be a factor (here Nigg does not count the section AB with its 5 or 6 section metres as part of the "passage" leading into cave II, which for him begins only at point B! — s. Fig. 33, p. 60); for the cave entrance (at point B) was neither the appropriate spot for man to pile up the remains of meals (as in the first section metres of the passage — especially under the left, receding cave wall — see above!), nor was this the suitable place for the bears to take their last sleep (i.e. winter sleep; H III was also ruled out because of the moisture that occurs even in winter! — see below.)

Striking is the occurrence of bones — without exception of the same kind — that arouse the suspicion of being tools of cave-dwelling man; tools that were perhaps used for only a short time and then, being imperfect, thrown aside.
In the section the typical downward curvature of the layers is visible in the passage, particularly clearly recognisable in layer III. The bones in this section were, especially where they came almost or entirely to the surface, very crumbly: the effect of weathering in the course of the past winter. //

Continuation of work at BC
BC m 1–2
1st layer: earth dry, reddish-brown. The layer designated as first in section AB 6 (BC 1) turns out no longer to be undisturbed, as already last year the rubble excavated at (BC) m 2–3 was deposited on this section (1–2). The uppermost layer (1) is consequently found strongly compressed and mixed with rubble from 2–3, despite the latter having at the time been deposited on paper and first carefully removed. This uppermost layer has therefore been excavated together with the 2nd layer.
1st m l: The finds are more numerous than in section AB 5–6 (BC 0–1); it seems that this, as entrance to cave II, contained few finds.

Jos. Kohler brings tools, etc. from Vättis (report carried down because of carbide).


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Wednesday, 4 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 15–16)

BC m 1–2.
1st layer
2nd m l: as 1st m. — s. find objects in Figs. 65 and 66, pp. 135–37.

Fig. 65 a, Skull fragment of a young bear with cut marks.
Fig. 65 a, Skull fragment of a young bear with cut marks.
Fig. 65 b, Detail of (a) with clear cut marks from defleshing!
Fig. 65 b, Detail of (a) with clear cut marks from defleshing!

Fig. 66 a, Skull fragment of a young bear with burn and cut marks.
Fig. 66 a, Skull fragment of a young bear with burn and cut marks.
Fig. 66 b, Detail of (a) with cut marks and burn/heat traces!
Fig. 66 b, Detail of (a) with cut marks and burn/heat traces!

1st m r. In the upper part of the layer occasionally smaller teeth. Bear remains better preserved than in the previous section.
2nd m r. (only partially more)
Earth dry, wall-grey, very sharply separated from the 2nd, intensely red layer. A fair amount of rubble, especially along the cave wall.
2nd layer (designated as III in the section — s. Fig. 64, p. 135!)
In light: strongly brownish-red; in the open air dark-brown-red-coloured earth; cohesive, fairly moist, adhering to bones, to the sorting table, and to the sorting sticks.
1st m left:A whole number of bones suspicious as tools come to light. The layer // is also sharply separated from the one below it.

Jos. Kohler brings the carbide from Vättis at midday.

Weather: fine, strong Foehn; evening calm.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 5 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 16–17)

BC 1–2.
2nd layer.
1st m r: Against expectations few finds; individual ones suspicious as artefacts, mainly in the upper part of the layer. — Fig. 67, pp. 137 f.

Fig. 67 a, Canine tooth fragment with fine scratch marks and polished tooth tip!
Fig. 67 a, Canine tooth fragment with fine scratch marks and polished tooth tip!
Fig. 67 b, The same fragment, inner surface.
Fig. 67 b, The same fragment, inner surface.
Fig. 67 c, Detail of (a), surface with numerous fine scratch marks.
Fig. 67 c, Detail of (a), surface with numerous fine scratch marks.

2nd m r: More rubble; finds not particularly numerous.
3rd layer (designated as IV in the section — s. Fig. 64!)
Very rubbly, hard-compressed to calcified; earth more lightly coloured. // Toward the depth a certain change reveals itself in the digging: the earth becomes softer; the rubble seems to decrease. It will emerge on continuing the work whether the layer designated as III in section AB 6 (BC 1) consists of two different layers. If this is the case — it was the case, s. Fig. 64! — a 4th layer will be inserted. It may however also be a matter of the dark smear entered in the section, and below it (as indicated in section 6) the upper layer would possibly continue. It will also emerge in the digging whether this dark smear is absent in the 1st m right.(see section)
1st m left:The finds increase (Figs. 68 and 69, pp. 139–42); the layer is hard, in places calcified — numerous teeth and jaw fragments; I see in this a harbinger of more find-rich layers. — In the 2nd m left, which I want to leave standing as a longitudinal section, a skull appears! — s. below, p. 156 f.: Bächler 1918, 21 — and Fig. 76, pp. 149 f.

Fig. 68 a, Rib fragment from BC 1–2, 1st m left, layer III. — 5/IX/18. (see Nigg). The fracture end at upper left has the form of a bear's head — see below, (b), (c) and (d)!
Fig. 68 a, Rib fragment from BC 1–2, 1st m left, layer III. — 5/IX/18. (see Nigg). The fracture end at upper left has the form of a bear's head — see below, (b), (c) and (d)!
Fig. 68 b, Bear's-head profile (see above) with engraved eye and fine cut marks.
Fig. 68 b, Bear's-head profile (see above) with engraved eye and fine cut marks.
Fig. 68 c, As (b): the fine cut marks and the engraved eye clearly visible!
Fig. 68 c, As (b): the fine cut marks and the engraved eye clearly visible!
Fig. 68 d, The same rib fragment as (a), with the inner surface of the fracture at upper left.
Fig. 68 d, The same rib fragment as (a), with the inner surface of the fracture at upper left.
Fig. 69 a, Canine tooth fragment with polished enamel and fine scratch marks.
Fig. 69 a, Canine tooth fragment with polished enamel and fine scratch marks.
Fig. 69 b, The same, inner surface.
Fig. 69 b, The same, inner surface.

Weather: fine, mild; midday fairly strong west wind; toward evening cooler.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Friday, 6 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 18–19)

BC 1–2.
3rd layer
Continuation at m 1 left.
It turns out that this layer does consist of two (s. above, sketch, Fig. 64!); whereas the upper part of the layer (approximately 35 cm thick) shows the properties already mentioned (very rubbly, with fairly numerous finds), the lower part (the lower 15–20 cm) is considerably less rubbly. The finds are sorted and those from the upper part packed separately. Striking here is the large number of bones of the same kind. The skeletal remains here seem by far no longer as strongly scattered and thrown together as in the sections of the passage.

It is possible that cave II may reveal itself as the death chamber of the cave bears, while the passage // may be regarded more as the kitchen and refuse pit of cave-dwelling man.(H II can be designated as the death chamber of the cave bears insofar as their bones are indeed deposited in an orderly fashion — see below! — With certainty H II was no dying chamber for cave bears; neither will more or less complete cave bear skeletons come to light, nor will they be reconstructable from the dispersed bone material!)
Particularly striking in this layer is the mass occurrence of teeth and foot bones.

m 1 right: In order to establish whether the layer conditions also present themselves analogously to the right of the cave axis, the 3rd layer is here taken on first as well. The same conditions present themselves. The skeletal parts too are not so randomly jumbled together; bones of the same kind are found together not infrequently — for example ribs, thigh bones, teeth (numerous) — Can these signs not be interpreted to mean that there is prospect in II or III of coming upon complete skeletons? (s. above!) We work until 1 o'clock in the cave and then descend to the hut, as it had been planned to use the afternoon for wood-cutting, but the heavy rain that set in already in the morning upset the plan. Tomorrow Abraham must fetch the whey from the alp; we will descend to Vättis toward evening.

Because of completely poor weather the work remains suspended in the week of 8–15 September.

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 6 September 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

It was good that I went home, as the catarrh persisted stubbornly for several more days. Barely back here, there was already a pile of urgent work, and so because of two commission meetings taking place on Monday I can only come to Vättis again next Wednesday evening — but then stay for a while. On Thursday morning I would thus ascend to the heights. —

A porter for the rucksack I shall probably bring. — The blackberries have just arrived here; warmest thanks // to your very esteemed wife from all of us, along with the best greetings.

I am always your faithful

Emil Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 7 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 20)

Hunter R. transports the trough to the cave.


Sunday, 8 September 1918

Weekly accounts with Abraham:

Daily wage 5 days à 8 Fr. 40.– Fr.
1 kg butter 7.50 Fr.
Potatoes 1.80 Fr.
for spices and meat 1.– Fr.
Travel allowance 10.– Fr.

———
= 60.30 Fr.
St. Gallen, 12 September 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

On Wednesday I already intended to travel up again — then the sky wrote otherwise, and since then there has not been a single decent day with us. On top of that my catarrh simply rumbled stubbornly deep down, and every evening I still had a raised temperature. I absolutely could not take any risk, as the number of relapses with death is unfortunately not too small. So yesterday the doyen of the St. Gallen botanists died — retired education councillor Theodor Schlatter, the first man to conduct botanical studies in the Calfeisen valley (in his 72nd year of life). Three weeks ago still doing well — today dead. He had wanted to assess the St. Gallen flora with me yet, after he had given up his large colonial goods business after the war. — So I too must still watch out, and it is wiser to take care than to provoke the worst.

I have always been thinking of you and Abraham up there; I hope you have avoided the bad weather and retreated at least to the Gelbberg hut, if not descended straight to the valley. Please do take good care of your and Abraham's health. What cannot be done this year can be attended to next year in a firm campaign. — We want to force nothing.

If it is fine by Monday, I shall come to Vättis so as to ascend to the cave on Tuesday — provided that everything is not // buried in snow up there. If at all possible, please telegraph me (Bächler Kleinberg 3 St. Gallen) or kindly report by Telephone 802, Museum am Brühl, whether you will be going up on Monday or not. The caretaker can bring me the report. The best is probably to telegraph! I would stay here in any case for the Federal Prayer Day yet. The work would not be lacking here.

With warmest greetings I am your faithful

Emil Bächler

Best greetings into your dear home!

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Wednesday, 18 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 20–21)

Morning ascent to the hut. Mr. Mittelholzer ascended yesterday evening in order today to take photographs in the cave on behalf of Mr. Dr. Bächler. When we arrived at the hut today, Mittelholzer had already ascended to the cave. I went to the cave as well toward midday, where // Mittelholzer photographed the dome and the section in cave II with flashlight. — Figs. 70 a/b, p. 143.

Fig. 70 a, Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 70 a, Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 70 b, Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.
Fig. 70 b, Photo: Walter Mittelholzer.

The water trough in the cave was dry; in one of the floor boards a gaping gap appeared; it must therefore still be treated with nails and putty. Fortunately we had at the time filled the lamp and the pot as a precaution. In the hut the Tril is extended by Abraham; in the afternoon we further use the time for wood transport, as the supply has been completely used up. Mr. Mittelholzer descends to Vättis in the early afternoon. — Arnold Kressig brings the boards for the Tril and takes bones down.

Weather: Foehn-like.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 19 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 21–23)

Continuation at BC m 1–2
3rd layer
1st m r: (lower part of the layer) same picture as at m 1 l.
2nd m r: toward the cave wall coarse // broken slabs.

(Our sheep, which we had wanted to keep back — after the herd was driven to the valley this morning — play a trick on us. They run away from the cave, first to the hut and then further downhill. Now it is a matter of going after the fugitives whether one likes it or not. Abraham takes on the chase. I sort through the ready material, putty the still-leaking water trough, improve the badly functioning water supply of the carbide lamp as best I can, and descend at 1.30 to the hut, where Abraham is just returning with the fugitives. 2 o'clock: midday meal. Afterwards an excursion into the Gelbberg valley, where we search for quartzites in the stream gully. Such are found fairly frequently. We take a few pieces along as // vouchers.) —

Wood-cutting. — Evening meal 7 o'clock in the evening. — Weather: Foehn-like, overcast, mild.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Friday, 20 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 23–25)

BC m 1–2
4th layer (lowest)
1st m l: Bones very strongly decomposed, not particularly numerous; much coarse rubble (ceiling collapse).
2nd m l: as 1st m; even more rubble.
Section taking (Remarks: Section BC 2 is incomplete, as already last year the first three layers were excavated to the right of the axis.) — s. Fig. 71, p. 144. //

Fig. 71, Cross-section sketch BC 2, Nigg D V/6 4, 24, redrawn by Toni Nigg.
Fig. 71, Cross-section sketch BC 2, Nigg D V/6 4, 24, redrawn by Toni Nigg.

BC 2–3.
1st m left, uppermost layer (I):
Earth dry, dusty; few finds.

Weather: morning strong Foehn, overcast, partly fog, rain, snowfall.


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Saturday, 21 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 25–26)

BC 2–3.
1st m left
Layer II: calcite spots; earth not very different from the surface layer, likewise dry, greyish-brown. Finds not numerous.
Layer III: Earth dark red, moist, cohesive, adheres to hands and tools. Little rubble — always small pieces, up to fist-size. Finds more numerous; increasing in number toward the bottom.

In all sections the same picture presents itself throughout regarding the frequency of finds: they increase in layer III toward the bottom, are most numerous in the upper part of layer IV, and // from here gradually become more sparse toward the depth, without however dying out entirely. Only the lowest layer (grey loam) seems to contain no more bones (find-barren layer).


DIARY NIGG

Wednesday, 25 September 1918 (D V/6 3, 20)

The unfavourable weather permits the ascent again only today (afternoon).


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 26 September 1918 (D V/6 4, 28–30)

Measuring of the dome, floor plan.— s. Fig. 72, p. 144.

Fig. 72, Floor plan of the dome, Nigg D V/6 4, 27.
Fig. 72, Floor plan of the dome, Nigg D V/6 4, 27.

Since we expect Mr. Bächler any day and he still wishes to carry out a test excavation in the dome, we make preparations for this. I first take the floor plan of the dome section (s. above). Thereupon we begin with the excavations.

Dome 0–1
2nd m left,
1st layer: black, almost dry earth; finds almost entirely absent.
2nd layer: moist, pale reddish earth with much rubble.
1st m left,
1st layer: as on the right (? — as in the 2nd m), but no finds.
2nd layer: very much and coarse rubble; bones not numerous, but still somewhat more than in the 2nd m. We do not dig deeper for the moment, but proceed to

Dome 1–2
1st m l,
1st layer: as at m 0–1. //
2nd layer: here we encounter massive broken slabs that make working deeper very difficult. There are no finds here.
2nd m l,
1st layer: no finds.
2nd layer: again nothing but heavy ceiling rubble — in part projecting parts of the pillar between passage and dome. We work no deeper here, as this is better and easier done once cave I has been excavated. In order to establish whether conditions toward the depth of the dome are not more favourable, we move to
m 2–3 and take on
1st m left:
uppermost layer, no finds.
2nd layer: nothing but rubble; we stop. //

Continuation of work at
BC 2–3, 1st m right, 4th layer:
Here both parts of the layer are taken together, as in the lower part there are heavy, upright broken slabs. Numerous finds, especially under broken slabs. It appears that several bears may have been killed here by collapsing ceiling slabs.(With high probability this catastrophe scenario is not applicable! — That limestone slabs at this spot fell from the ceiling onto bones lying underneath, which man had left there, is suggested by a thigh bone apparently broken into 2 pieces only after its "disposal"; cf. Fig. 73, pp. 145 f.! — But this could also already be here, as later more frequently in H III, a matter of slabs used by the hunter for the bone deposits!)

Fig. 73 a, Fragmented thigh bone — part 1.
Fig. 73 a, Fragmented thigh bone — part 1.
Fig. 73 b, Part 2, adjoined to part 1 — see above.
Fig. 73 b, Part 2, adjoined to part 1 — see above.
Fig. 73 c, Break of part 2.
Fig. 73 c, Break of part 2.
Fig. 73 d, Part 1 with barely visible cut marks.
Fig. 73 d, Part 1 with barely visible cut marks.


DIARY NIGG

Friday and Saturday, 27 and 28 September 1918 (D V/6 3, 23)

Mr. Dr. Bächler here. In his presence the standing longitudinal section on the left at BC is broken down and the skull visible in the section is raised (cf. photo Mittelholzer — s. Fig. 70 b, p. 143; beside the skull lay, among other things, two bone fragments evidently worked by human hand, s. Figs. 74 and 75, pp. 147 f.! — for the skull see Bächler's notes below, p. 156 f.!) — A fine piece!

Fig. 74 a, Thigh bone fragment — outer surface.
Fig. 74 a, Thigh bone fragment — outer surface.
Fig. 74 b, The same — inner surface. Length 104 mm. (worked by man!)
Fig. 74 b, The same — inner surface. Length 104 mm. (worked by man!)

Fig. 75 a, Fibula fragment.
Fig. 75 a, Fibula fragment.
Fig. 75 b, The same with sharp-edged, so-called flute-beak fracture.
Fig. 75 b, The same with sharp-edged, so-called flute-beak fracture.

On Saturday the work at this spot is continued by Abraham in order if possible to completely remove the section before the cave is closed.

Afternoon: descent to Vättis.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1918 (with page numbers)

(Page 3) Inspection of the excavations, 27 Sept. 1918.

Section in H II:
H II is three-quarters excavated; only the last quarter to the passage II into H III remains. The section is distinguished by good stratification. On the left the longitudinal section (2 m) is also very well developed and connects well with the cross-section. —
On the right the first test excavation of 1917 by Mr. Teacher Nigg — which led to the discovery of the finds — has already been struck. — s. section sketch BC 2, Fig. 71, p. 144.
The stratification is clearly discernible and, together with the finds, permits the conclusion of the following conditions:

What we are dealing with in cave II — i.e. the widening of passage I like a passage itself (meaning sections AB and the start of BC), is not a place of death of old animals or of unborn Ursus animals, but a typical deposit of hunting prey of man. This is evident from the following facts:

  1. Absence of old Ursus individuals; at best it is a matter of animals aged 8–10 years (complete skull). //(5)

  2. Foetal specimens deriving from old mothers that perished during winter are absent. Among the skulls found in 1917 and 1918 there are also males.

  3. Complete skeletons are entirely absent; the picture is that of the disorder that consistently persists in the particular selection of prey animals by man. —

  4. Strikingly large number of skulls, jaws, teeth, atlas and epistropheus vertebrae, and hand- and foot-root bones of the bear. —

  5. The great majority of finds is located along the cave walls, while in the middle of the passage and especially in cave II they are much more sparse. It is the picture of the piling up of cadaver parts of bears by man, along the walls.(As the very frequent cut marks on bones indicate, the bear prey was as a rule defleshed down to the bone; the only exception was occasionally the head!) For example no skulls were encountered in the middle of the cross-sections; on the other hand along the walls deposits of skulls and other bones — in particular also larger long bones.(In section AB, under the left rock wall — see above!) // (6)

  6. In the central passage we encounter more smaller bones and splinters. The layers in the middle are harder than at the walls, where they are often so loose that one can barely leave the sections standing. (crumbly, calcified)

  7. Quite striking is how the bones (skulls) along the cave walls are often literally covered with C 4 slabs. It gives the impression as if the cadavers (i.e. bones) had each time been covered with such stones.
    (Striking is the fact that Nigg, up to these sections, still expresses no other interpretation than that of a natural process of breakage of limestone slabs from the ceiling over the bones; it was certainly not always unambiguously recognisable whether man or nature was responsible. In the course of the coming excavation campaigns — in particular in 1920 at the exit of H II or entrance to H III — Nigg encountered such unambiguous conditions that he could interpret the slabs over the bones solely as the work of man — see below!) Large collapse blocks are found with few exceptions not in the middle of the passage.

  8. In several cases several skulls lie almost together. 27 Sept.: 2 skulls in BC (see one of them in Fig. 70 b, p. 143), almost at the left wall. With the skulls the first two cervical vertebrae atlas and epistropheus are usually present, while the following vertebrae are absent.(Bächler already encountered this phenomenon in 1917, s. p. 112!) //

(From page 7 to 15 Bächler summarises Nigg's excavation records — see above; page 17:)

Layers:
The layers are characterised by colour and nature.
Layer I: dark, almost humus-like
"II: much whiter, calcite.
"III: reddish-brown
"IV: lighter brown
"V:
"VI: white-grey loam
This loam layer was also in 1918 mostly worked through; it is however consistently to be established throughout the entire course of cave II.

In cave II a typical upper loam layer is absent.
Quite striking is the frequent occurrence of slab-like C 4 pieces along the walls, lying almost always horizontally! Very rarely on their edges. The latter, however, in the central passage. — Such slabs have never appeared in the middle (only 1 piece, but lying on its edge). //(18) These slabs give throughout the impression of having been intentionally placed one on top of the other; even after the layer collapse it is inconceivable that so many slabs could have come to lie in a horizontal position. The skull of 27 September was literally covered with slabs — especially at the front on the muzzle and over the crista (cranial crest) of the skull (s. photo Mittelholzer, Fig. 70 b, p. 143!)//
(19) The layer material is in general to be characterised as very loose. The find layers are neither strongly loamy nor calcite-cemented; rather often almost powdery, sandy, mealy, crumbly. Their working is therefore easy to accomplish.

The colours are also for the most part pronounced.

The find layers appear to form an entirely continuous sequence, without separation by barren layers.

In the distribution of finds according to layers it can be said that they generally increase slowly from I–II–III; are then most strongly represented at the bottom of III and the top of IV; but then decrease in V, and in the white-grey loam layer cease abruptly. —

We thus have here too a single occupation by Ursus spelaeus, which may be separated only by smaller layer portions. //(21)

Skull of 27 Sept. 1918. Cave II BC 1–2, 2nd m l, IV. Layer. Raising.
The skull was photographed by W. Mittelholzer in its original position in the excavation section on the morning of 18 Sept. using flashlight (Fig. 70 b, p. 143). Only the front part of the muzzle with the canine tooth and the left upper jaw had been exposed (the rear part is no longer in the picture as it was still covered with earth). The skull lay in layer IV completely horizontally upright — i.e. in a completely normal position, parallel to the rock wall, the muzzle directed forward (toward the exit or passage I). Beside and slightly above this skull lay a second hard against the rock wall, but it came to light strongly broken and, owing to its position in a draughty spot, very crumbly, blackish, and weathered. The first skull was in impeccable condition; only the left cheekbone and the incisors detached themselves during excavation (packed separately!); from the right //(23) cheekbone a small piece is broken out.— Fig. 76, pp. 149 f.

Fig. 76 a, Presumably the skull photographed in situ by W. Mittelholzer. Local museum, Vättis.
Fig. 76 a, Presumably the skull photographed in situ by W. Mittelholzer. Local museum, Vättis.
Fig. 76 b, The same from below. Display case, local museum, Vättis. At the tip of the palate, presumably the separated incisors that fell out during lifting. A piece is broken out at the right zygomatic arch! Part of the left one appears to have been reattached.
Fig. 76 b, The same from below. Display case, local museum, Vättis. At the tip of the palate, presumably the separated incisors that fell out during lifting. A piece is broken out at the right zygomatic arch! Part of the left one appears to have been reattached.

Behind the skull the atlas and the epistropheus almost adjoined it (s. above); after the latter followed a lumbar vertebra belonging to another skeleton. After that the epistropheus of a younger bear.
The lower jaw belonging to this fine animal is absent; a right half of a lower jaw lay further forward — but it probably belongs to another animal.
Over the muzzle at the front lay 1 humerus, and furthermore the muzzle section of skull II!
Under skull 1 lay a femur with broken-off head.
Over the skull was found a sacrum of a younger specimen.

The individual find pieces were all collected separately, in order to form a picture of their stratigraphic coherence.(Among them the bone fragments in Figs. 74 and 75, pp. 147 f.!)

We are dealing at this spot with a typical refuse site of bear generations, which man had chosen at a suitable spot. //(25) — It is no last resting place for old bears who came to the end of their days here. —

The most striking thing apart from this assemblage of finds is the circumstance that here a larger number of horizontal Seewerkalk slabs had lain over the finds. The situation is such that it can be concluded without error that the relevant skeletal parts had each time been covered by man with such slabs. —

This statement by Bächler refutes all doubts about the artificial positioning of the slabs over, under, and partly around the bones — especially the cave bear skulls — that were later expressed from afar by Koby (s. appendix) and other critics! Bächler here — as his formulation makes clear — is fully aware of the problematic nature of the question, but is "without error" convinced that man is responsible!

This operation very probably took place for reasons of cleanliness — to avoid being exposed to the smell of putrefaction. — The cave bear bones of the Drachenloch were, judging by their condition and the traces on their surface, in the majority defleshed! Nevertheless the covering and surrounding of the bones with slabs will probably have been a matter of "better disposal" — s. Prologue!


DIARY NIGG

Monday, 30 September 1918 (D V/6 3, 24)

Ascent to conclude the work and bar the cave entrance.

Section BC 2–3 is dug down as far as time allows (to layer 4). We discover here yet a hemispherical piece of ore. — The 4th layer cannot be tackled any more, as time is pressing. We dismantle the sorting table, dining table, etc. and construct the closure. It is just the right weather for it: fog and drifting snow. At half past 4 in the evening everything is in order; we descend quickly to the hut and after half an hour into the valley. Fresh snow already lies as we take our leave for this year, laden with materials. — Until we meet again in the summer of 1919! —

St. Gallen, 2 November 1918

Mr. Teacher Nigg, Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Both your letters of 3 and 26 October (not preserved!) I received during the holiday to which I have now at long last, at long last come. And how much good they did me! That was at least once the rest so long necessary. I have indeed recovered quite gratifyingly — though I must still take care of my health. —

Last Sunday we accompanied the good innkeeper of the Äscher, Franz Dörig, to his grave — him whom I was able to visit twice during the holiday from the Hirschberg. He could not be saved. At his graveside I expressed the well-deserved thanks for his faithfulness to me and to the work at the Wildkirchli. —

Today I am sending you by mandate the sum of Fr. 150.—, with which you are now to settle the remaining outstanding bills. If it comes to more, just let me know.

And now the main thing: what you are personally owed for your work for 1917 and 1918! — Please check over my estimate now, and tell me openly and without restraint whether you can agree with it or not, and also put forward your own proposals. I have in this regard consulted with Mr. President Gsell yesterday.

We propose to you a daily allowance of Fr. 12.— (thus without board, which is already accounted for in the bills).

According to my calculation the following would accrue to you:
1917 = 43 days at the Drachenloch

= 20 days in Vättis (cleaning the finds)
1918 = 20 days at the Drachenloch
sum = 83 days à 12.— = Fr. 996.—
less: balance from 1917 = Fr. 216.41

remainder Fr. 779.59


————

If you find the compensation too small, tell me quite openly. We will not go below Fr. 12.—, as a matter of principle.

The crates for the finds now to follow I shall dispatch to you in the coming days. — I would be very grateful to you if you could send me the most recent bear skull, very well packed, separately. Alongside it perhaps // the reported piece of iron ore, which interests me greatly.

In the matter of " N."you can depend absolutely on my standing on your side. I intend to alert Mr. Maurer in this regard. —

If you can send me the accounts for 1918 with the receipts soon, I am very grateful to you. I must then close the books. —

Regarding influenza — Prophylaxis: keep warm; at the first sign of unease go straight to bed, wrap up well, induce sweating by drinking tea; with a fever call the doctor. After the fever has broken, stay in bed for at least a further 3–4 days (do not get up too early!); then still spend several days more in a warm room, in general do not go out too soon, protect against every chill.

Accept the kindest greetings into your dear home from me and my loved ones!

Your ever faithful

E. Bächler

Do you wish the compensation for your work addressed to Vättis, or somewhere else, so that the post tells nothing away?
Please kindly report soon.
The Fr. 150.— go off today by mandate at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Saturday.
Private!

St. Gallen, 6 November 1918

Mr. Teacher Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Accept my warm thanks for your kind letter of the day before yesterday (not preserved!), from which I gather that you can agree with the proposal made to you. It goes entirely without saying that such work is decently remunerated — for no one has ever been fed by the merely ideal alone. And as long as millionaires let themselves be compensated for a stroke of the pen, we have no cause to be embarrassed when we too wish to have something "tangible" in hand for work of this kind. — So, as Scheffel nicely puts it: "Pocket it and thank them politely." You understand the sense correctly. —

I shall now immediately undertake the calculation of your account balance. Next Tuesday the matter comes before the full administrative council. As for dispatching the sum, it is after all somewhat risky to send it to you by registered letter. Were it to be lost, the post compensates only 150 Francs. I do think that it would be best to transfer the sum to the bank in Ragaz to your account at the local savings bank here. The bank has a duty of confidentiality after all. Or to your address poste restante Ragaz, with notification to you of when the sum has gone off from here to you, so that you can collect it there and dispose of it at your own discretion. — The people in Ragaz do not know what the money is for. In Vättis it would be more likely to be gossiped about. Please write to me yet how you definitively wish it. —

Good that the lousy influenza has spared you and your loved ones. One more thing in addition to the prophylaxis already mentioned: Have no fear — but be bold: it must not catch us! —

Accept my warmest greetings into your dear home from your faithful

E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 9 November 1918

Mr. Teacher N i g g in Vättis

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Best thanks for your communications (not preserved!). Scruples — that would be the last thing, when one has earned something in the most honest fashion imaginable and has indeed earned even more. The matter does not go into the newspapers or into any public report. —

You will receive the sum in the course of next week credited to your account at the bank in Ragaz, transferred directly by the cashier's office of the local civic community or through Mr. President Gsell, and notification will be sent to you in Vättis by the administrative council's office. You will then send the receipt directly to Mr. President Gsell. I would advise you to enclose a very brief letter of thanks to him, in which you perhaps also emphasise that the research gives you great pleasure and that you are glad to continue to be at its service in future. Mr. President Gsell holds you in great favour. That means something and is very important for our continued work.

To Mr. Director Maurer in Zurich I wrote three days ago, so that he is now informed. In the general interest I have requested the most rapid possible relocation of the thermo-psychrometer box away from the side of "Neumann" 's and enclosed a sketch for him. I have sufficiently characterised the individual and also said that I have not encountered "N." even once during the readings in Vättis, and recommended a certain monitoring of the meteorological data. —

Yesterday our new find crate went off to you by express to Ragaz station. Further crates to follow. The old crates from last year I am keeping here, unless you claim them.

We are now diligently working on the Drachenloch finds, which are now all registered and sorted. Now it is a matter of the osteometric measurements, which have also begun. There are already quite interesting findings. —

In a number of skull fragments there is in each case an indented hole above the eye (see e.g. Figs. 50 c, p. 91 and 51 b, p. 92) — and so we know how they went about it with the bears.(A killing at close quarters is unlikely; it would only come into consideration during hibernation — for which the Drachenloch, as stated, was unsuitable for bears because of its altitude and nature; and equally a hunting operation during winter on these snow-covered, avalanche-threatened steep slopes below the Drachenloch is unthinkable! — cf. Fig. 1, p. 5. — The holes may derive from man, but were created only after the defleshing.)

Accept you and your loved ones the warmest greetings

Your faithful Emil Bächler

The photographs by Mr. Mittelholzer are splendid!
St. Gallen, 25 November 1918

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg in Vättis.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

A few days ago I received the small crate with the Ursus skull in the best condition. I thank you most kindly for its dispatch; likewise my dear wife and I express our most heartfelt thanks for the splendid Vättis pears, which we have already tasted. I am very glad now that your account balance from the Drachenloch has been settled, so that I can continue working up there with a clear conscience. That the war would come to such an end, we and many others could barely have imagined; the main thing for us is if we can continue our research undisturbed next year — for which every prospect exists. —

With the washing of the bones you need not by any means hurry; on the other hand I would be grateful to you if you could send me the parts still missing from the dispatched skull (right cheekbone — incisors and others) that we set aside separately, so that we can finally put the piece together and reconstruct it. — My present assistant, who has been definitively engaged as a scientific apprentice with me for 2 years, is excellent in every respect — particularly also in modelling and reconstructing. I can now devote myself impeccably to strict science and especially to publications. — Regarding your employment on the side during the winter, I have already saved up various things for you and shall still report to you about it. —

Why nothing is happening from Zurich in the matter of "N." is inexplicable to me — I shall write again today. —

The cave up there will thus be barred again and only the snow voles its living inhabitants. —

I wish you and your loved ones the best of health and a very good winter. I myself am now doing well again; the confounded fatigue is slowly leaving me, and I am working again with pleasure and success. This winter I am limiting my lectures to the smallest possible minimum. —

I am always your faithful

E. Bächler

Letter to Mr. President Gsell is good and perfectly sufficient!
Best thanks for your copy.
St. Gallen, 28 November 1918

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Best thanks for the kind dispatch of the cashbook accounts. I am glad that I can now close the matter. —

Regarding the meteorological station, I would like to draw your attention — following a letter I have received from Mr. Director Maurer — to the fact that the dispute weighs very heavily on Mr. Maurer, as he is an extremely refined man. He complains to me directly that this is the only station in 50 years that has brought such unpleasantnesses. — I can now assure you that Mr. Director Maurer has taken steps to have the thermometer removed as quickly as possible, or moved to another location. — On account of my relationship with Mr. Maurer, who has repeatedly assisted me most effectively in my meteorological studies at the Wildkirchli, I would ask you nonetheless to still have patience and not remove the instrument yourself, because it is federal property, and removal by others could easily provoke a property claim by the federation, which can always have unpleasant consequences. — I would like to protect you from harm there, and from the malicious satisfaction of Mr. "N." The latter's qualification as an observer is described by the directorate as very good. In the event of the removal of the instrument and interruption of the observations — which " N."would of course use as a welcome argument against you — the responsibility would fall on you. That could become a nasty business. — So be on your guard that it is not you who comes to harm. — "Neumann" has received the instruction to move the instrument! You see — now he is waiting solely for you to do something to it, so that he can catch you. And he would get his way, most certainly. —

I give you the following good advice: notify Mr. Maurer briefly and quite calmly every fortnight that the instrument is still there; it will then emerge whether he can present a front against the directorate for not complying with the instructions. We must see to it that he comes a cropper — not you. — I have written all this to you in complete candour. You understand me perfectly and know that I only mean well. I know the situation today fairly precisely and would not like you to come to harm. —

With warmest greetings to you and your dear family

I am your faithful E. Bächler

Appendix:

(Nigg's) Thoughts of 27 August 1918 (D V/6 4, 133 f.):

Should artefacts and other traces of Palaeolithic man not come to light in still greater numbers (or even if they do): must the cave not be regarded as the summer dwelling of cave-dwelling man? Does not already the abnormal altitude of the settlement speak for this assumption? Perhaps the preservation of meat by smoking was already known to prehistoric man; he already possessed fire, and it could not have escaped him — the extremely sharp observer — that smoking has a preserving effect on meat. In a primitive kitchen where meat was always kept near the open hearth fire, he obtained smoked meat without any special intention, and he must have made the experience that this keeps longer than unsmoked meat. What is more natural than that he made use of this discovery — that he ascended in summer to the game-rich mountains, and at the beginning of the harsh // season sought out his warmer valley dwelling again with his treasures of "tinned meat"?

* * *

1919

St. Gallen, 21 March 1919

My dear Mr. Nigg!

You must have armed yourself with a considerable degree of patience toward me, having received no reply to two letters (not preserved!) from me for so long. I beg your most sincere pardon — but there was simply too much on my plate. One manuscript chased after another; on top of that I still had a pile of other obligations. It is enough to drive one mad at times; moreover my health has been labile ever since the influenza. Recently I had to retreat for another fortnight to the solitude of the Hirschberg because of the eternal catarrh — with the family, naturally, to a country villa where we ran things on our own. Of course I had work in abundance there. There was enough butter and cheese, as the Inner Rhodians had "Verbärmst" (compassion) with me.

Regarding our summer campaign of 1919 at the Drachenloch I could not with the best will give you any information yet, as the matter has not yet come before the administrative council or before the museum commission. I am pressing, however, for the matter to be treated this spring yet. If only the world situation were already better — it of course makes things enormously more expensive. We shall therefore see what can be done. I shall naturally give you a report in good time of how everything stands and develops, so that you can look about for assistants. We shall probably not be able to begin before July. —

Your consignment has arrived in the best condition and has been worked through once already in its greater part, so that we have an overview of the whole. That is always necessary before one proceeds. — So do not worry — there is not a trace of controversy between us two. I would not know why or wherefore.

With warmest greetings from house to house

Your E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 23 July 1919

My dear Mr. N i g g!

Several members of the St. Gallen S.A. C.(Swiss Alpine Club) and of the Natural Science Society are intending to go to Vättis (Saturday) and to the Drachenloch (Sunday morning, 5 o'clock departure from Vättis) next Saturday and Sunday. —

How many will come I do not yet know — by Friday noon it will be settled. I think the overnight stay will present no great difficulties, as one can probably accommodate part of the group at the "Calanda."

On the Sunday we should slip into the Drachenloch — i.e. at least remove one plank and then close it up again afterwards. — A hammer will probably do it; I would bring one along and a few nails. If it is at all possible for you, please come along. But your organ duty? — If the weather is bad, of course, we stay here.

I would telegraph you to let you know whether we are coming on Saturday evening or not, and how many are coming already on Friday evening. — Not always amusing for the likes of us, having to play the bear guide. —

When we will begin up there I still do not know. I have had not a moment of holiday yet and am half exhausted in any case. Humanity is eating one alive.

With warmest greetings from house to house, yours

E. Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 29 August 1919

Mr. Teacher Theophil N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz

My dear Mr. Nigg!

The honourable administrative council of the local civic community of St. Gallen has resolved at its session last Tuesday to grant a credit of 1,000–1,200 Fr. toward the continued excavations at the Drachenloch for September of the year 1919. So you could now begin up there with Mr. Abraham Bonderer, if it suits you. I look forward to your prompt reply as to whether you can begin, so that I can then send some money on ahead to you. I myself could only take part from mid-September onward, as beforehand I must go as an expert on ibex into the Piz d'Aela area and into the Val Tantermozza in the National Park with National Councillor Bühlmann, secretary of the Swiss National Park Commission (from the 8th–15th September).

If at all possible I shall still come up quickly to the Drachenloch before the 8th of September. — You would simply begin directly at the front at the entrance to the main cave I, clear everything out, but pay good attention to whether there are any finds — possibly of quartzite artefacts, which you will quickly learn to recognise: when the earth does not cling to the stones, but the stone immediately appears in its natural surface. If stratification is present in the front floor rubble, draw and measure sections precisely. Create one section per metre of the longitudinal axis, and if necessary (if you deem it necessary) a longitudinal section as well. We must proceed systematically, even if no finds should appear. Record precisely the section at which finds first appear.

Should you find that you would rather wait until I come myself, you can continue at the back in the 1918 section, which is somewhat covered on the right from the excursion visit. What lies there in the rubble — put that separately in a bag, then back into the fresh section. —

Also repair the path where necessary. —

Abraham must be well rewarded; I want him to be satisfied. The main work we will certainly launch in 1920 with well-founded means. Provisions will then be easier to obtain too. In general, things will get properly under way then.

Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, my best greetings from house to house from yours

E. Bächler

(Kind regards to Abraham!)
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 1 September 1919

Mr. Teacher N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz

My dear Mr. N i g g!

Warmest thanks for your kind communications (not preserved!), which I am answering here immediately. It is very sorry to me that Abraham's mother, or rather foster mother, is ill. But in that case we cannot take Abraham away from her, and I myself wish that he may be her faithful carer. Abraham will in any case remain with us; his faithfulness shall also find recognition in this, and he shall always enjoy the privilege of being first. He is one who fully deserves it. — Tell him that from me too; I shall also still write to him to that effect, so that he sees it is put in writing as well.

If you can find another man for these clearance tasks — good. In the sense you write: that he takes part next year if his performance is satisfactory. So this year only as a stand-in, until Abraham can perhaps still join after all. Abraham should also say whether he finds the person agreeable — we must not burden him with anyone he might not like. —

Regarding wages, we of course pay more than the forestry workers — naturally. Do what you think best.

The matter with the honourable administration in Vättis I shall still settle this autumn so that we can go at things vigorously in 1920 — this year just the most necessary path work. —

I shall send you a tape measure to Vättis tomorrow — that will suffice. One only has to protect it from excessive moisture so that it remains in good condition. — Carbide you will again have come from Flums. —

On Saturday afternoon I must already go to Chur, then a few days to Piz d'Aela and the National Park, and on the way back to Vättis. If I can still get up there beforehand, I shall. But I still have the annual report for the museum to write. Whether I shall get it done by Thursday I do not yet know. — So we shall see each other one way or another before long. —

I wish you a joyful start. Excelsior — away from men and into nature! It can never be worse.

With warmest greetings I am yours faithfully

E. Bächler

(Start of work 4 September — end 11 October.)


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 4 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 34)

Since Abraham Bonderer is prevented for the time being from helping out owing to the illness of his foster mother, Hermann Kressig-Stützli (Fig. 37 b, p. 63) has been engaged in his place as a stand-in.

Fig. 37 a, Transport of material to Vättis; on the left Kressig, on the right Bonderer.
Fig. 37 a, Transport of material to Vättis; on the left Kressig, on the right Bonderer.

He works today alone clearing and repairing the path from Vättis to the hut. — (Worker self-catering for this day)


Friday, 5 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 35)

Hermann carries boards from Vättis to the hut and completes the Tril (sleeping loft) up to the wall.

In the cellar and in the hut shelves are put up; the Tril is put in order (new lining); the hut is mucked out and a store of wood laid in. I come at midday from the Vättnerberg to give the necessary instructions for the work. Descent in the evening to Vättis, as provisions and other things still have to be carried up.

(Midday catering in the hut; morning and evening self-catering.)

Magnificent autumn day!

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 5 September 1919

My dear Mr. N i g g!

In haste I inform you that tomorrow I travel to Chur to go with the Graubünden ibex commission into the Piz d'Aela area on Sunday. On Monday evening I will then arrive in Vättis, if nothing intervenes. Otherwise I would send you a report to Vättis. The correspondence I am having forwarded from the museum to Vättis, as my wife is also travelling for 10 days to the Appenzell region. —

I shall then bring money for our operation. — The tape measure went off to you in Vättis today. —

Till our happy reunion in the free alpine heights, and with warmest greetings from house to house

Your faithful E. Bächler

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Saturday, 6 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 36)

Morning ascent to the hut with provisions. Midday meal. Ascent to the cave.

Work begins at 11.30. Dismantling of the enclosure. Construction of a chute from boards in the portal for the rubble. Clearance work until 4.30. Descent to the hut and evening meal. 6 o'clock descent to Vättis.

Splendid, warm autumn day.


Monday, 8 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 37)

Afternoon ascent from Vättis at 4 o'clock with Mr. Dr. Bächler.


Tuesday, 9 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 38)

Clearing out the cave. Excursion to the rear side of the Drachenberg: quartzites mixed with calcites.

Alois brings us carbide, clothes, etc. from Vättis.


Wednesday, 10 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 39)

Completion of the clearance work. Improvement of the ascent in the cave portal; construction of the table. — Start of excavations behind the portal. — On the surface there is still a layer of rubble from the material of cave II. Below it: gravelly material, grey, find-barren.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1919

(Page numbers added!)

(Page 1)9 September — Work:

Sorting through the bone fragments of 1918 by me. —

Removal of the 1917 and 1918 rubble out of the cave. — Construction of a wooden chute so that the rubble falls directly down the slope. —

Siesta on the western side of the Drachenberg! (calcite — quartzite bands)

10 September 1919

Continuation of bone sorting and statistics.

Construction of the bench outside in front of the cave. — Steps to the entrance; also a stone step in the Gault.(a Cretaceous rock stratum)

Start of the excavation from the baseline (cross-section) at the spot where the cave floor levels out — measuring of the entrance with red paint //(2) indicating the original surface edge. — Staking out of 10-metre lengths and marking with pegs. Excavation of m 1 (longitudinal metre).— cf. floor plan in Fig. 33, p. 60!

Creation of a section sketch for every 1 m height difference.— see Nigg D V/6 4, 41 — Fig. 92, p. 186 —

Fig. 92, Nigg's cross-section sketch at point 0 in H I, 11 September 1919, D V/6 4, 41.
Fig. 92, Nigg's cross-section sketch at point 0 in H I, 11 September 1919, D V/6 4, 41.

(Pages 3–6: geological description of the Vättnerkopf — s. Fig. 63, p. 122; page 7: ornithological and botanical observations; page 8: Bächler describes the situation at the cave portal:) On the right side of the cave wall a metre-wide block is left standing to serve as a step; it also serves as a longitudinal section for the excavation in cave I. The right rock wall probably contains no undercuts; the left, on the other hand, where already on the surface baulm-like cavities are visible. //

(On the section, Bächler writes on page 9:)
I. Topmost: recent layer, approximately 30 cm — deriving from the 1917 and 1918 tip-out material: brown, loamy, wet.
II. Recent surface layer, very dark, blackish, approximately 20–25 cm = crumbly humus layer of the normal cave rubble before the excavations.
III. Dark-grey rubble layer with small platy C 4 schists; one large ceiling slab; earth loose, easily workable; without finds.

RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Thursday, 11 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 40–41)

Mr. Dr. Bächler travels in the morning to Vättis and the Engadine.

Continuation of excavations before point 0 in cave I.— s. Above!

The gravelly layer gradually transitions to a more earthy character. At approximately 70 cm below the surface of the old cave floor (not counting the piled-up excavated material from II), the first bear remains appear — fragmented long bones and a canine tooth, all toward the left cave wall in the 2nd m left.

Finds remain sparse toward the depth as well — the same kind as the first. The structure of the layer also remains consistent; only more coarse rubble pieces appear. //


Friday, 12 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 42)

Continuation of work in the section before point 0 in the portal.

The second layer gradually becomes more loamy toward the depth and contains abundant coarser and moist rubble. The colour shifts toward whitish. In the upper part it appears finely grey-speckled owing to the mass occurrence of fine splinters of snail shells. — The remaining finds (bear bones) are not entirely absent, but are thinly distributed throughout the entire 2nd layer (displaced material).

We reach at depth a reddish, dry loam layer and below it the native floor. //


Saturday, 13 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 43)

Reconnaissance toward the Krummbalm. The cave proves, already from a greater distance, to be a mere "Balm" (rock shelter) with a steeply sloping cave floor. Moreover it is situated on the face of a steep north-facing slope. We forgo visiting it and return to the Drachenloch, where we continue with clearance work before section 0. — At midday I go to Vättis on official business. Hermann carries laths in the afternoon from the Krächeli to the hut. — Alois Gyr brings Tril hay.

Weather: the whole week magnificent.


Monday, 15 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 44–46)

(Sunday evening 4 o'clock: ascent to the hut with provisions and materials.)

Test excavation in cave III.

Since the water supply in the cave is going down ever more (carbide lamp), I begin — in order to avoid possibly having to carry water for the lamp up from the Gelbberg — with the test excavation in cave III (section metre 5). In the front first third of it, a cross-trench of 1 m width is excavated. Already in the surface layer — at 5–15 cm depth — numerous bear bones. The finds decrease in frequency toward the depth.(The thickness and number of distinguishable layers decreases dramatically in H III; layers I and II become the actual find layers!)
Striking is the numerous occurrence of suspicious bones that have probably been worked by human hand. As in cave II the bones lie tumbled together randomly — especially numerous at the wall. But nothing complete is present, with the exception of small, solid bones // (hand and foot bones).(Figs. 77–79, 81–85 and 87, pp. 171–180)

Fig. 77 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 2nd m right, surface.
Fig. 77 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 2nd m right, surface.
Fig. 77 b, The same, inner surface, with cut mark at the upper rim!
Fig. 77 b, The same, inner surface, with cut mark at the upper rim!

Fig. 78 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 3rd m right, surface.
Fig. 78 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 3rd m right, surface.
Fig. 78 b, The same, inner surface.
Fig. 78 b, The same, inner surface.

Fig. 79 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 79 a, Acetabulum, outer surface, from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 79 b, The same, inner surface.
Fig. 79 b, The same, inner surface.

Fig. 80, Reconstruction of a cave bear skeleton from Wildkirchli. Kirchhofer house.
Fig. 80, Reconstruction of a cave bear skeleton from Wildkirchli. Kirchhofer house.
Fig. 81 a, 1st lower jaw half of a young bear, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 81 a, 1st lower jaw half of a young bear, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 81 b, The same — detail, with numerous cut marks!
Fig. 81 b, The same — detail, with numerous cut marks!

Fig. 82 a, Upper jaw fragment, outer surface, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 82 a, Upper jaw fragment, outer surface, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 82 b, The same, inner surface, 'upside down'.
Fig. 82 b, The same, inner surface, 'upside down'.

Fig. 84 a, Rib fragment from H III TT, 3rd m right, surface.
Fig. 84 a, Rib fragment from H III TT, 3rd m right, surface.
Fig. 84 b, The same — flute-beak fracture with polished fracture end!
Fig. 84 b, The same — flute-beak fracture with polished fracture end!
Fig. 85, Upper arm bone fragment, 217 mm, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 85, Upper arm bone fragment, 217 mm, H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.

Thoughts: Up to today I receive the impression that the bones in III too derive from refuse heaps piled up here by man. In favour of this assumption speaks also the circumstance that in the middle of the cave the finds are more sparse, as the thoroughfare here was kept open.(Correct: the cave bear hardly pushed aside the bones of its deceased predecessors when passing through — a grotesque notion! — and along the moist cave walls — "dripping water," see Nigg below! — H III was never a suitable place for bears to hibernate!) Should the further finds confirm this assumption, the cave must have served Palaeolithic man as a dwelling (= seasonal residence of the bear hunters) over long periods of time; with only a short, or only a single, stay of the prehistoric hunter hordes, the piling up of such large masses of refuse would be unthinkable. —

The layers cannot yet be reliably determined today. —

Weather: fine, Foehn-like. — Anton brings butter from Vättis. //


Tuesday, 16 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 47–48)

Continuation of test excavations in III. 1st and 2nd m right.

We find here too in the surface layer already numerous bones, part of which protrude from the cave floor. Up to now it is precisely this uppermost layer that shows itself as the actual find layer; toward the depth the finds decrease rather than increase.— s. above.
Here we come upon the skeleton (spine and ribcage) of a young bear.(In Nigg's words not a very young bear — a neonate — but probably already more or less grown — adult!) Especially the spine, ribs, and arm bones are well but extremely fragile preserved. We raise the remains with every care. These remains lie only approximately 10 cm below the surface. The skull is unfortunately absent — only fragments are found. Beside and above it there are bones of older bears and individual others that I cannot // determine. Here too we come upon suspicious fractures on bones (flute-beak fracture fairly frequently.— Especially in fibulae, s. Figs. 83 f. and 86 f., pp. 176 ff.!

Fig. 83 a, Rib fragment, 156 mm, from H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 83 a, Rib fragment, 156 mm, from H III TT, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 83 b, The same; fracture — upper right in (a) — with cut at the base!
Fig. 83 b, The same; fracture — upper right in (a) — with cut at the base!
Fig. 86, From left to right: 6 fibula fragments; nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the TT! — 'Hide-strippers'.
Fig. 86, From left to right: 6 fibula fragments; nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the TT! — 'Hide-strippers'.

The simultaneous occurrence of connected skeletal fragments and of numerous bone splinters as well as of probably worked bones (s. Figs.) is puzzling to me — as is likewise the circumstance that it is precisely the uppermost layer that contains such numerous and fine finds.—

Nigg is working for the first time in H III, where quite different conditions prevailed compared to H I and H II! — The reason for the divergent finds of worked, fragmented cave bear bones — as encountered almost without exception in the passage and H II — and at least in one case a partial skeleton in the form of a ribcage with spine and ribs, could perhaps — beyond the plausible explanation of different treatment of hunting prey by different hunting groups widely separated in time — also be connected with the space H III, which as the rearmost accessible chamber of the Drachenloch cave was for the bear hunters the actual ritual burial place for their killed bears, as the separate skull burials (see excavation years 1921–23) alongside the stone-slab-enclosed bone pits at the exit of H II or entrance to H III indicate! In this space, in a defleshed state, skulls of the cave bear were interred together with individual selected, worked, and in part fragmented bones — and apparently in exceptional cases also complete, connected pieces such as this ribcage section with ribs and vertebrae — in a ritual, awaiting, in the belief of those hunters, rebirth into a new bear life! — cf. Prologue, pp. 14 ff.

Cave III certainly still harbours surprises!

Weather: fine, Foehn-like; thundery toward evening.

Anton brings a pan and washbasin from Vättis.


Wednesday, 17 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 49–50)

Continuation of the test excavation in cave III. m 2 and 3 r (toward the right cave wall).

Surface layer:
Toward the cave wall the layer becomes loamy and moist — in places strongly calcified (dripping water). Here too numerous bones directly below the surface, mostly very fragmented. In the niche at the cave wall two skull caps and 1 complete skull; directly below the complete skull the skull cap of a very young bear.— cf. Figs. 88–90, pp. 181–185. The test trench in section metre 5 cuts into the niche in H III only to a slight degree; this niche will prove to be the actual burial place of skulls and skull parts of the cave bear — s. below Nigg on 19 Sept. 1921, p. 328, and cf. cross-section in Fig. 160, p. 332. — In the 2nd layer in the middle of the section (at m 1 r) heavy broken slabs. Here the layer hitherto designated as 2nd seems to divide // into the second, more loamy-moist one, and the underlying 3rd with dry, crumbly earth. Whether this is only a local phenomenon will emerge as the excavation progresses. Toward the left cave wall this difference was not noticeable. The finds in the 2nd layer here too decrease rapidly in number and become positively sparse in the 3rd. Striking is the repeated occurrence of connected fragments of spines (complete vertebral rows) in the uppermost layer.— s. Above!

Fig. 88 a, 'D 18' (left side) from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 88 a, 'D 18' (left side) from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 88 b, 'D 18' (right side) with missing wall section!
Fig. 88 b, 'D 18' (right side) with missing wall section!
Fig. 89 b, Detail with cut marks from defleshing and a hole in the forehead — cf. (a).
Fig. 89 b, Detail with cut marks from defleshing and a hole in the forehead — cf. (a).

Fig. 89 a, Skull cap 'D 37' from above, H III TT, 2nd m — right rather than left, cf. Nigg — layer II.
Fig. 89 a, Skull cap 'D 37' from above, H III TT, 2nd m — right rather than left, cf. Nigg — layer II.
Fig. 89 b, Detail with cut marks from defleshing and a hole in the forehead — cf. (a).
Fig. 89 b, Detail with cut marks from defleshing and a hole in the forehead — cf. (a).

Fig. 90 a, Right skull cap fragment from the TT in H III, 3rd m right, layer II.
Fig. 90 a, Right skull cap fragment from the TT in H III, 3rd m right, layer II.
Fig. 90 b, Detail of (a) with clearly visible cut marks.
Fig. 90 b, Detail of (a) with clearly visible cut marks.
Fig. 90 c, Detail of (a), right upper edge from the side, abraded.
Fig. 90 c, Detail of (a), right upper edge from the side, abraded.

Weather: fine, warm. In the evening fog in the valley.


Thursday, 18 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 51–53)

Continuation in cave III.

Today we dig deeper in the 1st m left in the 2nd and the possible further layers. The work is made more difficult by large broken slabs. The second layer is here moist and loamy above, becomes drier toward the bottom — gradually almost crumbly. Already at 90 cm depth a light loam layer begins, analogous to that in cave II.(Nigg vividly describes the new stratigraphic conditions in H III with the much lesser thickness of the layers compared to the front cave sections!) The finds become ever more sparse toward the bottom — mostly present only in a fragmented state. I have been struck by the relatively frequent occurrence of fibulae with oblique fractures — occasionally also with faint traces of polishing — and furthermore that fairly many ribs lie in all find layers (s. Figs. 83 f., 86 f., pp. 176 ff.!); occasionally individual traces of charcoal also occur. The // sorting through the sticky earth is laborious, and the excavated material should absolutely be checked again in daylight. (Small number of teeth!) The temperature becomes uncomfortable after a longer stay in the cave — especially when sorting and doing other work that permits little movement.

We do not fully work through the section to the right of the axis and continue in the afternoon with work in cave I, where we take on section 1 after the tip-out rubble has been removed from there and the sorting table constructed. —
The burners of the lamp should if possible be replaced, likewise the tap-piece, which was leaking from the start.

(Observation: Today at midday we observed before the cave a flying dense flock of snow-white birds with black wing-tips and tail, flying past with a clearly audible sound from the Drachenberg and disappearing behind the nearest rocky peaks in the direction of the Calfeisen valley — migratory birds? Which? — Ptarmigan!)

Anton brings packing material for the bones from Vättis.

Weather: very fine and warm in the morning; cloudy in the afternoon, somewhat Foehn-like, but very mild and sunny. Thunderstorm in the surrounding country, rainbow.


Friday, 19 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 54–55)

Continuation at section 1, cave I — uppermost layer, 2nd m l and 1st m r.— cf. Fig. 33, p. 60!

The uppermost layer is throughout thin — nowhere more than 10 cm. Colour: black (humus-bearing) with many broken slabs. Few finds; isolated bear bones; snails numerous (here and elsewhere in the Drachenloch upper cave — see below!), bones of birds and rodents. It gradually transitions into a loose gravel layer, which is completely washed out and interspersed with countless fine splinters of snail shells. It looks finely white-speckled. Finds sparse.
Since the weather threatens to change, we use the afternoon to replenish the dwindling wood supply.

Moreover a ladder still has to be made for the sections. —

I will be heading to Fin//dels this afternoon for the alpine cattle drive.

Weather: windy, cold, overcast.


Saturday, 20 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 56)

Hermann Kressig constructs the ladder in the morning and carries it up to the cave. He splits the wood that has been brought up and tidies up the hut.

I ascend in the morning from Vättis to the hut, as the better finds still have to be carried down.

We descend to Vättis in the afternoon.

Weather: windy, cold.


Tuesday, 23 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 57)

The Federal Prayer Day has brought us snow. According to the herdsman it lies half a metre deep on the Gelbberg. The weather improved yesterday, but ascending is still out of the question.

(In order to oblige the worker and not leave him too long without earnings, I employ him on Monday at my place; on Tuesday morning we search the Balmen (rock shelters) and caves in the Brunnenwald — toward Kunkels — as a cave was indicated to us there that one has to slip into. Result: there and especially in the Sagentobel numerous Balmen in the breccia occurring there. But they are probably not worth considering as find sites.)


Thursday, 25 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 58)

After the snowmelt has made surprisingly rapid progress, we ascend to the hut in the afternoon.

(Observation: a snow-white squirrel on the Patina.)

Weather: clear and mild, Foehn-like.


Friday, 26 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 59–60)

We continue the work at section 1 in cave I.

The finds remain sparse; the whole section, while not entirely find-barren, is find-poor. Mainly snail shells and teeth and bones of small rodents are present. Bear bones only isolated (splinters, teeth, ankle bones) — probably displaced from the rearward sections. The layers are not yet clearly distinguishable. Leaving aside the thin black humus layer and the somewhat lighter, loamy floor layer, the whole section appears nearly homogeneous — gravelly, the earth more or less washed out, less so in the depth than above.

We work through the section as quickly as possible in order to advance further inward soon and into — hopefully — more find-rich layers or sections. Since the layers here are still unclear and the whole section is find-poor, I work through the section as a whole and do not differentiate the few finds according to the unclear layers.

Weather: mild, Foehn-like.

In the cave the water flow from the snowmelt disturbs the work somewhat.


Saturday, 27 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 61 and 63)

Continuation at section 1.

We dig the section out to depth. The work is made more difficult by coarse, massive rubble. We must resort to the pickaxe.
At depth a reddish-brown loam layer appears — relatively dry and with few finds, as in the rest of the section. As a result of the snowmelt, water seeps through in the section; collapses are possible, especially at spots where coarse rubble lies in abundance.
Section record (see following page) — Fig. 93, p. 186!

Fig. 93, Cross-section sketch in H I, m 2 (Toni Nigg after sketch in D V/6 4, 63).
Fig. 93, Cross-section sketch in H I, m 2 (Toni Nigg after sketch in D V/6 4, 63).

Section 2 is uncovered and the uppermost layer removed: find-poor.
Already in this layer coarse broken slabs.

Descent with finds at 5 o'clock in the evening.

Weather: Foehn-like, changeable.


Monday, 29 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 64)

Afternoon ascent to the hut at 3.30 with Mr. Dr. Bächler.

Weather: fog.

(Observation: displaying black grouse in the uppermost Chrächeli.)


Tuesday, 30 September 1919 (D V/6 4, 65)

Continuation of excavations.

Sections 2 and 3 are excavated together. The work progresses so far that by evening half the sections have been dug out. Finds, as previously, sparse — but present all the way down to the lowest layer.
Mr. Dr. Bächler finds during sorting of the bones from cave II a wolf tooth (or jaw fragment). — Fig. 91, p. 185!

Fig. 91, Isolated fang with jaw fragment of the cave panther from the TT!
Fig. 91, Isolated fang with jaw fragment of the cave panther from the TT!

Weather: very windy, Foehn.

(Observation: 1 young eagle sighted in the Gelbberg valley.)

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1919

(Page 11)30 September 1919.

From the red T-mark of cave I, 1 m (m 0–1) excavated through to the bedrock.(cf. Fig. 33, p. 60) — The excavation is a wedge-shaped piece since the northern cave wall descends obliquely with the rock to the central axis of the cave; the southern cave wall also advances below toward the centre. — The cave floor is thus a narrow channel only metres — (at the narrowest point 30 cm) — wide.
From m 0 to outside the floor falls away rapidly; the rubble there is left, given its good accessibility, until the close of the excavations.— cf. Fig. 99, p. 190! //

Fig. 99, Portal of the Drachenloch cave, height approximately 7 m!
Fig. 99, Portal of the Drachenloch cave, height approximately 7 m!

(13) Layers. At longitudinal metre 3 (end of m 2): start.
The whole section, approximately 2.5 (2.9) m deep, shows no genuine typical stratification, as it represents an actual rubble section.
The uppermost layer, 20–25 cm, reddish-brown (= layer I) is recent rubble from our excavation tip-out and does not count for the section.

I. Actual layer (= layer II): dark rubble (weathering + calcite), dark, crumbly earth, many C 4 slabs, small schists.
This layer persists all the way to the bottom — alternating between much blocky and platy material, schists, and then dark, sandy, granular — all loose, not more loamy.
The Seewerkalk slabs are often set vertically in the section. //

(14) (Summary)
I. Crumbly layer — uppermost natural layer, approximately 30 cm.
II. The actual grey rubble layer likewise: white small snails, right down to the bottom.
III. Reddish-brown loam, 30–35 cm, fairly compact — mostly wet, being situated on the cave floor. Snails especially in the black crumbly layer; it is interspersed with nothing but white dots deriving from larger Helices.
Mosses in particular have contributed to the formation of the crumbly layer. //

(15) Finds.
The rubble layer contains quite scant dispersed material:
a) foot and hand bones — mostly complete
b) teeth
c) splinters — smaller and very small; barely any complete long bones.
Ursus bones, bird bones (especially in the upper part), snails, other vertebrates (rodents). //
(16/17) The III. reddish-brown loam layer, appearing sharply delimited at the very bottom — approximately 30–35 cm thick, very uneven — still contains individual remains and splinters of Ursus. //

(18) In m 1–3 the white loam layer lying at the very bottom in cave II does not appear — it is absent.
Thought: Has the massive rubble layer at the front of cave I formed a barrier wall preventing the leached-out loam materials from being conveyed outward? — The further excavations will bring clarity about the course of the rubble layers. //
(19) In m 2 the northern rock wall goes obliquely toward the bedrock of the cave, so that here a narrow channel is present in the native floor. But then the cave bedrock rises toward the interior — toward m 3. At m 3 the cave walls come together almost completely at the bedrock.

The northern cave wall shows typical rounding of the rock in the section — no corners and edges.
What is the cause of the rounding?

  1. Leaching by the water flowing down.

  2. Larger quantities of water during the melting of ice in the cave.

  3. The ice itself during its advance. — //

(20/21) — (I. Assisting with the pickaxing in m 1 to 2 from the 0 point. II. Sorting through last year's — 1918 — bones — discovery of wolf tooth with jaw fragment.—) — s. Fig. 91, p. 185, and corresponding explanation!

(22/23) (Inventory. Drachenloch research: find site / hut.)

(25)1 October 1919, Drachenloch. Foehn storm on the ascent, light rain showers.

(Directional measurements of the central axis of cave I and of the entrance to the dome space follow, + a mention of point 0 before the passage to H II.) //

(26) The Seewerkalk of the cave is very thinly layered, platy, shell-curved, strongly folded. Magnificent shell-shaped weathering of the slabs and shards at the centre of the cave-ceiling axis, especially in the northern centre.

True fissures exist in the front part of the cave only in the centre of the ceiling, running ENE; a weaker crack to the south at the entrance to the passage.// (27) The entrance to the dome section is formed by an opening 5.40 m wide and 3.0 m high, at approximately 45° oblique to the cave axis (with sketch) — Fig. 96, p. 188.The floor in the dome rises fairly steeply toward the upper end.— A following sentence breaks off. //

Fig. 96, View from the dome into cave section I.
Fig. 96, View from the dome into cave section I.

(28) Length of the dome floor: 8 m 50; width (centre): 8 m.— Cf. floor plan in Fig. 33, p. 60.Ceiling of the dome: solid, flat at the top in the centre — see Fig. 96, p. 188.

At the rear, close to the upper floor: 2 caverns — 1 of them 2 m wide, 2 m deep, 1.30 m high, with art-like (?) calcifications — Fig. 97, p. 189 and above, Fig. 23, p. 46!

Fig. 23, H I, to the right the dome, to the left the 'narrow passage' to cave sections II and III. (cf. figures p. 59!)
Fig. 23, H I, to the right the dome, to the left the 'narrow passage' to cave sections II and III. (cf. figures p. 59!)
Fig. 24, Excavated cave sections photographed from H III toward the entrance.
Fig. 24, Excavated cave sections photographed from H III toward the entrance.
Fig. 97, Southern cavern at the rear wall of the dome.
Fig. 97, Southern cavern at the rear wall of the dome.

(Small-scale cave formations — the northern wall in its upper part contains 3 larger scour hollows (niches) — Fig. 98, p. 189.The southern wall likewise: 3 scour hollows (water action).

Fig. 98, The scour formations at the north wall of the dome mentioned by Bächler.
Fig. 98, The scour formations at the north wall of the dome mentioned by Bächler.

Floor surface: large collapse blocks, much detritus: the find layer here lies certainly much deeper.//

(29) (Flash photographs are to be taken here.)

(Page 30: cross-section sketch, Fig. 94, p. 187.)

Fig. 94, Cross-section sketch by Bächler 1919 for H I, m 4.
Fig. 94, Cross-section sketch by Bächler 1919 for H I, m 4.

1 October: Continuation of section I outside the H I entrance.

Section at m 3 end, m 4 beginning, see above.

  1. Uppermost blackish detritus layer — 20 cm thick at the central axis — many small platelets.

  2. Grey rubble layer — much earth — toward the centre heavy rubble and slate and blocks (slabs!) — Finds increase, mostly splinters, but also complete tubular bones with ends broken off.(30 — 1 splinter bone found right at the bottom — bedrock!)

The rubble slabs indicate a major disturbance of the rock at the centre of the north wall, as the same weathering persists to a thickness of over 1 m.— See the marked spot on Bächler's sketch in Fig. 94, p. 187. //

(32) Mostly wedged between rubble shells:

  1. Bones: e.g. ibex vertebra

  2. Skull parts with vessel impressions — probably parietalia (like Fig. 52) from young bears!

    Fig. 52 a, Young bear skull fragment (parietal) with scratch and cut marks.
    Fig. 52 a, Young bear skull fragment (parietal) with scratch and cut marks.
    Fig. 52 b, The same, detail, with clear scratch and cut marks.
    Fig. 52 b, The same, detail, with clear scratch and cut marks.

  3. Foot bones, tubular bone parts, sharp-edged, splinters.

The Seewerkalk rubble often simulates all manner of things, since it generally crumbles into splinters. (Inclusions of white calcite and iron-rubble-bearing coatings.) —//

(33) Metres 4.0 – 6.0

In the rubble layer beneath slabs and shards, at approximately 0.8–1 m depth: epistropheus, sacrum, ribs (also fragments), teeth, metatarsals and metacarpals (foot and hand bones), also broken ones, splinters from tubular bones — angular. Bird bones. Everything mixed together — nothing belonging in sequence.

(A. Lumbricus on the surface in the detritus — dark, black layer.)

Bone finds not numerous, but more than in m 0 – m 4. //

(34) The native bedrock thus rises at the same rate as the floor surface toward the interior of the cave.

Along the northern side wall the rubble (floor rubble) of the cave is only 80 cm thick, since it rests on the northern rock wall which falls away obliquely toward depth.//

(35) The outermost portal is 3.5 m from the foot-point of the excavation at the portal; foot-point outside (red) to point 0 = 5 m.— Cf. Fig. 99, p. 190 — portal from outside — and Fig. 33, p. 60, with indication of point 0; the so-called foot-point marked in red lay, according to Bächler, a total of 8.5 m further forward! — Cave width of the floor at the lowest foot-point (red) outside: 3 m 10.//

Fig. 33, The overall plan (prepared by Toni Nigg, son of the excavator). Excavation begins on 9 August 1917 in the 2nd cave section (H II) BC 3, 2nd metre right of the axis (2 m r).
Fig. 33, The overall plan (prepared by Toni Nigg, son of the excavator). Excavation begins on 9 August 1917 in the 2nd cave section (H II) BC 3, 2nd metre right of the axis (2 m r).

(37) The area of the Gelbberg hut plateau (2,070 m) was likewise always free of ice. Any habitation of the cave during the peak glacial stage is hardly conceivable, since the cave itself — as at Wildkirchli — was glaciated. A nunatak flora & fauna is equally unlikely. But postglacial or interglacial ...— The latter according to Elisabeth Schmid; see Prologue, above! //

(40) Erratica (erratic blocks!) —29 September 1919.

  1. Patina, 1,500 and 1,520 m — lower and upper meadow: still numerous.

  2. Lower "Chrächeli", 1,680 m: still fairly widespread.

  3. Upper "Chrächeli": few.

  4. Uppermost (erratica)1,890 m: quite isolated. — Maximum altitude =1,900 m.

    (Unterkreuzboden in the path — midway between Kreuzboden and upper Chrächeli: 1 talc gneiss.)

The dwarf pines — fuel for the Drachenloch fires of Neanderthal man; cf. the C-14 dating! — and individual larches extend even higher than the erratica.(Chalk begins at approximately 2,000 m.)//

(38) Cave III.

From cave II to III a narrow, barely 50-cm-high passage, blocked in the middle of its width by a remarkable large block — cf. Fig. 25, p. 47!

The narrow passage runs through the full width of cave II/III; the communication was formerly complete; the cave was then successively filled with rubble and especially calcite (brown). Likewise with bone remains of Ursus (arctos — spelaeus!), as long as Ursus was still able to slip in and out at all. It could go no further on account of the entrance.—

Why Bächler here, in connection with the bear bones encountered in H III, thinks of a slipping in and out of bears is strange — an unrealistic picture, also contradicting the previous finds of the excavators! Hibernation of bears in H III was out of the question at any time; in fact no more complete skeletons were found to the end of the excavations — at most compositions with few connected bones; indeed the majority of bones proved to be strongly fragmented and worked! All cave bear bones reached the cave space III solely through man! —

The barricade block cannot possibly have come from the ceiling; it must have been placed there artificially.— //

(39) In cave III, between the 1st and 2nd third of its length, a test excavation was carried out by Mr. Nigg — a cross-section, 1 m wide, from wall to wall approximately 4 m long.— in section metre 5!

Layers:I. Uppermost layer with pure white calcite.
II. Reddish-brown, crumbly layer. Very loose — workable with the hand. Finds go up to the very top — even protrude from the surface, especially at the edges. Then however especially frequent in the reddish-brown layer in its upper part; toward the bottom the finds decrease rapidly. More at the cave walls than in the middle — very dispersed; everything jumbled together; rarely associated pieces. (Skeleton of a young Ursus — not complete — s. Nigg!) //

(42) Cave III continued
The finds of the uppermost calcite layer often quite crumbly, weathered, and white-coated. — 1 bone is encrusted to the rock wall (northern) above the surface. (Leave standing!) — State of preservation of the bones in the reddish-brown 2nd layer: in part crumbly, in part very well preserved. — Seewerkalk pieces: platy, white on the surface, inside bluish (!) dark. — (as in the Wildkirchli)

Upper layer: Ursus arctos? — Always U. spela eus — cave bear, not brown bear!

From cave III: skull of Ursus — Fig. 88, pp. 181 f.; skeleton of a Ursus junior (ribcage section — s. above!) — much fine material.

Fig. 88 a, 'D 18' (left side) from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 88 a, 'D 18' (left side) from H III TT, 2nd m right, layer II.
Fig. 88 b, 'D 18' (right side) with missing wall section!
Fig. 88 b, 'D 18' (right side) with missing wall section!
Fig. 88 c, Palate of 'D 18', M 2 with slight wear — aged 1½–2 years!
Fig. 88 c, Palate of 'D 18', M 2 with slight wear — aged 1½–2 years!

(From cave II, test dig by E. B.: 1 splendid humerus, 1 lower jaw)


RECORD (= DIARY) NIGG

Wednesday, 1 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 68)

Continued work at sections 2 and 3. Conditions as before — few finds. Inspection of the excavated section in cave III with Mr. Dr. Bächler.

Weather: stormy, Foehn; heavy Foehn storm at night.


Thursday, 2 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 69–70)

Mr. Bächler descends to Vättis in the morning. —

Continuation of work in cave I at m 4 and 5. Toward m 4 bottom: projection of the southern cave wall. Here the trench between the cave walls narrows to approximately 1 m. —

cf. Bächler's cross-section sketch of m 4, Fig. 94, p. 187! —

Fig. 94, Cross-section sketch by Bächler 1919 for H I, m 4.
Fig. 94, Cross-section sketch by Bächler 1919 for H I, m 4.

We also leave the rubble layer on the rock ledge to the left standing until we have clarity as to how far it extends inward. (Still present at m 5.) — The trench is dug out to m 5, for the time being only down to the loam layer, which we want to tackle last. Conditions change little. The rubble layer contains many large, mostly upright-standing slabs. The finds increase gradually (many toe bones).

The weather forces us to descend to the hut at 3.30; in the evening to Vättis. — Calm in the morning; overcast. Forenoon: fog, rain. At midday it starts to snow; by 2 o'clock the Gelbberg is already snowed in. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon at the hut: 5 cm snow.

Observation: Already in the early afternoon jackdaws and other smaller birds seek out the cave.


Monday, 6 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 71–72)

Morning ascent from Vättis. Transport of a lath for the enclosure from the Chrächeli to the cave.

Continuation of work at m 5–6. The approximately 1-m-wide trench between the rocks continues into this section as well. Owing to the snowmelt there is a fairly strong water flow in the cave from the ceiling fissure. The section wall of the longitudinal section has partly collapsed. The finds become sparse in this trench. The upper parts of the section gradually become more earthy. The actual rubble layer in the middle of the section seems to continue further inward as well. Broken slabs by far predominantly standing upright. The projection of the northern cave wall // gradually recedes.

Weather: very fine, mild, Foehn pressure. Of the snow of the past week only a few patches remain. — Temperature at midday in the hut 12°C; at 6.30 in the evening before the hut: 8.8°C. — Since the thermometer has met with an accident, the temperature observations come to an abrupt end. —


Tuesday, 7 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 73–75)

Continuation at m 6 and 7.

The trench narrows still further toward the 7th m. At approximately 6.5 m the cave walls approach to approximately 30 cm apart. At the same spot there is a step of approximately 40 cm in the cave floor. The lower parts of the section contain very much coarse rubble (slabs, mostly standing upright). Through the middle of the section runs a rust-brown smear — very soft, crumbly — likewise with individual finds. The narrow, barely metre-wide trench has now already reached a length of 4 m, and nothing yet points to an imminent change of situation. Hopefully we shall soon make our way through this "entrance hall" into the more // "habitable-looking" inner parts of the dwelling. — The numerous heavy broken slabs and blocks impede progress.— Fig. 95, p. 187.

Fig. 95, Cross-section sketch by Nigg in H I, m 7, 7 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 75).
Fig. 95, Cross-section sketch by Nigg in H I, m 7, 7 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 75).

In the midday pause we pay a visit to the Drachenberg summit.

Weather: mild, clear. Fog in the valley in the afternoon.


Wednesday, 8 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 76–77)

m 8 and 9, cave I.

The rust-brown smear that appeared in the previous metres expands here into a proper layer, descending from the south wall toward the north wall. The earth in this layer is deep rust-brown with ochre-yellow and dark-brown smears running in the longitudinal direction of the layer. Bone remains in this layer are very strongly decomposed (even the teeth!) and coloured chocolate-brown on the outside. The earth here is very loose and crumbly — almost without rubble. Directly below this rust layer the trench between the standing bedrock is filled with heavy wedged-in and upright-standing broken blocks and slabs, which — fortunately — are already in an advanced state of weathering // and can be broken up relatively easily. Still, they impede forward progress. — Finds still sparse. —

We are here directly below the large fissure in the cave ceiling, which explains the whole situation in the section. The cave walls seem gradually to be diverging again after all, so that the here barely metre-wide trench should still open up further before long.

Weather: fine, mild — though change seems to be imminent. In the evening a magnificent, vast sea of fog in the valley up to an altitude of approximately 1,600 m.


Thursday, 9 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 78–79)

Continuation at m 9 and 10.

The situation remains still not very encouraging. The picture of the section remains the same as before — only the rubble slabs and collapse blocks increase further in number and size. The finds become very sparse. We have the feeling that in the narrow trench we are not yet on the cave floor, but on large collapse blocks wedged between the closely converging cave walls. In the confined space, however, it is simply impossible to work them out. The cave walls at m 9 and 10 now seem to want to diverge after all. Perhaps the whole picture will change yet when we once emerge from the zone of the // water fissure in the ceiling and the collapse funnel surrounding it. —

Descent in the afternoon at 3.30 owing to increasing darkness in the cave (fog and drifting snow).

Weather: morning fog with occasional rain showers; forenoon and evening snow. —

We want to wait out the morning in the hut, as we do not expect much snow and wish to conclude the work in the cave yet this week.


Friday, 10 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 80–82)

Continuation at m 11.

The cold, stormy night has brought a light snow cover. We ascend to the cave in the morning. The excavated earth and the section edges are hard-frozen.

Since the projection of the left cave wall is slowly receding, we dig at section m 11 as far as the southern cave wall. Near it the earth is less rubbly. In the middle, toward the cave axis, we encounter uninterruptedly large, almost exclusively upright-standing broken slabs and large collapse blocks. We dig down to depth — into the rust layer — which below (to judge by individual traces) is succeeded by the light loam layer already encountered in the inner cave sections. And the cave floor? The height of the whole (now excavated) section // barely amounts to 1.5 m! Right in front of the section, in the middle of the trench, lies a collapse block approximately 2 m long and 1 m wide that we cannot get at. The right cave wall has here already retreated under the longitudinal section, and the floor ledge of the left (southern) cave wall has become narrower and seems to be gradually disappearing as well. We are now 6.5 m away from the passage. Without excavating several sections across the full width of the cave, clarity about the conditions in relation to the native floor will hardly be achievable here. — Finds still sparse.

Observation: During the midday pause we take refuge from the fairly biting cold in the rear of the dome, and are here agreeably surprised to find ourselves in a positively warmly pleasant layer of air. The difference from the temperature here and in cave I is so strong that we feel we are entering a heated room.— What a pity that the thermometer is no longer intact!

Weather: cold, windy, fog and snow; clearing in the evening.


Saturday, 11 October 1919 (D V/6 4, 83)

Morning ascent to close the cave. The clearing of yesterday has again been followed by fog and drifting snow. The ascent on the light snow cover over the hard-frozen ground is laborious and demands care.

We close the cave (after having paid the dome one more visit and having made the same observation as yesterday — but already to a lesser degree). —

The path conditions make the intended transport of tools to the hut impossible, as the descent demands the greatest care.

In the hut things are tidied and packed up. At midday descent to Vättis with the find material. —

Weather: foggy, drifting snow, light snow cover down to the Gamswald.

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 26 November 1919

Mr. Teacher TH. NIGG in Vättis.

Dear Mr. N i g g!

In possession of your kind letter (not preserved!) of the day before yesterday — to which I shall return in the coming days — I am sending today by mandate from here Francs 300.— for the settlement of the still outstanding bills. I ask you kindly to give me a receipt for this sum so that I can put the receipts in order. The accounts regarding your own personal balance I shall present to the council in the coming weeks, so that full settlement may take place here too. — I must ask your pardon if at present, because of altogether too much most urgent work, I can barely keep up. One thing comes immediately after another as I am again completely on my own. Beck has gone to Geneva to continue his studies. — Among the Ursus junior bones I have found a few more in the crates; some may still be in the sections.

For today I am with warmest greetings to you and your dear family

Your faithful E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 31 December 1919

My dear Mr. Nigg!

You have every right to be dissatisfied with me for having kept you so short during the past months. But come yourself and see what is again piled on my back. On top of that I had much vexation ...

I thank you warmly for sending the accounts ledger, from which I can now make the closing entry. The cash balance of Fr. 239.81 you retain on account of your personal balance. The Schuler Ragaz bill has not yet arrived — I shall attend to it from here. Should you receive it, send it directly here.

The damaged thermometer will be replaced by a new one; there is naturally no question of your paying for it. These are inherently breakable things. The reflectors, burners, and the Tanse (carbide lamp reservoir) will be repaired. — //

The 1919 finds I have already processed; the osteological measurements still follow — which will provide work until April. There are splendid things. Among the fibulae, 10 pieces are certainly worked.— see Figs. 86/7, pp. 179–181.
Fig. 86, From left to right: 6 fibula fragments; nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the TT! — 'Hide-strippers'.
Fig. 86, From left to right: 6 fibula fragments; nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the TT! — 'Hide-strippers'.
Fig. 87 a, Fibula fragments with 2 fracture ends, H III TT, 1st–2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 87 a, Fibula fragments with 2 fracture ends, H III TT, 1st–2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 87 b, The same, rotated about the central axis; 1st half with parallel cut lines!
Fig. 87 b, The same, rotated about the central axis; 1st half with parallel cut lines!
Fig. 87 c, Left fracture end in (a), of human origin!
Fig. 87 c, Left fracture end in (a), of human origin!
Fig. 87 d, Detail of (b) with the clear, short, partly parallel cut lines!
Fig. 87 d, Detail of (b) with the clear, short, partly parallel cut lines!

You will see  h o w  t h e  D r a c h e n l o c h  w i l l  c r e a t e  a  s e n s a t i o n  w h e n  a l l  t h e  r e s u l t s  a r e  o n c e  t o g e t h e r.   Let us be glad that things are moving. Next summer I can get away more easily. — I shall ensure a good deployment in good time.

Have you discussed anything further regarding the path construction? How high do you reckon the costs for our Tril (sleeping loft)? Shall I write to Mr. President Jäger? Please, arrange as you see fit! —

My recording method I do have in fair copy; I unfortunately could not yet send it to you, as I still had everything in sheet-draft. But you will be pleased with it. — A larger publication by Bächler on the Drachenloch excavations will appear in the Yearbook of the Natural History Society of St. Gallen, 1921 — s. Below!

Could you for the Drachenloch monograph compile a list of vertebrates in the Calfeisen valley with altitude details of their occurrence? Possibly also the dialect names for them. Legends about animals — healing powers, lucky or unlucky animals. — Medical use of animal parts among the local population.

I thank you most warmly for your faithful, unwavering work in the service of Drachenloch research; it is a great joy and satisfaction to have such genuine men as yourself at the forefront. I wish you and your dear family a truly blessed 1920 and greet you with the wish for continued happy collaboration from me and my loved ones most warmly.

Always your faithful Emil Bächler

Any snooping around the Drachenloch you should always answer with classic composure. It is not necessary for anyone other than you and I to write what needs to be written. There are impertinent bedbugs who always live only off the fat of others. There: brevity is what is called for.

* * *

1920

RECORD NIGG

(From 1920 onward Nigg no longer kept a separate diary alongside the record booklet!)


Monday, 28 June 1920 (D V/6 4, 86)

Path clearance by H. Kressig as far as below the Patina.

1 day with self-catering.


Thursday, 1 July – Monday, 12 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 86–88)

(Continuation of path work below the Patina and between the Patina and the Chrächeli by Hermann Kressig, mostly supported by Theophil Nigg, half and full days, with self-catering.)

St. Gallen, 1 July 1920

Mr. Teacher Theophil Nigg in Vättis nr Ragaz.

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I have left you waiting an unconscionably long time for a reply to your last two letters (not preserved!) and I thank you for not belonging to the "shameless nudgers" who merely believe others exist in order to jostle a well-meaning man. I am getting quite enough of my dear fellow-men. Not from you — heaven forbid — for one then values the decent ones all the more. —

My ibex book has brought me genuine federal duties, as I had to serve three times as an assessor — including for the National Park regarding the reintroduction of wild ibex to the Terza area. I had to go up twice: on the 31st of May and 1st of June, and then again with the dear trio — on the 19th and 20th of June — which gave me more pleasure than a few hundred "Homo sapiens-es," in plain language: idlers, layabouts, good-for-nothings, and whatever else these fine specimens are called. I also looked across to the Kunkels and would have preferred to go up to the Gelbberg rather than back to the city, were it not that I always grow homesick for my dear ones at home, who are still my consolation.

Then I had the audit of the official accounts and finances of our cantonal church and the church council for several more weeks, and then I let my bile out in the sharp report to the clergy and laity of the synod. They "listened," and — horribile dictu — resolution of the church council: have it printed! Well then the people too will learn what I think of church, clergy, and people, and all I have personally experienced. You shall also get to read it — no one can take that from me who still has two eyes and sound flappers. — I would like to hand out even more stinging slaps, but then a number of them belong to myself, because in my goodness I still allow myself to be exploited.

But you want to hear quite other things from me: when things get going again up in the Drachenloch and all the preparations therefor. — I meant to bring the matter to the table long ago, but then comes the wretched circumstance that our vigorous Mr. President G s e l l has for weeks been suffering a bad eye complaint and needs the strictest rest, so that with the best will I have not yet been able to trouble him. Fortunately he is on the mend, so that I hope next week to be able to call on him at home (he is in a darkened room). — Before the 20th of July // we shall not be able to begin, as I still have to attend to the annual report for the museum and the closing of the accounts. I thought I could only begin in early August, as I myself absolutely must draw breath again after so much merciless exertion this year. It is enough to drive one mad. I had firmly hoped to be able to launch full operations this year now that food and wages have become cheaper. Now the whole affair is nearly crazier than last year, and we must again make do with a shorter working period (approximately 8 weeks) so that it does not exceed the credits. I shall report to you immediately once I have spoken with Mr. President Gsell. The path improvements must of course be made — only it must not come too dear. If Vättis helps, it will go to the benefit of both parties. You may quietly give that order. —

If you can see to your own milk supply, that is splendid — then we are not so damnably dependent. Boards also need to go up so that the cave can be properly closed and replacements made for broken things. Also for the wooden floor in the hut.

What do you say if we fix upon August and September for the excavations? Does that suit you? I can then still put all things in order here and depart with a clearer conscience. —

On 11 July the Swiss Society for Prehistory meets in Chur. The secretary, Dr. Tatarinoff of Solothurn, has press-ganged me into a lecture on the Drachenloch — damnably — yet again! I have "of course" agreed "for half an hour" and must therefore go — no two ways about it. Already on the evening before I am to show slides at the "Lukmanier" hotel. You really ought to come too — absolutely — so that you can be a witness to whether I "ramble" or not. I shall introduce you to the illustrious assembly, where you need not be a member. The lecture is on the 11th, in the morning, in the Grand Council chamber in Chur — what time I shall still write to you. And now: perhaps some good climbers — there will not be a hundred among the audience — will also want to come to the Drachenloch. Whether that happens I do not know, but it is possible. Well, then we shall take a bite of it and lead a few — but by the old path — up. They shall learn to puff so hard that they forget all sight and hearing. — Should you not come to Chur, I would telegraph you at Vättis so that you can be ready. The best thing would be for Mittelholzer to whisk the lot off through the air and set them down on the Glasergletscher. —

For the present, accept with your dear family the warmest greetings

from your faithful Emil Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 7 July 1920

Mr. Teacher Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

The administrative council resolved yesterday in a most laudable manner to contribute at least 1,500 Francs to Drachenloch research for 1920, so that we can now make a good deal of progress again. This means we can employ both workers Bonderer and Kressig, so that things go a little faster. — We shall pay the men well — as you think fit given the conditions there — i.e. somewhat more per day. I leave this entirely to you, as it will work out right. You will therefore first see to having the path put in order and then simply continue above in cave I with constant recording of the sections and exact registration and classification of the finds. You can also dig through cave II completely then, while leaving some of the sections standing so that I can still check them. In cave III you would not yet do anything further, as there finds still associate with the 1919 test excavation — see above — and parts of the small cave bear must still be lying in the section which are missing here.(Bächler incorrectly expected a complete skeleton — see above.) You would also clear the passage from II to III completely free, and treat the record and sections there in particular quite thoroughly, also leaving something on the side as a control. — Nigg will on 1 September draw a magnificent coloured cross-section of the exit of H II / entrance to H III on graph paper at a scale of 1:10 — see below! — This must be done so that objections cannot afterwards be raised against me. There are curious specimens in science. — I shall appear as soon as I can possibly get away. I am hoping for some respite in July through to early August, so as to draw breath once more. Now I must simply resign myself. —

In the sections please pay attention to any find-barren intermediate layers — even if they should be only a few centimetres. The matter is still not clear as to how Ursus spelaeus should run all the way to the surface without any interruption at all (cf. Prologue, p. 12). We must work that out precisely. — In the case of quite exceptional finds: leave everything standing until I appear. Identify any rock types other than those of the cave precisely and note and mark their position in the section. —

I today gave Mr. Guggenbühl, general agency here, the order for accident insurance for 3 men at the Drachenloch. //

Both reflectors are at this moment being repaired; the Tanse (carbide lamp reservoir) cannot be soldered as it is riveted — soldering is not possible. Shall I send it to Vättis again anyway? — I think for transporting "goods" in any case. Tomorrow I shall pay a call on ironware dealer Debrunner to hand over the utensils still needed. What we cannot get gratis I shall simply procure. The most essential things at least. —

The crate for transport I also intend to send to Ragaz (railway station) within the coming days, together with the cloth bags.

On Sunday evening I would then come to Vättis, but would telegraph you beforehand whether anyone else is coming along for the planned Drachenloch excursion. I have declined all responsibility for any cardiac and other "incidents." —

Perhaps the tube of the larger lamp is also blocked — it would be a matter of probing with a wire and removing any deposits in it. —

I wish you a good start and fine weather up on the Gelbberg and Drachenloch heights and remain with warm greetings

Your E. Bächler

I am sending you by mandate for the start Fr. 500.—

RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 13 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 88–89)

Myself and Hermann.

Morning: ascent to the hut each with a load of provisions and other material.

Afternoon: removal of the cave enclosure. —

The section walls in cave I have collapsed everywhere more or less, though the state of the sections is still better than we expected. A gully in the rubble cone before the cave points to strong water flow in spring. The water trough must be moved back to the cave wall, as the section beneath it threatens to collapse — especially once the collapsed material has been removed.

Weather: very thundery. While we remove the enclosure a heavy thunderstorm (with hail) passes over the Gelbberg. We take advantage of a pause to descend and repair the path in the gully above the hut. The thunderstorm starts up again after a short pause, however, and drives us back down to the hut.

Observation: twice during the afternoon a young eagle over the Gelbberg alp. —


Wednesday, 14 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 90)

Morning ascent to the cave. Construction of the sorting table. Start of clearing out the fill material in the sections from last autumn, as well as the section collapses.

The section walls show cracks on both sides throughout and must willy-nilly be battered back.

Weather: clearing in the morning; very fine afternoon and evening.

Observation: young eagle, a falcon.

(Goats brought to the Gelbberg at midday.)

St. Gallen, 14 July 1920

Mr. Teacher Nigg in Vättis near Ragaz

My dear Mr. Nigg!

It is a pity you were not there in Chur. — In the evening I showed the slides of the Drachenloch; on the Sunday morning in the Grand Council chamber I gave the defence of the theses as to whether the Drachenloch, despite the lack of stone artefacts up to now, still belongs among the prehistoric sites or not.— This refers to the lack of stone artefacts from material exogenous to the site — the kind prehistorians habitually found at Old Stone Age settlements (e.g. flint etc.); artefacts of Seewerkalk (cf. Fig. 21, pp. 29 f.), the material of the cave rock, were still unknown to them.— For almost the whole hunched assembly was of the opinion that it was impossible that the "human being" of primeval times went so high up. I had to conduct the treatment of the theses like the defender of a fortress. After the close, not a single one of them managed to breach any of my "fortresses." It was quite delightful to see how the positions were not budged by a single millimetre and how in the end it came to"we have no other interpretation of the things either." The Drachenloch is once more a curiosity just as the Wildkirchli once was.Hopefully more positive points can still be gained that are comprehensible even to children.— Since this hope will not be entirely fulfilled, Bächler will later create the "sacrificial chest with 7 cave bear skulls"! (see above, pp. 12 f.) — We naturally want to be the last to succumb to any possible self-deception.— Bächler never succumbed to self-deception! — At the lecture Colonel von Sprecher was also present with great interest and was pleased at the discovery. Tarnuzzer (geologist, Cantonal School Chur) was highly delighted and begrudges us nothing. He is coming with Mr. Coaz jun. to the Drachenloch in August as well.

As for an excursion: none took place, as no one was equipped for alpinism and almost everyone shied at the 2,440 (2,427) metres. I naturally declined all responsibility for any possible cardiac collapse and drew attention to the fact that the path is no country road. — There is also no point in grumblers getting into incomplete sections; one must be able to come up with the full kit into quite fresh sections. — So I shall come up next week and report to you on Saturday evening as to when I am coming. —

You will have received the 500 Francs and can use them to cover the first outlays. — The authority is very well disposed toward our cause, so that we can carry on cheerfully.

I greet you and your dear family most warmly and am

Your faithful E. Bächler

Professor Studer, Bern, is also pleased with things.

RECORD NIGG

Thursday, 15 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 91)

Morning ascent to the cave. Continuation: clearing the section out to m 11.

Nothing special to report; very few finds; earth in places, at the base of the section, loamy-pasty.

At 3 o'clock descent to the hut. As we have only a few more logs: woodcutting. — I descend to Vättis in the evening.

Weather: very fine; somewhat overcast in the afternoon.

(Observation: on the descent in the afternoon, on the slope below the yellow wall: 2 chamois + 1 kid.)


Friday, 16 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 92–95)

I ascend from Vättis to the hut in the morning.

Hermann meanwhile prepares the wood brought up yesterday afternoon.

Afternoon meal in the hut; then ascent to the cave.

We complete the clearing of the 1919 section in cave I. The finds from the rubble lying in it are very sparse. —

We now dig out the piece of section 11, 2nd and 3rd m l, still left standing in autumn 1919, in order to establish whether the situation changes. The ledge toward the left cave wall seems to be slowly disappearing after all. Whether at depth (see 10 October 1919!) we are actually encountering only large collapse blocks or whether we are already standing on the cave floor, we cannot make out. Hopefully the situation will become clear in the following // section (m 12). Finds still very sparse. The earth is very moist; the lower red loam layer is paste-like, so that accurate sorting is not possible.

We now begin in section m 12, 2nd m left. In the 1st m left from the axis a large, upright-standing collapse block is lodged, which we hope to get at more easily once the 2nd m l has been excavated first.

Uppermost layer:
black, crumbly earth interspersed with rubble. Finds somewhat more numerous — especially snails and rodent bones. One vertebra of ibex or chamois (?), but also isolated bear bones. Thickness of layer: centimetres.

Descent at 5 o'clock in the evening to the hut. — Weather: thundery.

On the descent we meet gamekeeper Vogler, who is on his way to the Tersol. //

(Today towards 8 o'clock in the evening a thunderstorm from the Calfeisen valley passed over the area under a strong west wind. Soon it grew brighter again in the Calfeisen valley and from the Sardona the rays of the setting evening sun were shining. The upper part of the Calanda glinted soon in bright sunlight while rain fell into the valley. Then a magnificent rainbow formed, spanning the valley with the Calanda in a mighty semicircle from the valley floor behind Vättis all the way out toward Ladils. Above this arc a second formed, which, though in weaker colours, was likewise complete. The whole made a wonderfully beautiful picture such as I had never seen in my life. — At the same time the Calfeisen valley lay as if plunged into brightly glowing fire. // At a magnificent sunset glow, shortly thereafter two further rainbows formed above Salaz — though visible only in their lowest parts. At first the alpine huts of Salaz seemed to be on fire, so fiery red were they drenched. — After the thunderstorm generally wonderful lighting effects showed themselves throughout the whole evening that are impossible to describe. — Around nightfall at the hut, a large bat observed.)


Saturday, 17 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 96)

Continuation at m 12, cave I, 2nd m left — second layer.
Grey-black, crumbly to clumping, heavily rubbly earth.

Finds: numerous rodent bones and snails. Bear bones not numerous — mostly only splinters.

Third layer:
moist red loam, find-poor; rust-red smear (decomposed bones!); toward m 3 left this layer is again hard-frozen. Very many broken slabs — making a clean section impossible.

4 o'clock descent to the hut. Evening meal. Descent to Vättis.

Weather: magnificent; some south-west.

Telegram to Teacher Nigg, Vättis, 17 July 1920:

Cannot come to Vättis before Thursday — carry on up there — Bächler.

RECORD NIGG

Monday, 19 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 97)

Abraham and Hermann carry the floor boards from Vättis to the hut.


Tuesday, 20 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 97–98)

Morning ascent from Vättis with provisions etc. (Abraham, Hermann, and I.)

Ascent to the cave. Continued work in cave I, section 12, 1st m l.

First: removal of the large collapse block (slab) at the base of sections 10 and 11, as it impedes the transport of material. In section 12, 1st m l, large collapse blocks stand from the surface to the depth; they are broken out with mallet and pickaxe. Find layers are not present here. Displaced bones.

Weather: very fine.


Wednesday, 21 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 98)

As I have to go to the Vättnerberg in the morning to inspect the path project there (with the land engineer), Hermann and Abraham in the meantime lay the floor in the hut. — In the afternoon I return to the Gelbberg. As it is already too late to ascend to the cave, the rest of the day is used to repair the old hut, which threatens to collapse, so that we have a shelter for our milk goats in bad weather.

Weather: magnificent.


Thursday, 22 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 99–101)

Section 13, 2nd m left.

Layer I: black, crumbly earth with many rodent bones and snails; isolated bear teeth and bone splinters.
Thickness of layer: 30–40 cm.

Layer II: grey, rubble-bearing earth; thickness very uneven — going deeper under collapse blocks, only 10–20 cm thick in other places. Finds less sparse. Toward the depth the layer becomes somewhat more loamy and hard-frozen. Finds decrease toward the depth. In general, however, the finds seem to increase in number somewhat compared to the earlier sections.

Layer III: loamy, reddish-brown layer, hard-frozen — breaks up only reluctantly under the pickaxe in large clods, which are smashed on the sorting table with the scraping iron. Bone remains almost without exception in small fragments — mostly strongly, often completely, decomposed. (Dark-red nests!)

1st m left: the whole section is filled with large and small broken slabs.
Layer 1: Only in small nests between the broken slabs, which reach to the surface. — Without finds.
Layers 2 and 3: Layer 2 is virtually absent — all rubble and large broken slab. A single bone splinter.
Layer 3: as in 2nd m l — but not frozen; likewise few finds.

This metre (m 1 l) was not dug out quite as far as the cave axis. I leave the cave axis standing so as to facilitate further excavations later. On the axis the longitudinal metres are marked with pegs that remain in place.

Section 14, 2nd m l.
Here in the middle of the section a light-red loam layer reaches up beneath layer 1:
Layer 1 is of the same character as previously: black, crumbly earth with numerous snail shells and shell splinters.

Weather: fine; somewhat overcast; Foehn; thundery in the afternoon; hail shower in the evening; rain.


Friday, 23 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 102)

Mr. Bächler arrives at midday.

Section 14, 1st m l.
Surface layer: large broken slab; few finds; conditions as previously.
2nd m l (2nd) loam layer: light loam; heavily rubble-bearing; few finds (splinters).
1st m l, 2nd layer: grey, gravelly, heavily rubble-bearing earth.

Weather: changeable; thundery in the evening.

(The goats are absent in the evening — gone from Ladils in the evening with the other nanny-goats.)

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920

(Page numbers added!)


Friday, 23 July 1920.(Weather fine. Foehn, thunderstorm.)

I. Work.

Continuation of the central channel in cave I. The trench approximately 1.7–1.8 m wide at the upper edge; on the left side (southern) almost following the rock; on the right side (northern) 1.5 m from the rock edge. Direction of the trench aimed directly toward the entrance into cave II, in order to facilitate communication with II and III (removal of the rubble material).
The section narrows toward the bottom, both cave walls inclining toward the middle.

Character of the section:
Pure rubble sections. Massive quantities — mostly — of ceiling collapse pieces; often very large slabs, lying for the most part horizontally. No calcite earth; only in the uppermost actual layer. // (5) The uppermost layer is very dark, almost black, moist, interspersed entirely with white smashed and whole snail shells (Helix nemor.?) and black — in all colours, predominantly black — small C 4 (Seewerkalk) stone chips, brown seed husks, with many — often masses of — rodents. This layer contains the most rodent remains; layer II also still leads some, though already far fewer.

The uppermost layer is a typical rodent layer (finds of skulls). It is distinguished by its highly crumbly character. This layer too still carries much fall rubble. // (6) Cave I contains relatively few dispersed finds. Had the bear been there, it would surely have scattered the bones here; man archives. — The number of fragmented bones predominates by far. — They consist only of small splinters. (Small incisor of ?)

Ice crystals in layer II.
A whole slab covered with ice crystals approximately 2–3 mm in size. — This ice formation derives from the winter ice formation. The cold penetrating from outside, which freezes the floor, can no longer be expelled here by the cave's own warmth — which is in constant increase in summer — the ice persists; it is permanent ice (permanent ice from m 13 onward). //

(7) Layer II.
More compact; greyish-brown colour; somewhat loamy — especially toward the bottom; much rubble (angular); snail shells here too — Ursus finds — rubble fairly small. Layer II contains at 40 cm depth slabs on which ice crystals have formed; the ice crystals are rounded at the top — i.e. in a state of melting.

Layer III. (Reddish-brown layer)
Reddish-brown; fairly loamy; wet; more compact; much rubble; often larger.

Layer IV.
Crumbly; reddish-brown; very loose. //

(8) The character of the rubble in cave I points to pure natural action (weathering + calcite deposit). No indication of decomposed bones or of man having left deposits here.—//


(10) Saturday, 24 July 1920— weather fine. Heavy thunderstorm in the evening.

Continuation of the trench in cave I.

Visit from Councillor of State Dr. Mäder (with Sprecher).

Saturday evening descent to Vättis. Sunday, 25 Oct.(Bächler writes "October" instead of "July" here and in the following, evidently in error — or more likely in protest at the autumnal weather conditions up on the Gelbberg!) Jacobustag (Saint James's Day) in Vättis. Weather magnificent — Foehn — 1 day without a thunderstorm.


Monday, 26 July 1920— Foehn; hail at 5.30 in the evening.

Ascent to Gelbberg and Drachenloch.

Rock fall over the cliff face of the Drachenberg (3 times). // (11)

Continuation of the central trench in cave I.

Longitudinal metre 15. —
The situation in layers II and III changes insofar as here, suddenly in layer II, a crumbly, reddish-brown stratum appears that points entirely to the presence of animal and man.— It seems to increase in thickness toward m 16 — i.e. to sink deeper behind the large collapse blocks.

(!!!) In a quite striking manner there appear in layer II, then somewhat further in the coarser underlying layer III, a whole series of smaller bone splinters — especially with pointed ends (specimens in cigar-box).— By way of example see Fig. 104, fig. 12, p. 212; from H I section 15, no smaller bone points of the kind Bächler draws on page 16, fig. 12 in 1920, were found in the depot of the Kirchhoferhaus. However, a small bone fragment obviously pointed by human hand — possibly from the skull of a cave bear — without indication of find-spot or find-date, was found there, and likewise another conspicuous piece; both are presented here: see Figs. 100 f., pp. 209 ff.!

Fig. 104, Drawing of one of the bone fragments mentioned, with a taper. Page 16, fig. 12.
Fig. 104, Drawing of one of the bone fragments mentioned, with a taper. Page 16, fig. 12.
Fig. 100 a, Worked rectangular bone platelet with a taper.
Fig. 100 a, Worked rectangular bone platelet with a taper.
Fig. 100 b, The same — inner surface. Length 40 mm.
Fig. 100 b, The same — inner surface. Length 40 mm.

Fig. 101 a, Tubular bone fragment with one end rounded and scratch marks.
Fig. 101 a, Tubular bone fragment with one end rounded and scratch marks.
Fig. 101 b, The same — from the side and rotated about the vertical central axis.
Fig. 101 b, The same — from the side and rotated about the vertical central axis.
Fig. 101 c, The same — inner surface. Length 49 mm.
Fig. 101 c, The same — inner surface. Length 49 mm.

Alongside these there now appear in the otherwise few-larger-stones-containing layer a whole series of smaller Seewerkalk pieces (together with the bone splinters), which possess a great hand-fitness (accommodation-back and opposite cutting edge).— Bächler makes drawings of some of these Seewerkalk scrapers found in H I section 15 in his 1920 notebook on pages 12 and 14; see Figs. 102 f., pp. 211 f. The scraper drawn by Bächler on page 12, fig. 1, could be identified with a piece from the collection — see Fig. 105, p. 213! — Alongside it a piece was found with the indication "H I section 15 etc." of which Bächler made no drawing — see Fig. 106, p. 214.Their great similarity with scrapers is simply astonishing and most // (13) suspicious. Are we here faced with a workshop site? The find location is in the immediate vicinity of the hearth site and of the site of first mass occurrence of bones (skulls + limb bones) of the narrow passage from cave I to cave II, as well as of the niche in the corner on the left (southern) side of this narrows.— cf. Figs. 31 and 96, pp. 59 and 188!

Fig. 102, Bächler's drawings of the Seewerkalk pieces mentioned = scrapers. Page 12.
Fig. 102, Bächler's drawings of the Seewerkalk pieces mentioned = scrapers. Page 12.
Fig. 105 a, Bächler's Seewerkalk scraper, 1920, page 12, fig. 1.
Fig. 105 a, Bächler's Seewerkalk scraper, 1920, page 12, fig. 1.
Fig. 105 b, The still razor-sharp edge of the above Seewerkalk scraper today!
Fig. 105 b, The still razor-sharp edge of the above Seewerkalk scraper today!

Fig. 106 a, Seewerkalk scraper from H I, section 15, 1st m left, layer III.
Fig. 106 a, Seewerkalk scraper from H I, section 15, 1st m left, layer III.
Fig. 106 b, The same — cutting edge.
Fig. 106 b, The same — cutting edge.

The co-occurrence of

  1. crumbly, soft earth

  2. small bone-point splinters

  3. artefact-like C 4 sherds

  4. completely altered section situation

calls for exact investigation of this part of the section — especially under the wall right through. This situation begins 25 cm below the recent surface. // (15)


Tuesday, 27 July 1920. In the Gelbberg hut.

Experiments with Seewerkalk pieces from section m 15 (suspected artefacts).

  1. The Seewerkalk of the Drachenloch readily breaks into slabs, flakes, and chips, whereby sharp edges can form.

  2. These edges are throughout suitable in harder sections for cutting and scraping, as they are of great sharpness and can immediately be used as knocked-off stronger splinters. Extra pre-retouching is absolutely not necessary; with a hand-fitting piece (with existing or specially prepared accommodation surfaces) the work (cutting, scraping) can immediately be commenced.

  3. When cutting (sawing) into wood — which goes quickly to depth, 0.5 cm in 10 strokes — the instrument sharpens itself, as small projecting edge sections splinter off and a sharp cutting edge repeatedly forms anew — naturally up to the point where the thickening in the schist end becomes greater.

  4. If one retouches a cutting edge, an irregular saw-edge arises // (17) which can indeed be used as a cutting edge a few times, but soon becomes rounded and unusable. —

There is absolutely no doubt that the Seewerkalk could be used excellently as a cutting and scraping instrument.

  1. The raw material available on the spot, in the cave itself, is and was present in such abundance that the bear-hunter should never have been at a loss.

Worn material could quickly be replaced by new; special retouching and re-retouching was absolutely not necessary.— Occasionally it happened nevertheless! — cf. Seewerkalk artefact in Fig. 21 (a–c), pp. 29 f.

Naturally there are also among the Seewerkalk softer types that easily splinter and separate in individual schist-like flakes during use. Such material was probably immediately discarded by the bear-hunter (cf. fig. 9 — in Fig. 103, p. 212, lower left).

Fig. 103, Bächler's drawings of the Seewerkalk pieces mentioned = scrapers. Page 14.
Fig. 103, Bächler's drawings of the Seewerkalk pieces mentioned = scrapers. Page 14.

Further experiments with animal hides, dry leather.

Percussion experiments! // (18)

(Tuesday, 27 July 1920: very bad weather — constant rain and at times thunderstorm. We remain in the Gelbberg hut. Barometer reading: 596.5 mm at 1 o'clock midday. On the 26th of July: 597 mm — likewise on the 27th in the morning. Snow in sight ("foul weather"). // (19)

General. (Cave I)

Since up to metre 15 on the longitudinal axis of cave I only quite dispersed bone material is found (all non-associated finds!), it follows with certainty that this cave — despite being the best-lit — cf. Fig. 96, p. 188! — was not a place of human habitation in its front parts, but that only the rearmost third (of H I!) could come into consideration as such, namely:

  1. Because of greater safety from falling ceiling slabs. From the longitudinal section of the cave (the excavation section!) it emerges that the equilibrium of the cave ceiling was at times very strongly disturbed and that sustained heavy ceiling collapses with large slabs took place. In some places the whole section consists almost entirely of ceiling-fall material. — Calcite formations very few. — Even the height and width of cave I speak for heavy weathering as a result of the temperature // (21) differences prevailing here, which arise from the penetration of outside air through frost action, while the rear sections and especially the rearward cave sections possess more equable temperatures; there the weathering is more and more replaced by calcite earth deposition.

  2. Because of more pleasant temperature conditions and absence of wind (no or only slight draught). — The draught is noticeable in cave I well into the middle; outside it is quite disagreeable in Foehn weather or cold weather when the outside and inside temperatures show greater contrasts. In the dome structure, which also lies some metres higher than the cave entrance, warm air accumulates, making one's stay there much more agreeable. — The cave bear too would have made use of this, had it alone inhabited the cave.— Bächler is probably thinking here (with man and bear) of short-term visits outside the winter months! — (It will emerge what the floor rubble in the dome structure contains. How are the finds distributed there: many or few bears, bone splinters, crumbly earth, small C 4 sherds?)
    The floor of cave I was also colder (?) than that of the inner cave sections; the floor permafrost extends to the entrance into cave II, where even in summer it does not today completely disappear. //
    (23) (Ice crystal formations in longitudinal metres 13/14). The ice formation was also still strongly developed near the passage (1917) in the month of August.

  3. Because of the floor incline. The native cave floor in cave I drops steeply from its middle outward toward the cave portal. Here man could not find good footing; he sought his places on more level spots. —
    Likewise, for reasons of greater air stillness, he did not set up the hearth in cave I, but at the back near the entrance from I to II at a sheltered, drier spot — and probably in the direct vicinity of his work place, his resting place in cave II and III, where behind small walls he also archived the bone remains. — // (25)

Loam formation in the passage from cave I to cave II and in the latter itself. —

The white loam formation is not present in cave I — at least not as far as its rearmost section. (Whether in the dome vault?) It appears only in the passage and in cave II, with a thickness of 1.5–(2) m. Very probably it covers the native floor; at least in 1917 and 1918 its lower end could be traced down to bedrock. Whether the latter is actually the native floor still remains to be established. This loam — which is grey-white (also yellowish) — must by its character have been deposited in standing water. It contains neither larger nor smaller weathering fragments nor any bone remains of animals; rather it consists of pure CaCO3 with a little Fe2O3 in finest form.

The loam cannot have been washed in from afar // (27) — from where would it have been washed in? The cave's location has always been a highly exposed one. — Larger quantities of water may first have taken place at times of ice melting from the roof of the Drachenberg.(see notes on undercutting in the cave — cf. Figs. 97/8, p. 189— Were there washed-in loam here, perhaps from outside, then cave I would also have to contain such. But the CaCO3 (free) could pass directly outward from cave I via the incline of the native floor. // (27)

The native floor of cave II (perhaps also of III) must lie deeper than that of I; hence water (drip-water) backed up in I and deposited the loam in a small pond. —

This loam was the first deposit over the native cave floor. — Above it followed the deposit of the coloured calcite mixed with bones of the cave fauna. — The habitation of the cave set in therefore soon after its formation — i.e. after deposition of the white loam.//

(28, loosely connected notes of agenda character, including a draft for a public notice to be posted in the three hotels of Vättis — Lerche, Tamina, and Alpina — with the following content:"Access to the Drachenloch cave is permitted during the research work; at all other times it is forbidden under penalty by official order of the honourable Municipal Council of Pfäfers. The time at which the cave may be visited will each time be announced in the hotels."— Alongside it: Tuesday, 27 July 1920, as the date for a meeting with the local administrative council president Jäger on the state of the research.) //

(29) — New perspectives on sections m 14/15/16 of cave I.

  1. Precise section-drawing and differentiation of layers.

  2. Special attention to layers II and III with regard to consistency, character, and decomposition.

  3. Precise inventorying of layer finds. Kind of finds: associated skeletal parts, broken bones (long bones), bone splinters, bone points. Position of finds: dispersed, archived, small walls.

  4. Fibula pieces: complete, broken angular / broken with rounded break-ends; which fibula end: proximal or distal? Position of fibula pieces (archived). — Bring same-site finds together.

  5. Rib pieces: broken; break-ends rounded.

  6. Os penis: broken; break-ends rounded.

  7. How does the lower layer — i.e.the one below the layer with numerous finds — behave? Is there a decrease in find frequency toward the bottom?

  8. Possible occurrence of find-barren layer sections. // (31)

  9. Agreement of sections m 14–16 with the initial section or substantial difference.

  10. Where does the white loam layer begin? — For scientific investigation an exact statistical compilation of the finds is extremely important!!!

  11. The deposition of the finds — especially the skulls — must be precisely recorded. How do the skulls lie (upright, inverted?) — if several on top of one another, what is then the arrangement?) — // (33)

Results on the fibula fragments — small statistical survey re. 4:
Length of a complete fibula, medium size: 22.1 / 22.2 and 22.3 cm.
larger size: 26.0 cm (incomplete: 25.1 cm).

  1. Middle pieces (shaft of the fibula): rounded, worn break-ends with regular break (flute-beak oblique break).
    16.72 cm (length) and 2.35 cm (upper width) — 13.3 cm and 2.7 cm — 18.9 cm and 2.8 cm (only the lower end missing, as if bitten off) — 17.3 cm and 2.6 cm — 15.05 cm and 2.75 cm (first piece found; very worn at upper end) — 12.9 cm and 2.65 cm (second piece found; split; upper end well worn) — 12.3 cm and 2.5 cm (very well worn) — 14.5 cm and 2.1 cm (very fine rounded piece, July 1920; flute-beak break) — 12.4 cm and 2.6 cm (break still sharp, but the whole piece covered with dark-brown patina — July 1920; worn; with flat dorsal surface!!!) // (35)

  2. Middle pieces (fibula shaft): only the upper end (capitulum) completely gone (with flute-beak break and worn upper end; lower end transversely broken off without traces of wear).
    1. 15.8 cm (length) (with lateral, upper oblique break; worn) — 2. 15.4 cm (the same; worn; medullary canal visible) — 3. 15.25 cm (same as 1; medullary canal not visible). These 3 numbers are entirely deprived of the proximal (= upper) end and obliquely broken; in each case only the very joint-end is missing.
    4. 10.1 cm (short middle piece; most of the proximal end broken away; break long, flute-beak broken; little missing from lower end.)
    5. 8.5 cm (precisely the middle piece of the shaft with strongly rounded upper break-end; no medullary canal visible.)
    6. 6.35 cm (same as 5; break rounded; lower break sharp.)
    7. 6.2 cm (same as 5 and 6; break rounded; medullary canal slightly visible; lower break sharp.) // (37)
    8. 10.6 cm (quite thin piece from young specimen; only the proximal end slightly broken off.)
    9. 11.2 cm (with very long oblique break: 3.5 cm.)
    10. 10.4 cm (with splintered, long break and split shaft.) // (38)
    (large fibula piece from stronger specimen: 18 cm length; oblique flute-beak break; break on the boundary between sharp break + worn.) // (39)

  3. (Ap)proximal fibula pieces with sharp-edged break (flute-beak break) toward the distal (= lower) end. (The upper joint ends are all present.)
    1. 15.7 cm (length) and 2.5 cm (width)
    2. 16.05 cm and 2.22 cm (younger piece)
    3. 15.9 cm and 2.85 cm (from a strong specimen)
    4. 15.3 cm and 2.55 cm (from a young specimen)
    5. 13.4 cm and 2.35 cm (from a medium specimen)
    6. 12.5 cm and 2.95 cm (medium specimen; shaft thinner than in 3)
    7. 11.6 cm and 2.6 cm (medium specimen)
    8. 10.0 cm and 2.5 cm (from younger specimen)
    9. 8.3 cm and 2.45 cm (splintery break)

  4. Distal fibula (distal joint surface preserved; splendid flute-beak break, sharp-edged!): 11.6 cm. //

For fibulae with 1 upper or lower joint-head and 1 flute-beak oblique break, or 2 break-ends without joint-head, cf. above Figs. 44, 75, 86, and 87, pp. 84, 148, 179, and 179–81!

RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 24 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 103)

Continuation at sections 14 and 15. Few finds; heavy broken slabs.

Councillor of State Mäder here.

Weather: thundery. Goats up in the afternoon (Anton).


Monday, 26 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 104)

Dr. Bächler, myself, Abraham, Hermann, Theophil (son) — morning ascent from Vättis with provisions and material. Continued work in section 15. New find layer — stone tools of Seewerkalk? Bone splinters numerous. Vicinity of a workshop? — cf. Bächler above!

Weather: overcast; hail in the evening.


Tuesday, 27 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 104)

Hut arrest: rain — snow.


Wednesday, 28 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 104)

Snowed in. We descend to Vättis in the morning.— Bächler departs. — Goats down (not milked in the morning).


Thursday, 29 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 105)

Evening: ascent to the hut (goats up); Gelbberg snow-free as far as just below the hut.

Weather: toward nightfall: fog + rain; windy.


Friday, 31 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 105–107)

Ascent to the cave. About 25 cm of snow up above. Much water must have flowed through in the cave. In the trench: partial section collapses. Section 15 undamaged.

Section 15, 2nd layer:
The rest of the 2nd layer is worked through. The finds of complete bones become more frequent toward the depth and toward section 16. Otherwise as previously.

3rd layer: grey; coarser and more rubble; frozen; not find-barren — but finds less numerous; fewer small splinters; in the depth of this layer these are virtually absent.

Coarse rubble; types of stone tools more rare!// At m 2 l in the rear left corner: fragments of a spine, hard-frozen in. Careful detachment is impossible. In the depth of this (the 3rd) frozen layer, large upright-standing broken slab and overall ever more coarse rubble. Since the work in the confined space — the square metre 2 left! — is difficult, m 1 l — together with the next section metre 16! — is taken on.

Section 16, m 1 l, uppermost layer (layer 1)
Thickness of layer I in front at m 15 / 1st m l: approximately 35 cm; at m 16 the 2nd reddish, crumbly layer appearing for the first time in m 15 reaches a greater thickness. It inserts itself here between the black surface layer and the (now 3rd) frozen rubble layer — as it appears (at least in the 2nd m l) at the expense of the surface layer // which in the earlier sections lay directly over the rubble layer. (See section drawing of H I m 16 / 1st and 2nd m l as well as the standing longitudinal sections — Fig. 107, p. 221.) The crumbly reddish-brown 2nd layer is at m 1 l already frozen at approximately 40 cm below the cave floor (surface) and here transitions into the heavily rubble-bearing 3rd layer. In the m 1 l section it no longer shows the special features as prominently as in m 2 l.

Fig. 107, Nigg cross-section sketch H I, section 16, 1st and 2nd m left — 31 July 1920, D V/6 S 4, 1.
Fig. 107, Nigg cross-section sketch H I, section 16, 1st and 2nd m left — 31 July 1920, D V/6 S 4, 1.


Saturday, 31 July 1920 (D V/6 4, 107–109)

Section 16, m 1 l.

2nd layer. Complete excavation of the 2nd layer. Finding as stated above.
3rd layer. Rubble layer — much fine and coarse rubble; finds sparse; poorly preserved (frozen). At m 2 l the rest — the 3rd layer — must still be worked through — see above, //
(109) as a heavy, horizontally lying broken slab made working deeper in m 1 before removal of the 3rd layer in m 1 impossible. The finds are with those from layer 3, 1st m l. Striking here is that the rubble layer goes considerably deeper here than in 1st m l (see section — Fig. 107, p. 221) and that the finds are if anything more numerous. This seems to point to increased finds toward the left cave wall.

1st m l, 4th layer:
Light-red, moist, clumping loam. This layer is of slight thickness (approximately 10 cm); it rests on a large broken slab (or cave floor?), which slopes obliquely to the left into the section. (Inclination like the slabs lying in the dome.) This layer proves up to now to be find-barren. —

Section drawing at m 16— Fig. 107, p. 221. Normally Nigg does not draw the cross-section of a metre at the end of or during work on it, but at the start! Here and with the next partial-section metre 17 — see below — Nigg does not proceed thus! Monday and Tuesday, 2 and 3 August 1920, in Vättis!


Wednesday, 4 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 111)

Morning ascent to the hut from the Vättnerberg.

Continuation at H I section 17 / 2nd m l, 3rd layer.— Owing to the difficult conditions toward the left rock wall caused by large broken slabs and frozen ground, Nigg does not work sections metres 15–17 separately but together — i.e. moves straight on to the next section metre when obstacles arise!

The layer has thawed in its upper part this week. The number of finds increases — notably in the upper part of this layer.— Bone artefacts present — types of stone artefacts sparse. Toward the depth ever more coarse rubble; at the very bottom again heavy broken slabs.

Weather: at 4 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and then especially during the night, very violent thunderstorms!

(Nigg's vivid description of this stormy night in the Gelbberg hut is recorded by Toni Nigg, op. cit., p. 75; how badly lightning, thunder, hail, and wind raged is made clear by the excavators' immediate descent to Vättis the following morning!)


Monday, 9 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 112–115)

Ascent to the hut: Hermann from Vättis with provisions; I from the Vättnerberg with the goats (milk from the evening onward). Abraham absent on account of the lean-hay harvest. — 11 o'clock midday ascent to the cave.

Continuation, H I section 17 / 2nd m l, 3rd layer.

Working through the rest down to the large broken slab at depth. Since we cannot get at it, 1st m l is taken on first.

Uppermost layer: very thin toward m 2 l. — Toward m 17— at the end of metre 17! — this 1st layer seems to taper out; it is here throughout only a few (3–5) cm thick. In the inner cave sections it does not occur at all in this form, but rapidly thickens toward the cave axis. Conspicuous teeth — 3 canine teeth of smaller predators? Otherwise snails and rodent bones as previously.

2nd layer: reddish, crumbly earth, // (115) becoming ever more rubble-bearing toward the bottom and thus gradually transitioning into the 3rd layer. Finds: striking are frequent tooth splinters (also bone splinters). Types of stone artefacts isolated.—4 o'clock descent to the hut; bringing in the loft hay. Weather: fine during the day; thunderstorm in the evening.


Tuesday, 10 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 115–121)

H I section 17 / 1st m l / 2nd layer (remainder.)
Finding as noted above.
3rd layer.
Very heavily rubble-bearing — masses of smaller and larger rubble flakes. (Water flow from the left?) Rubble strongly weathered; bone splinters very strongly decomposed, crumbly and brittle. The layer (previously presumably frozen) is // (117) also thawed here. Few finds. —
At depth a broken slab, gently rising to the right. Since 2nd m l was already broached in the year 1917 (during the excavations in the passage), the upper layers there at m 17 are absent. Therefore section 17 comprises only 1st m l.
Partial section m 17— Fig. 108, p. 221. //

Fig. 108, Nigg partial cross-section sketch H I, section 17, 1st m left, 10 August 1920, D V/6 4, 117.
Fig. 108, Nigg partial cross-section sketch H I, section 17, 1st m left, 10 August 1920, D V/6 4, 117.

(119) Staking out of section m 18.
This section now already reaches into the excavations of 1917 and was partly dug out then (especially in 2nd m l). Point 0 of axis AB (the axis of the passage) lies on the axis line of H I — precisely 10 cm behind point 17.— P. 18! cf. Fig. 33, p. 60.

1st m l / 1st layer:
This layer is here so minimal that I do not remove it separately but work it away together with layer 2. It is absent toward m 18 — i.e. in the rear part of this square metre — as it was already removed in 1917.
2nd layer: This layer is absent here — i.e. it coincides with layer // (121) 3. Already heavily rubble-bearing and loamy from the start. At 40 cm below the cave floor I encounter horizontally lying flat rubble slabs, layered in wall-like fashion. Protective wall before the cave entrance? — cf. RECORD NIGG of the next day, Wednesday 11 August! — The layer lying above it unexpectedly yields a fair crop of bones — notably splinters. Particularly striking are frequent splinters of canine teeth (awls?); isolated types of stone artefacts are not absent either! — see Figs. 109–116, pp. 222 ff.!

Weather: fog; calm during the day; mild; fresher in the evening. (Goats gone again in the evening.)

Fig. 109, Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 40/41; he draws 3 views of the "finest, absolutely certainly worked bone point from H I, section 18, 1st m left — 10/VIII/1920" with a maximum length of 90 mm and describes the piece in detail — see Chronicle and Fig. 113, p. 224!
Fig. 109, Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 40/41; he draws 3 views of the "finest, absolutely certainly worked bone point from H I, section 18, 1st m left — 10/VIII/1920" with a maximum length of 90 mm and describes the piece in detail — see Chronicle and Fig. 113, p. 224!
Fig. 110, Drawing of the canine tooth fragment from H I / section 18 / 1st m left, Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 110, Drawing of the canine tooth fragment from H I / section 18 / 1st m left, Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 111, Drawings of the canine tooth lamella, H I / section 15 / 2nd m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45.
Fig. 111, Drawings of the canine tooth lamella, H I / section 15 / 2nd m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45.
Fig. 112, Drawings of stone artefacts (upper portion): H I / section 18 / 1st m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 112, Drawings of stone artefacts (upper portion): H I / section 18 / 1st m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, page 47.

Fig. 113 a, 'Bone point' from a rib, drawn by Bächler 1920, page 41.
Fig. 113 a, 'Bone point' from a rib, drawn by Bächler 1920, page 41.
Fig. 113 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 90 mm. H I, section 18, 1st m left, 10/VIII/20.
Fig. 113 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 90 mm. H I, section 18, 1st m left, 10/VIII/20.

Fig. 114 a, Canine tooth fragment, outer surface with scratch marks. Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 114 a, Canine tooth fragment, outer surface with scratch marks. Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 114 b, Tip of (a) with clearly visible fine scratch marks.
Fig. 114 b, Tip of (a) with clearly visible fine scratch marks.

Fig. 116 a, Seewerkalk artefact, 'upper side', drawn by Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 116 a, Seewerkalk artefact, 'upper side', drawn by Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 116 b, The same, 'reverse side', with inscription: H I, section 18 / 1st m left / layer II / 10-VIII-20.
Fig. 116 b, The same, 'reverse side', with inscription: H I, section 18 / 1st m left / layer II / 10-VIII-20.
Fig. 116 c, Cutting edge of the same!
Fig. 116 c, Cutting edge of the same!

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920 (continuation)

Bächler is back in Vättis on 17 August 1920; in his Drachenloch excavation book 1920, pages 41–47, he draws and describes Nigg's finds — see above — of 10 August 1920. — Figs. 109 ff., p. 222 f.!

Rib fragment
Finest, absolutely certainly worked bone point from cave I. Section 18, 1st m l — 10/VIII/1920, drawn in natural size — maximum length 90 mm, Fig. 109, p. 222 + Fig. 113, p. 224.

Fig. 113 a, 'Bone point' from a rib, drawn by Bächler 1920, page 41.
Fig. 113 a, 'Bone point' from a rib, drawn by Bächler 1920, page 41.
Fig. 113 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 90 mm. H I, section 18, 1st m left, 10/VIII/20.
Fig. 113 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 90 mm. H I, section 18, 1st m left, 10/VIII/20.
This bone point shows at its upper end from a to b — see drawing in Fig. 109! — on the narrow side a typical wear — i.e. polishing — surface, running obliquely across the flat splinter. The polish has not been able to smooth the entire original break surface; a // small area has been partly preserved.
At the lower end of the polished surface there is still a small triangular counter-polished surface, which with the longer polished surface forms a very distinct lozenge. —
Some rounding (wear) is also shown by the narrow edge situated below — which is, however, convexly broken (sections b–d). The spongiosa (sponge-like structure on the inner side) of the splinter is, particularly in the lower half, still very well preserved; the remaining break edges are still sharp-edged. It is possible that the piece broke during use and the other half was lost.
The fragment derives from one of the larger, broad ribs of Ursus spelaeus.
The intentional use of the piece is beyond all doubt.
On the polished surface the fine, parallel-arranged polish-strokes are still visible, running somewhat obliquely from upper-left (outer surface) to lower-right toward the inner surface. //(43)

Second piece with entirely smooth surface — splinter of a tooth; canine tooth of Ursus spelaeus (from a young specimen) — 49 mm length, Fig. 110, p. 222 + Fig. 114, pp. 225 f. — Surface a — see drawing in Fig. 110! — is completely flat but shows no polish-strokes whatsoever.— Here Bächler is mistaken; polish-strokes are — cf. also Fig. 114 c/d — on the contrary clearly visible to the naked eye on the object; on this smoothly polished narrow surface they can only derive from the hand of man!! — The surface is very light — lighter than the natural curved surface at b and along the right side of the tooth splinter.

Fig. 110, Drawing of the canine tooth fragment from H I / section 18 / 1st m left, Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 110, Drawing of the canine tooth fragment from H I / section 18 / 1st m left, Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 114 a, Canine tooth fragment, outer surface with scratch marks. Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 114 a, Canine tooth fragment, outer surface with scratch marks. Bächler 1920, page 43.
Fig. 114 b, Tip of (a) with clearly visible fine scratch marks.
Fig. 114 b, Tip of (a) with clearly visible fine scratch marks.
Fig. 114 c, Canine tooth fragment, inner surface, drawn by Bächler on page 43. Length 49 mm.
Fig. 114 c, Canine tooth fragment, inner surface, drawn by Bächler on page 43. Length 49 mm.
Fig. 114 d, Tip of (c) with polishing striations on the light polished surface!
Fig. 114 d, Tip of (c) with polishing striations on the light polished surface!

Question: Is this a chance-produced flat break surface in the tooth attributable to natural fracture? — Bächler's doubts are unfounded — see above!
The tip is somewhat rounded. The piece comes from H I / section 18 / 1st m l — 10/VIII/1920 — i.e.from the same spot as the certainly human-worked rib bone point described above. // (44/5)

3rd piece: tooth lamella — smoothed tooth splinter (H I / section 15 / 2nd m l / layer II — 10 August 1920).— Length 73 mm; outer surface drawn by Bächler in natural size on page 44, inner surface on page 45; see Fig. 111, p. 223; Bächler's legend to the two drawings of the lamella: see Explanations, p. 397! Photos of the lamella: see Figs. 115 a–i, pp. 227 ff.! — The edges of the inner side of the lamella show — clearly visible — polish-strokes attributable to human working — Fig. 115 g; the lower end (tooth-root end) is rounded and polished — Figs. 115 e/f; the upper end bears a small sharp triangular point — Figs. 115 c/d. On the outer side of the lamella, the light-brown cortical surface of the tooth-root bone has been cut back and still accounts for roughly one-third of the outer surface; the transition from the unworked to the "broken-out" surface of the outer side shows — without doubt not coincidentally — the silhouette of the muzzle, forehead, and crown of a bear's head!!! — Fig. 115 h alongside 115 a and i; see also Explanations to Fig. 115, p. 397. Bächler himself also sketches it — see Fig. 111, left, p. 44 — but does not comment on it.

Fig. 111, Drawings of the canine tooth lamella, H I / section 15 / 2nd m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45.
Fig. 111, Drawings of the canine tooth lamella, H I / section 15 / 2nd m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45.
Fig. 115 a, Canine tooth lamella, drawn by Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45. Outer surface. 73 mm.
Fig. 115 a, Canine tooth lamella, drawn by Bächler 1920, pp. 44/45. Outer surface. 73 mm.
Fig. 115 b, The same — inner surface. Found in H I, section 15, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 115 b, The same — inner surface. Found in H I, section 15, 2nd m left, layer II.
Fig. 115 c, Sharp triangular tip at one end of the lamella — outer side.
Fig. 115 c, Sharp triangular tip at one end of the lamella — outer side.
Fig. 115 d, The same from inside — lamella used as a burin!
Fig. 115 d, The same from inside — lamella used as a burin!
Fig. 115 e, The other end smoothly polished — outer surface.
Fig. 115 e, The other end smoothly polished — outer surface.
Fig. 115 f, The same — inner surface.
Fig. 115 f, The same — inner surface.
Fig. 115 g, Lamella inner surface — detail: edges with finest polishing striations!
Fig. 115 g, Lamella inner surface — detail: edges with finest polishing striations!
Fig. 115 h, Outer cortex cut back to a silhouette of a bear's head!
Fig. 115 h, Outer cortex cut back to a silhouette of a bear's head!
Fig. 115 i
Fig. 115 i

Brief digression (page 44):Find of 11 vertebrae!!! All lying one after another, belonging to the same spine. — "Saddle-back section." — All vertebrae were sharply cut off at the rear — no front vertebrae, no rear vertebrae.— cf. below, RECORD NIGG for Saturday 14 August, p. 236! Bächler here sees a deliberate butchering and selection of the prey by the Drachenloch cave bear hunter! // (46/7)

(47, upper) Stone artefact — H I / section 18 / 1st m l / layer II — 10/VIII/20.— see Bächler's drawing, Fig. 112, p. 223; Bächler's description see below, Explanation / Fig. 112; photos: upper side (Bächler p. 47, left) — see Fig. 116 a, p. 231; reverse side (ibid. right) — see Fig. 116 b, p. 232; cutting edge (b, Bächler) — see Fig. 116 c, p. 232.

Fig. 112, Drawings of stone artefacts (upper portion): H I / section 18 / 1st m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 112, Drawings of stone artefacts (upper portion): H I / section 18 / 1st m left / layer II, Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 116 a, Seewerkalk artefact, 'upper side', drawn by Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 116 a, Seewerkalk artefact, 'upper side', drawn by Bächler 1920, page 47.
Fig. 116 b, The same, 'reverse side', with inscription: H I, section 18 / 1st m left / layer II / 10-VIII-20.
Fig. 116 b, The same, 'reverse side', with inscription: H I, section 18 / 1st m left / layer II / 10-VIII-20.
Fig. 116 c, Cutting edge of the same!
Fig. 116 c, Cutting edge of the same!

(47, lower) Stone artefact — find-spot: H II / section 3 / 1st m left — 13/VIII/20.— see Fig. 112, p. 223 below! Bächler writes of it: upper and left edge rounded (in the upper left corner) with fine scratch-marks; right and lower edges:sharp cutting edges (below, somewhat irregular) —1st piece of this kind; very characteristic piece; the reverse partly angular fracture — whether Seewerkalk (fresh impact) or C 2 Schrattenkalk?

(46) As a smoother. Question: Where do the scratch-marks come from? Whether ice-pressure in the cave? — The deposition of the piece in the section is decisive! — This artefact was unfortunately no longer found in the Drachenloch find depots and appears to have been lost. Assessment of the object — and of the scratch-marks in particular — is therefore not possible!

RECORD NIGG

Wednesday, 11 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 123–127)

H I, section m 18 / m 1 and 2 l (partly already removed in 1917.)
In 1st m l we already encounter, at 40 cm below the current surface of the cave floor, large slabs also extending into section 19. They lie nearly horizontally (slightly inclined downward to the left) and form a pronounced breastwork before the entrance to the passage. Whether these are large collapse blocks or broken slabs, or whether they were stacked by human hand, will hopefully become clear with deeper work. The assumption is near at hand that they, in conjunction with the piled-up stones under the left cave wall of the entrance // (125) to the passage, formed an artificially constructed closure of the inner cave sections. In m 2 l a gap is filled with upright-standing slabs.

(124) The putative wall proves on uncovering to be a large collapse block before the entrance to the passage. In its upper part this block is rendered slaty by weathering (water from the dome — frost) and slabs can be easily detached from it. (Appearance of stacked broken slabs.) — A larger stone block can also signify a wall-like, artificial closure of the inner cave sections moved there by man at the entrance to the passage! The suspicious bone and tooth pieces mentioned by Nigg — three of which Bächler sketches, describes some at length, and designates as unambiguous artefacts — see Figs. 109–116 — point, with regard to their surroundings in section 18 toward the left cave wall, to a work and dwelling-place of man. In this context it is readily conceivable — indeed it is obvious — that man is responsible at this spot in section 18 both for the stacking of stone slabs into a wall (Nigg, 10 August) and for the shifting of a larger collapse block as a closing-stone before the entrance to the inner cave sections (Nigg, 11 August)! — Significantly, the excavators also encountered a large stone block before cave section III — artificially conveyed there, as Bächler explicitly comments in his 1919 notes, p. 38 — see p. 194 — in order to barricade H III! — cf. also Bächler 1920, p. 60 — see below, p. 247 — and Bächler 1921, p. 33 — see below, p. 307 — who holds man partly, and nature partly, responsible for the situation at the entrance to H II and to H III!

A further weighty fact for assessment is to be added: ceiling collapses (as an alternative to displacement of blocks by man) took place in the Drachenloch cave before the activities of the Neanderthal hunters! (cf. Prologue, p. 12.) Such a block before the entrance to H II — without the function of an artificial closure of the inner cave sections, but a mere accidentally arising obstacle — would have been cleared away by those people! —

To the left of the collapse block reaching into m 2 l, the gap is filled with upright-standing broken slabs that can easily be worked out. We work the block down to depth in order to get a way through for the push-cart. // (125, continuation)

The finds are here before the entrance more numerous than in the front parts of H I; moreover here too numerous bone splinters (notably splinters of canine teeth — awls?) are again suspicious.

Finds, 2nd m l:Again and again numerous bones and also tooth splinters.— An incisor of suspicious form!

H I section 19 / 1st m l: the remaining thin remnants (approximately 10 cm wide) left standing are worked down to the broken slab. Finds splintery — as previously.

2nd m l: Here only the slope toward the left cave wall // (127) needs to be removed, which yields rich find material. The last piece we take out is a jaw fragment with tooth — of a wolf. Find-barren layer below layer I. I have not found this anywhere else! Weather: fog; windless; mild. — (126) Theophil brings the goats down from the mountain — milk in the evening!

St. Gallen, 11 August 1920.

Most esteemed Mrs. Nigg!

The shoe firm Schneider & Co., St. Gallen, sent yesterday 3 pairs of wooden-soled shoes to the address of your esteemed husband, intended for the 3 men at the Drachenloch. I also hope to obtain the military blankets yet and to send them to Vättis by Saturday. —
If I manage to finish the great deal of work here, I shall come on Saturday evening with my little Heinz back to Vättis too — // we shall see what he gets up to there and how he eyes the mountains. —

I look forward very much to the continued work and greet you most warmly as

Your devoted E. Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Thursday, 12 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 127–128)

H II / BC section 2 (1–2) / 2nd m l / 4th layer:— Nigg resumes where he finished work on 20 September 1918 — see p. 153.

Remainder toward the left cave wall. Bones mostly in fragments; rodent remains; snails. Charcoal traces. Types of stone artefacts absent.
Earth reddish-brown, crumbly. —

Section 3 (2–3) / 1st m l / 4th layer:— continuation of work from 30 September 1918 — see above, p. 157!

Finds becoming sparse toward the depth; strongly decomposed. General conditions as already noted in 1918.

2nd m l: (4th layer) Toward the wall // layer very loose. Many rodent bones and snails. Among the rodent bones, small skulls of ?

Weather: somewhat thundery.

St. Gallen, 12 August 1920

Mrs. Teacher N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz.

Most esteemed Mrs. N i g g!

You will already have received the wooden-soled shoes (3 pairs) for the "men" — they are to be used immediately at the Gelbberg hut. — You will also still be receiving directly a large parcel with 6 woollen blankets from the Cantonal Armoury Administration of St. Gallen. These woollen blankets are intended for sleeping in the Gelbberg hut and must, as per special instruction, be treated as carefully as possible — on no account to be stepped on with shoes, as we are liable for all damage. Councillor of State Dr. M ä c h l e r, the head of the Military Department, most kindly complied when I asked him for the supply of the blankets. —

In a small parcel, little boxes also go off to Vättis tomorrow for storing our most important and smallest finds at the Drachenloch. —
I have such a damnably great deal to do here that I cannot arrive in Vättis until S u n d a y evening. Unfortunately my dear Heinz smashed his big toe this morning, so that he again cannot come along this time. The poor lad is crying about it, as he had been looking forward to the Drachenloch and to Vättis. Well, then he will come next year, as his holidays only run until 23 August. By then he will also be able to march better.
Yesterday I heard that one may no longer travel to the Oberland on account of the foot-and-mouth disease; I have, however, called in the department and the district office Sargans and the community mayor of Pfäfers to ensure that I am let through. After all there are no cows on the Gelbberg. —
So I definitely hope to be in Vättis on Sunday evening. Then I shall just ascend early on Monday to the Gelbberg. One of your dear boys will help me carry the rucksack up — won't he? — in case the men are already slipping back up on Sunday evening. —

With the warmest greetings from all of us, I am your indebted

E. Bächler.
Cantonal Armoury Administration of St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 12 August 1920

Mr. Teacher N i g g, V ä t t i s

We sent today by express freight to Ragaz station to your address 8 cantonal bivouac blankets on the instructions of Mr. Dr. B ä c h l e r.

Armoury St. Gallen, the Administrator

RECORD NIGG

Friday, 13 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 128–129)

H II, section 3 / 2nd m l: excavating the remainder. (Remarks under 12 August.) —
1st m right / 4th layer: Heavy collapse blocks. Under them:bear spine — see below! — Several skulls, but very shattered and, like the other bones, in part decomposed beyond recognition. Whole nests of decomposed bones:earth rust-red from bone substance. In order to salvage at least fragments from the skulls, it is necessary to remove 2nd m // right as well, since individual skulls project into this section. A more precise picture will only emerge after removal of this 2nd m r. — Before the 2nd m r a remnant of section 2 has been left standing — this is also worked away.(Section 2 / 2nd m r / 4th layer.) — Leaving a longitudinal section standing I do not consider advisable here, since on past experience they always collapse and thus the valuable finds lying along the walls could easily fall into the hands of unauthorised intruders (!).(The finest, complete skull from the passage comes from a collapsed piece of the longitudinal section!) — see Fig. 57, pp. 99 f.

Fig. 57 a, Skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, left side, without lower jaw.
Fig. 57 a, Skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, left side, without lower jaw.
Fig. 57 b, Complete cave bear skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, right side and with lower jaw. Aged 10–15 years.
Fig. 57 b, Complete cave bear skull from the collapsed section AB 4–6, right side and with lower jaw. Aged 10–15 years.

Weather: at times overcast; rainy in the evening.


Saturday, 14 August 1920 (D V/6 4, 130–132)

H II, section 2 / 2nd m r: remainder of 4th layer (from 1918). Toward the right cave wall. Much coarse rubble. Tooth splinters. (? Man or collapse blocks.)
Section 3 / 2nd m r: This section is likewise no longer completely present. The upper part has been removed; at the front it has been battered back to the lowest layer. Working by layers is therefore also impossible here. Finds from the whole section are therefore here too taken together — with the remark, however, that most finds come from middle depth (3rd layer). // On the boundary between sections 3 and 4, at 55 cm below the surface in 2nd m r (3rd layer):the spine of a bear — 11 connected vertebrae — which we successfully lift in perfect condition.— cf. Bächler's comment above, p. 220! — The spine lay horizontally, transverse to the cave axis. In the spinal canal no trace of decayed marrow (?). The finds from the upper 2 layers (1st layer absent in the section) are taken together.
4th layer: very moist and very much rubble (coarse blocks). In the upper part masses of bones — but everything jumbled together randomly.(A lower jaw had a heel bone behind the canine tooth, 1st m.) Many bones with traces of working — see Fig. 117, p. 239.

Fig. 117, Lower jaw half with cut marks (visible below, above the fracture!), presumably from H II, section 3 (toward 4), 2nd m right, 55 cm below the surface, the same location where the 11 connected vertebrae lay (cf. p. 220), and found on 14 August 1920.
Fig. 117, Lower jaw half with cut marks (visible below, above the fracture!), presumably from H II, section 3 (toward 4), 2nd m right, 55 cm below the surface, the same location where the 11 connected vertebrae lay (cf. p. 220), and found on 14 August 1920.
The layer could not be completely worked through today.

In general, the greater moisture in H II is striking compared to the years 1917 and 1918. (Stronger // influence of outside temperature and atmospheric humidity since the passage has been open.) It would probably be advisable to close the entrance to cave II by means of boards as soon as the 1920 excavations are finished. The bones in section 3 / m 2 r are without exception extraordinarily brittle and crumbly. They mostly cannot even withstand being lifted out.

As the cause of this striking contrast with conditions in 1917 and 1918, I regard the effect of the cold in the past two winters. —

Telegram to Teacher Nigg, Vättis, Saturday 14 August 1920:

Not coming until tomorrow evening Vättis, if weather fine

Bächler

RECORD NIGG — D V/6 5

Monday, 16 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 1)

Abraham and Hermann: material transport.


Wednesday, 18 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 1)

Mr. Dr. Bächler, Abraham, Hermann.

Corner on the left at the entrance to cave II.

(I in Affoltern.)

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920 (continuation)


(49) Wednesday, 18 August 1920

Ascent to the Drachenloch with Abraham Bonderer, Hermann Kressig.

(1.30 before the cave = 2 young eagles directly in front of the Drachenloch. Temperature before the cave: 12.2°.)

Work on the corner on the left at the entrance from cave I to II (i.e. the narrows, formerly). Layer I: upper part black, crumbly, with many snails. Thickness barely 10 cm. Layer II: dark, crumbly, interspersed with many small stones (platy, angular, and rounded pieces). Between them very many bones: a veritable bone archive with nothing but dispersed, unassociated parts. // (48) Layer II relatively dry.Striking is that precisely here, near the lifted hearth, such an accumulation of non-associated bones is present — here, directly at the transition from cave I to II (the former narrow passage). This accumulation cannot be explained by animals (bears); solely and exclusively by human hand. — No natural production through passing bears "shovelling" bones aside (?!) — i.e. no"charriage à sec"! (Koby 1941, 1943, 1953/4 — cf. Appendix, p. 414.) —

In cave I such accumulations are entirely absent. — (49) The whole gives the complete impression that everything here was thrown deliberately against the wall and literally pressed against it (cf. Ursus skull — Bächler below!) Already on top lay 2 associated, complete radius and ulna, // (50) a fine sacrum; (51) then followed a complete skull, dented only on the left temple-forehead side (50 — bashed in? — the weak spot afterwards — meaning: happened during deposition!) of a younger Ursus arctoideus (spelaeus!) — Fig. 118, pp. 240 ff., with the muzzle pressed completely against the wall, the rear part toward the cave centre. Not far from it lay some vertebrae. Alongside lay 2 small skulls of quite young cave bear cubs, which though falling apart in pieces can be reassembled (not identified). — Alongside the larger skull, likewise wedged against the wall, lay a more robust humerus, which probably belongs to it. It lay obliquely under the skull. — To the right of it, approximately 20 cm away, very small carpal bones appeared (many) — all belonging to one of the young cubs. —

Fig. 118 a, The skull mentioned by Bächler as 'complete, only pressed in on the left temporal-frontal side' — D 24 — from layer 2 (approximately 30 cm below the recent surface) in the left corner of H I before the entrance to H II, excavated on 18 August 1920. Profile length 346 mm (Bächler 1940, 191).
Fig. 118 a, The skull mentioned by Bächler as 'complete, only pressed in on the left temporal-frontal side' — D 24 — from layer 2 (approximately 30 cm below the recent surface) in the left corner of H I before the entrance to H II, excavated on 18 August 1920. Profile length 346 mm (Bächler 1940, 191).
Fig. 118 b, The same — right, undamaged side!
Fig. 118 b, The same — right, undamaged side!
Fig. 118 c, D 24 from below; molars without traces of wear: aged ¾–1½ years!
Fig. 118 c, D 24 from below; molars without traces of wear: aged ¾–1½ years!
Fig. 118 d, Detail, cut marks on the skull cap of D 24!
Fig. 118 d, Detail, cut marks on the skull cap of D 24!

Otherwise everything lies jumbled together randomly — from the very youngest to adult Ursus individuals. // (50) In layer II a piece of charcoal was found — specimen present! — young skulls packed separately! — In layer II also a typical bone tool — half a long bone. Several long bones deprived of their epiphyses — fracture intentional! — rounded — use of bone marrow only on larger bones with abundant marrow — crate with the finds.)

(51) Striking again are a number of small older (non-recent) bone splinters — but especially a number of Seewerkalk splinters and small plates, of which a number again show remarkable and suspicious forms.— as in the preceding section metres 15–18 of H I immediately before the passage into H II — see above! // (52) (Barometer measurements between 18 and 21 August.)

(53) Layer III becomes lighter and loamy-moist. — It shows few finds in the upper part; the stones increase; in places (on the right) there are nothing but slabs of larger calibre. Their arrangement cannot or can barely be explained by natural weathering from the wall ceiling; rather they must have been set up as small walls by the man who deposited the bones upon them. On the right, on the floor, there is a larger stone block that can hardly be interpreted as a ceiling-collapse piece.— cf. Nigg above, pp. 219 and 233, and Bächler below, p. 247!

The loaminess is probably to be explained by reduced downward drainage of water (accumulation of H₂O on the slabs); the cold (frost) and moisture that has now penetrated through the excavation in II may also not have been driven out.

RECORD NIGG

Thursday, 19 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 2)

Mr. Dr. Bächler here; work at H I–II entrance, left.

Weather: rainy, thundery.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920 (continuation)

(54)19 August 1920

General. (After a heavy thunderstorm had come down on the 18th — at 11 o'clock at night — and again on the 19th at 3 in the morning after falling asleep, water flowed in runnels through the cave to the central path:Cave I was therefore also damp at floor level in heavy rain — hence avoided by man — and animal — as a dwelling place. Habitation took place in the rearward sections because it was dry there.— Bächler has cave section II in mind! — H₂O also outside at the eating-table under the rock wall and at the prohibition notice, trickling out of the rock; much water in the trough, nearly filling it.)//

(55) Continuation of the corner section from cave I into II.

(Sorting and sifting of yesterday's finds into crate — sorting through the rubble from layer I.)

Layer III becomes lighter and loamy-moist. — It shows few finds in the upper part; the stones increase. In layer III:rear part of a skull — Fig. 119 a–d, pp. 243 ff.! — of Ursus arctoideus (= spelaeus!)+ 1 left lower jaw half.

Fig. 119 a, Skull with frontal portion, without muzzle, lower section and rear — a common appearance of cave bear skulls from the Drachenloch, evidently brought into this typical, fragmented skull-cap form by the bear hunter! — Left corner H I / H II, layer 3 — 19 August 1920. 'D 36', local museum, Vättis.
Fig. 119 a, Skull with frontal portion, without muzzle, lower section and rear — a common appearance of cave bear skulls from the Drachenloch, evidently brought into this typical, fragmented skull-cap form by the bear hunter! — Left corner H I / H II, layer 3 — 19 August 1920. 'D 36', local museum, Vättis.
Fig. 119 b, The same from the front right.
Fig. 119 b, The same from the front right.
Fig. 119 c, The same from below left.
Fig. 119 c, The same from below left.
Fig. 119 d, The same from the rear.
Fig. 119 d, The same from the rear.

Layer III belongs palaeontologically to II; the finds begin on the slabs — sparse in II, then accumulating. (The corner is left standing for securing of the ceiling! — more than 1.5 m.) // (56) Many finds of seed kernels (stone pines?) in the sections. (Investigation: displacement by jackdaws? — etc.)

(Temperature measurements of 20 August 1920 follow — inside the cave — together with weather data and the discovery of Limax slugs at this altitude.)


RECORD NIGG

Friday, 20 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 2)

H II — remainder of the standing longitudinal section from 1917 at the right cave wall. Remainder, section 3, 2nd m r, lowest layer.

H II, section 4, 1st m l.

Goats gone in the evening — no milk.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920 (continuation)

(57)20 August 1920. Birthday of Mr. Teacher Nigg!

Worked: the small floor-strip — northern control section, left standing from 1917 onward in the passage from cave I to II.
(Recent: white calcite layer.)
1st layer (upper): blackish, very crumbly, with many snails (Helix arb.), rodents, and faeces (quantities) of alpine jackdaws? (or owls?) Thickness approximately 12–15 cm.
2nd layer. White limestone-flour (typical) — in places pure white, somewhat moist; in the hand clumping but easily falling apart; deposit from CaCO₃-bearing H₂O that has percolated through the C 4 — hence the white colouration. — Indication for the Würm ice age and leaching of C 4 by greater chemical erosion of the C 4 of the Drachenberg. — E. Schmid sees a standstill of sedimentation in the Drachenloch cave during the long advance, high-stand, and retreat phase of the Würm glaciation — cf. above, p. 12! — // (59)

This calcite must have been deposited at a time of greater leaching by CaCO₃-bearing H₂O = leaching residue! — and may well correspond to the Würm ice age, i.e. the leaching (increased water influx into the cave) deriving from the post-ice-melt — cf. above, p. 12! or from the precipitation of the warm period.

In this layer there are here and there finds (including complete bones) of younger Ursus individuals. These, however, certainly do not belong to this layer but have been pressed upward into layer II of the limestone-flour by floor-pressure from above. If bones should be found in the uppermost black crumbly layer, these will certainly have been churned up by earlier visitors to the cave (historical). (cf. cave III)

The limestone-flour substance percolates almost throughout still into layer 3 — interspersing it in spots and nests. This is readily explained, as the red, very crumbly earth of layer III allowed limestone-flour-bearing water to percolate through easily and thereby caused its interspersion with the limestone-flour. — //

(60) — To be noted:

The transition from cave I and II seems to have been entirely barricaded on the sides by stones (platy pieces).
There is, however, at the end of cave I a natural barricade of blocks.— cf. above, p. 233! //

(61) 3rd layer: dry, crumbly (i.e. very soft and loose), reddish-brown earth — very sharply defined; contains fairly many bones of ursids. The bone material is well preserved; the finds are absolutely non-associated — enormously dispersed — deriving from the most varied individuals. Many splinters. Human intention!
Thickness approximately 35–40 cm.

4th layer: (can also be identified with layer 3), as it shows approximately the same character as 3, but is more stony and wet (slightly loamy). It also contains bones of the same kind as layer 3.
This layer contains H₂O because the ice thawed only late in it.
Thickness 25 cm.

5th layer: Again reddish, crumbly, dry earth with bones — these, however, strongly decomposed. Thickness 25 cm.

6th layer: White loam. (Depth 1 m 60.) //(63)

20 August 1920— afternoon. (62 — whole day very rainy; above, weak snow in rain, but not settling on the ground.) //(63)

Continued work in cave II, section III. —2nd m right, lowest layer, cf. Nigg, p. 238.

  1. First: removal of the rest of the lowest layer at the right cave wall: Under the board lay several skulls of Ursus spelaeus, crowded tightly together as if thrown in a heap — the lowest one resting directly on the lowest layer of the light loam.(62, skull accumulation:skulls of Ursus spelaeus — entire upper side, with the exception of the occipital bone. Number of ossa occipitis — occipital bones — occurring individually in the sections.— Evidently several skulls without occipital bone!) //
    (63) Their state was an extremely crumbly, brittle one. With the exception of a single one whose upper part could still be lifted intact, they fell apart into pieces.
    Alongside the skulls lie (62, a very large femur!), jaw pieces and other mostly entirely non-associated pieces, fragments (62, many broken jaw pieces disproportionately so!! That is: only parts present, never the pieces that break within the section — the parts lie dispersed — Only man can do this!), splinters — everything crumbly and crumbling, with the exception of the carpals, tarsals, metacarpals, metatarsals, and teeth. — The whole picture is human activity! We see here in evident fashion how the fauna finds go all the way to the base — i.e. the surface of the loam layer — the cave therefore was inhabited immediately once the white loam layer was fully formed.— A remarkable finding! The first cave bear bone depots by man therefore took place during a warm period — i.e. an interglacial — cf. above, p. 12! —// (64)
    The loam layer is already announced by enormously strongly decomposed C 4 pieces, which colour completely white. The bones are heavily wedged in by many partly larger platy stones. // (65) To judge by the bone material, the Ursus spelaeus animals involved are robust individuals. (Teeth, approximately 8–9 years old!! — cf. below, p. 388!)

  2. Staking out of m 4 in cave II and start of work from the uppermost layer. — (1st metre left of the axis.)
    Layer I: blackish crumbly layer — only on the surface; very soft where not trodden — not thick; barely 10 cm.
    Layer II: greyish, dry, in part almost dusty earth; crumbly; soft where trodden (middle) — more solid; with few weathering stones, smaller, platy C 4 calibre. 10–12 cm thick.
    Layer III: snow-white limestone-flour layer — varying thickness: 5–10 cm; limestone-flour mealy, dry or slightly moist (not dusty); where trodden, almost compressible in the hand but easily falling apart; deposit from CaCO₃-bearing H₂O that has percolated through the C 4 — hence the white colouration. — Indication for the Würm ice age and undercutting of the C 4 by greater chemical erosion of the C 4 of the Drachenberg.— E. Schmid sees a standstill of sedimentation in the Drachenloch cave during the long advance, high-stand, and retreat phase of the Würm glaciation — cf. above, p. 12! — // (67)
    Ursus bones already appear in the limestone-flour layer; these bones, however, certainly derive from the following underlying layer — pressed into the upper layer by pressure from above. (Pressing from above: passage through the cave — by man or bears? — Whatever Bächler means here, the intended effect can hardly have occurred!) Weathering pieces of smaller calibre, sherds. (The upper bones already appearing in layer II also come from the lower layer — red earth — see above! — 66: This white earth is in places strongly compressed; crumbles in firm lumps.) // (67)
    Layer IV: reddish-brown, crumbly earth — very loose; can be rubbed between the fingers; mostly dry, almost powdery; in part slightly moister. This layer is in its upper part interspersed with many snow-white smears and spots of limestone-flour. The limestone-flour deposit H₂O could easily percolate through the red crumbly layer and thereby caused its interspersion with the limestone-flour. Content: mostly smaller, sherd-like pieces of C 4, already very strongly weathered at the edges — in part already possessing a white decomposition crust.
    Here the first bone finds appear that belong to this layer. They are mostly part-pieces — also complete bones of younger Ursus individuals — but all non-associated (many foot and hand bones).
    Layer V: like IV, reddish-brown, but interspersed with much smaller stone material. Here the fauna is most strongly represented — many complete bones.


(Saturday 21 August 1920. — 68: weather clearing! But above still fog; sun dim when breaking through; at 4 o'clock in the afternoon barometer 588.0; Calanda and valley clear.
Continuation of section IV in cave II. m 1 left of the axis — not present, having stayed in the Gelbberg hut on account of angina.
I. Sorting of the finds! II. "Bsetzi" (stone-setting work) before the hut.
Telegram to Dr. Jäger, Ragaz — 21/VIII/20: "On account of angina cannot lead Drachenloch tour. Dr. Bächler." — likewise to secondary teacher Wirth, Ragaz.
Evening descent to Vättis.) — // (71)

Results 18–21 August 1920 — overall picture:

The work at the left corner of entrance I to II and in cave II establishes with certainty that here was a main place of habitation — at minimum a work place! — for man. The find circumstances show throughout the picture of great dispersal of the massively occurring bone finds. Nowhere do we encounter complete, in-situ lying skeletons of ursids — only partial pieces of skeletons are present. — The compilation of the finds shows throughout non-association: older (but not very old) and younger individuals often all together.

RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 21 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 3–8)

H II, section 4.

1st m r: uppermost layer (layer I and calcite = layer 2):
Snails and rodent bones — (trodden-in? — taken over from Bächler; see note above!) Bear bones — notably toward the bottom and toward the right cave wall.
3rd layer: crumbly, red earth; little rubble. Finds: numerous — notably toward the right. //
(3) Numerous tooth and bone splinters (artefacts) — bone material dispersed; nothing associated together.— No conspicuous stones. — (4) Note: Since 2nd m r is loose and threatens to collapse, this is removed first before 4th layer in 1st m r is taken on. — Staking out of section 5 (axis.)

2nd m r, surface layer: loose; fairly many bones (nothing complete) — evidently not belonging to the layer (trodden in — see above). Toward the right cave wall // (6) the layer rises to depth. Here also individual bird bones. The calcite layer very distinct — toward the wall, however, disappearing.
The 3rd layer here contains an approximately 15 cm (at maximum) thick inclusion of grey loam, which the reddish earth of this layer encloses like a core. This inclusion too is not find-barren. The transition of this 3rd layer into the more rubble-bearing 4th layer is concealed by large collapse blocks and only becomes clearly apparent when working through the section. (5: to bring: rags for draw-iron; carbide; larger find-bags.) — (6):The finds in both layers again clearly show the presence of man: nothing complete; numerous splinters; nothing associated; bones that show traces of working.
Toward the depth all material is extraordinarily // (8) crumbly and brittle.(5 litres of milk from the Ladils alp by Abraham.)


Monday, 23 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 8)

Morning ascent from Vättis with Mr. Dr. Bächler.

H II, section 4.
1st and 2nd m l: 3rd/4th layer — second hearth (detailed description by Mr. Dr. Bächler).

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1920 (continuation, page 75)


Monday, 23 August 1920: Yoohoo!

Ascent Gelbberg — Drachenloch. (2 o'clock above.)

Continued work in cave II, 1st metre left and the narrow band at the left cave wall added. —
Removal of layer III (red crumbly earth) and also layers I and II along the wall.
Result:Again only very dispersed bones — non-associated.— A precise inventory of the finds must be compiled in order to establish which bones lie together here. —

Bächler begins with a small inventory:

Parts of various skulls: 1 Ursus spelaeus skull cap (lower parts + lower jaw absent! — not identified),2 occipital bone sherds (from the occipital bone) — (74: !!! Ursus spelaeus already occurs at the base of layer III — reddish-brown crumbly earth. Ursus arctoideus and spelaeus thus still lived simultaneously alongside one another! — In the Drachenloch, as said, only Ursus spelaeus is represented!) — (75)
Limb bones — complete + broken. (The continuations —= epiphyses — absent; the break edges are rounded.)

(74) Discovery of the 2nd  h e a r t h  before the entrance to cave III — left of the cave axis. 23 August 1920.

(75) In the middle of m 1 left, several stones were found that had been set up; in their middle lay a typical  h e a r t h  with best-preserved charcoal (wood) + ash.— From this 2nd hearth, charcoal samples were C-14 dated — cf. above, pp. 12 and 73—// (77) Hearth II in cave II near the entrance to cave III is the splendid counterpart to the hearth at the entrance (passage) from I to II. It is situated in an entirely intact position at the base of layer III and on the surface of layer IV, though still reaching into layer IV. It is set into the depression between larger slabs — it is thus a  f i r e - p i t,  which was protected notably toward the outside by the stone-ring — Bächler first writes stone-shells! — The  f i r e - p i    (the fire-hole) was covered by two larger 30 × 25 (cm) Seewerkalk slabs, laid horizontally over it. The fire was here probably maintained in a smouldering state by covering it. (Stones, moist grass-tufts etc.)
The charcoal pieces (specimens!) are very well preserved in it, so that determination of the wood species — mountain pine! — is readily possible.
Beside it: ash (specimen!), grey and whitish.

The Seewerkalk pieces (specimens!) are fire-whitened on the surface — crumbly upper layer.— // (79) The whitish tinge of the ash layer owes its colour to the burnt surface sections of the Seewerkalk (fallen from the stone casing). —

The whole hearth — i.e. its material — is kept in special little crates.— The stone casing was evidently abandoned; Bächler — incomprehensibly from today's viewpoint! — did not plan a reconstruction of the hearth with the original stones in his St. Gallen museum; there would have been nothing standing in the way of transporting the stones to the valley — possibly, however, of a transport from Vättis to St. Gallen!


Tuesday, 24 August 1920

(78, weather: rainy; light snow above; whole day foggy.) // (79)

Lifting of the hearth.—
The layer directly underlying the hearth — layer V — The hearth lay on the base of layer III and tangentially reached only part of layer IV! — is totally powdery-burnt and calcified (white). The layer is typically trodden-hard, hence the water did not percolate through it and left the white calcite in the layer. — Earth entirely crumbly, very dry, compact. //

(81) Before the hearth in layer IV a whole quantity of well-preserved bones (deposit / nest) — some charred bones — see above from F 1, Fig. 15, p. 23! — (80, Ursus spelaeus around the hearth — probably all associated; individual not old.)

Bächler begins a further small inventory:

1 radius, 1 tibia, 1 femur, 1 left lower jaw, 2 thoracic vertebrae, 1 lumbar vertebra, 1 atlas, 1 caudal vertebra; skull (rear and upper part well preserved — muzzle absent).— the last-mentioned possibly a repetition of the above! — (81) a number of ribs, other skull pieces, 1 hip socket, 2 hand bones, 2 femora of very young individuals, various jaws.

The fire layer is very compact, hard, strongly calcified; burnt stones. No disturbance is to be ruled out.The red earth is deposited over it in entirely normal compact form. // (83) Behind and beside the fire-pit: mouse-runs under slabs (!) — the voles caused the supposed disturbance behind the hearth.

Position of the charcoal hearth (= fire-hearth):approximately 55 cm below the surface — at the base of the red crumbly layer — layer III.
Much still well-preserved charcoal. Burnt C 4 pieces; calcite-spots. — Grey ash.Dimensions of the hearth:

Thickness of the hearth — meaning the charcoal and ash layer — approximately 10 cm — but the burnt earth goes deeper. (82, mean thickness — meaning width between the casing — = 25 cm.) // — 2 femora of younger individuals in the actual fire-pit. —
Width of the fire-hearth = 40 cm; depth = length = 30 cm.

Bone pit 1, covered with a slab:

To the right of the charcoal hearth, lying somewhat higher than it, was a C 4 slab, lying almost horizontally; length = 90 cm — thickness approximately 5–8 cm — width = 60 cm. —

A seat slab beside the hearth. Under this seat slab was found a magazine of bones. — cf. drawing below, Fig. 120, p. 255! — //

Fig. 120, Floor plan showing the reconstructed situation at the base of layer 3 and in layer 4, 55–90 cm below the surface, in section metres 4 and (half of) 5 of cave section II (H II), with the 2nd (covered) hearth, the charcoal samples of which have been dated by the C-14 method to more than 53,000 years BP, and all the bone pits recorded by Bächler and Nigg, partly covered with a stone slab, partly uncovered!
Fig. 120, Floor plan showing the reconstructed situation at the base of layer 3 and in layer 4, 55–90 cm below the surface, in section metres 4 and (half of) 5 of cave section II (H II), with the 2nd (covered) hearth, the charcoal samples of which have been dated by the C-14 method to more than 53,000 years BP, and all the bone pits recorded by Bächler and Nigg, partly covered with a stone slab, partly uncovered!

(84) Beside this slab a further upright-set block toward the right wall in m 2.— Nigg records "large collapse blocks" in the 2nd metre right at the transition from 3rd to 4th layer! (p. 249) — Bächler is probably referring here to one of these collapse blocks. //

(85) Cave II, section IV / m 1 left: mass accumulation of bones under a cover slab —"seat slab" — see above! — The slab was artificially placed on the bones. Length of the deposit = 80 cm (40 cm toward the rear); width = 60 cm; thickness = 25–30 cm.

The slab lay at the rear 50 cm, at the front 60 cm below the surface. — The bones are non-associated. — All from young specimens. —

Inventory of finds:

  1. Skull part of Ursus arctoideus (= spelaeus), rear half + frontal (right complete). With all the skulls hitherto mentioned from the 1st metre left in section 4 — here, above, and in the following — only the rear part is present. — A striking, uniform treatment of them by the Neanderthal bear-hunter! — cf. also above, Fig. 119, pp. 243 ff. and explanation.

  2. Lower jaw, left/right (both halves); one more on the right.

  3. Humerus, distal half.

  4. Humerus, distal half and other specimens — (gnawed by mice)

  5. Femur — broken at both epiphyses and gnawed by mice! —
    Bächler 1920, p. 83, has already noted "mouse-runs under slabs" from "voles" — see above!

  6. Radius from young specimen without epiphyses.

  7. 6 rib remnants.

  8. 1 fibula (complete).

  9. Os hamatum (hand/foot bone).
    Vertebrae — many! — zygomatic arch part.

On the opposite page 84, Bächler lists without continuation of the numbering a jumble of further bones; the enumeration (above and in the following) contains — given the size of the deposit stated above — only a small part of it:

  • Various (approximately 6) shoulder blades.

  • Various canine teeth (including one of an old individual; the others junior; all abraded! — from the French: deprived of their outer layer; meaning worn down at the tip — zygomatic arch part.

  • Individual skull occipita!! — see note above!

  • Humerus (young; ends absent); femur (young; complete); ulna (young; complete).

  • Metatarsals, metacarpals (specific hand and foot bones).

  • Ribs (many broken, incomplete).

  • Further toe bones, foot bones, individual claws, femur heads.

  • 2 × radius (complete; young); humerus and femur (epiphyses detached; all young).

  • Tibia (complete; junior); patella; many long bones without epiphyses; maxillary piece with M 2, M 1, Pm 3 — i.e. holes, since the molars are absent! —

  • Os penis etc. etc. //

(86) We see the mass accumulations of bones always under rock slabs that were specially placed over the bones by man.— It seems Bächler is still speaking of the situation around the charcoal hearth — cf. his summary below, pp. 89 and 91! — The terse, note-like data on p. 86 accompanied by a sketch — Fig. 121, p. 256 — relate to a further example of these stone-slab-covered bone deposits:

Fig. 121, Bächler 1920, pp. 86/87 — situation sketch of the 2nd, non-localised deposit!
Fig. 121, Bächler 1920, pp. 86/87 — situation sketch of the 2nd, non-localised deposit!

Bone pit 2, covered with a slab, position not given:

Under a slab of 30 × 40 cm: nothing but vertebrae and ribs recovered.— Small inventory:complete ribs of an older individual — humerus of a young one — 2 femora — skull peeping out from under the slab, sketched by Bächler — see above! —

Over the slab: ankle bones — many (red) — of an embryo.— As Bächler offers no further comment on the origin of the red colouration, it will rest on a natural process during deposition in the ground — hardly on a colouring by man. — Bächler's identification of bone traces of an embryo is remarkable; his son Heinz will later (1957, p. 137, note) describe comparable attributions by his father as an error! — // (87)

After Bächler had already removed a piece of the 4th layer when lifting the charcoal hearth — see above — he now refers to the remainder of the removal of layer IV:

Layer IV: lighter, greyish-brown; moister — though not loamy; fairly compact; with many smaller stones; without further cover slabs. Finds still fairly numerous — but toward III (? — section III?) much fewer; everything dispersed; much broken and splintery material. Many small splinters (specimens) — also rounded and sharply broken fibulae (meaning with flute-beak break — see Figs. 44, 75 etc.) Remarkable nests of bone splinters. In this layer frequently rounded C 4.// (88)

Finds covered artificially by stone slabs! //(89) — In the following Bächler refers back to the foregoing, interprets it, and then describes a further stone-slab-covered bone pit — bone pit 3 — in more detail:

" S tone chest" (meaning bone pit 1, p. 251!)
The bone accumulation (deposit) under the aforementioned stone slab (bone pit 1) presents the unambiguous picture that the bear-hunter of the Drachenloch did not carry the hunting waste (bones of his prey animals) out of the cave but archived them within the cave itself — either stacking them along the cave walls and framing them with small stone walls — to the left of the 1st hearth — see above! — or covering them with stone slabs.
Here before the entrance to cave III, somewhat left of the centre, lay the hearth (fire-pit), which was surrounded on all sides by bones — in which bones were themselves charred (vide specimens). It was the picture of complete archiving of the most varied bones from the most varied individuals and ages heaped together. — Often we find series of associated vertebrae, because they used the saddle-back piece as a whole.— cf. Bächler above, p. 220!
In our section IV (left of the axis) metres 1 and 2 (2 — incomplete; only a narrow strip at the left cave wall) there are now the mass accumulations directly around the charcoal hearth; the bones were //(91) in each case covered with stone slabs.

Bone pit 3, covered with a slab:
Exactly in the middle of cave II — To explain: at the original, not yet excavated situation of the cave floor surface at the exit of H II, where the left cave wall and ceiling projected very strongly toward the north and thus shifted the middle to the right! — cf. sketch Nigg, Fig. 28, p. 49! — between m 1 and m 2 — i.e. on the boundary of both — We are now to the right of the axis! — there appeared a slab at the boundary of layer III (reddish-brown crumbly earth) — to layer IV! — an approximately 40 × 50 cm and 1 dm thick, horizontally placed C 4 slab, under which lay a veritable bone deposit.— An inventory follows (90, list of the bones lying beside the skull — see below:) — on top: limb bones — of which on the very top two femora, placed exactly parallel, their lower epiphyses facing forward (outward); under them further limb bones, likewise horizontal, in part likewise facing the same direction as the femora; then vertebrae etc. — again from the most varied individuals and ages.
To the right of it — lying at the deepest level — was a magnificent skull of Ursus spelaeus lying on its left side, (90—50.5 cm — magnificent find! — see Fig. 122, pp. 256 ff. + explanations) from what was probably a younger specimen (10 years old) but a large animal — with a high, arched forehead — Fig. 122 c, p. 258.— The animal still has completely unworn molars; the canine teeth are abraded (worn) at the tip — see below, p. 251— the right zygomatic arch is strangely gnawed by snow voles — Fig. 122 b/c, pp. 257/8— the rear connecting arch of the left is absent — Fig. 122 a, p. 256.Otherwise everything preserved.

Fig. 122 a, Left side of the skull (D 4) recovered from the 3rd bone pit.
Fig. 122 a, Left side of the skull (D 4) recovered from the 3rd bone pit.
Fig. 122 b, Bächler's magnificent skull from the 3rd bone pit (= D 4), profile length 446 mm, with the 'right zygomatic arch, peculiarly gnawed by snow voles'!
Fig. 122 b, Bächler's magnificent skull from the 3rd bone pit (= D 4), profile length 446 mm, with the 'right zygomatic arch, peculiarly gnawed by snow voles'!
Fig. 122 c, Detail showing the 'high, vaulted forehead' of 'D 4' and the 'gnawed right zygomatic arch'!
Fig. 122 c, Detail showing the 'high, vaulted forehead' of 'D 4' and the 'gnawed right zygomatic arch'!
Fig. 122 d, Detail showing the palate of the skull, containing all the teeth recorded by Bächler — with the exception of the first right incisor! The molars already show traces of wear; for the age see explanations!
Fig. 122 d, Detail showing the palate of the skull, containing all the teeth recorded by Bächler — with the exception of the first right incisor! The molars already show traces of wear; for the age see explanations!

The skull was enormously pressed into the section and required the most painstaking extraction (Th. Nigg).— 92, A blow of the iron hammer on the slab did not shake or shatter it. —
The lower jaw is absent up to now. On the right side of the skull at the palate further long bones and other bones were still lying. How many bones still belong to the skull is to be established. — (Vertebrae)

Teeth preserved in the upper jaw, from D 4 — see Fig. 122 d, p. 259:
Pm 4 (small premolar), M 1, M 2 (molars 1 and 2) splendidly preserved — I 3 (outer incisor) right preserved; I 3 left absent; I 2 (next inward) both absent; I 1 (central) right present (since lost), I 1 left broken off (sic est!)// (94)

Incidentally: the fire-pit.
The finds of the fire-pit and also around the skull — meaning bone pit 3 — are all to be taken together for the reconstruction of a situational picture. Creation of a drawn section of section IV/V.— see Figs. 123/4, p. 260 + explanations!

Fig. 123, Bächler's drawing of section m 4 in H II, excavated on 23/24 August 1920.
Fig. 123, Bächler's drawing of section m 4 in H II, excavated on 23/24 August 1920.
Fig. 124, Bächler's sketch of the same section metre for the 1920/21 publication.
Fig. 124, Bächler's sketch of the same section metre for the 1920/21 publication.

(24 August evening 9 o'clock barometer = 594.0 / 25 August morning 8 o'clock barometer = 594.0.) // (95)


Wednesday, 25 August 1920.

Snowy weather: hut-bound!

Evening descent to Vättis.


Thursday, 26 August 1920.

Bad weather. Base at Vättis.

Prof. Felber, Zurich; Dr. Forrer jun. — inspection of finds.

Evening: Dr. Moesch and wife from Urnäsch.


Friday, 27 August 1920.

Slowly clearing.

Dr. Keel, St. Gallen, and family.

Letter to Guggenbühl — 47 days: 7 July–31 August, insured; working days to 27 August: 35; remaining 12 days credit — enquiry as to whether insurance valid until 10 September.


Saturday, 28 August 1920— clearing.

Departure for St. Gallen — 7.29 St. Gallen. // (97)

Summary 1920
The further work of 1920 in the Drachenloch has now furnished conclusive proof that this is a Palaeolithic settlement of man. All the elements are present that supply the complete picture of the Old Stone Age — specifically its earlier part — a picture that agrees most closely with that of the Wildkirchli. —

In favour of the Palaeolithic speak:

  1. The fauna, with its main representative Ursus spelaeus, which here in abundance peopled the lower layers — i.e. the find layers in their totality.
    Alongside him we find mainly Ursus arctoideus, the form with the flat frontal bone.— As stated: Bächler's distinction and assignment of the bear finds in the Drachenloch to two different subspecies — spelaeus and arctoideus — was an error: Ursus spelaeus — the cave bear — encompasses the whole spectrum of individuals with shorter or longer, more or less arched foreheads; Ursus arctos — the common brown bear — lacks the forehead altogether; the latter is already attested for the Middle Palaeolithic, as for example in the Neanderthal/bear burial site of Regourdou, dated to 70,000 years ago — cf. Fig. 21 + explanation! — Ursus spelaeus is entirely absent from the Neolithic! —

  2. The finds of human artefacts in bone and stone. Any occurrence of metals (iron, bronze, copper) is entirely absent; traces of any Neolithic settlement are likewise lacking. //(99)
    In favour of human settlement speak:
    1) The two hearths =
    a) Hearth I, in strong development beneath the entrance from cave I into cave II.
    b) Fire-pit beneath and in front of the entrance of cave II to cave III. The fire-pit was framed by deliberately placed stones and the whole covered with a larger stone slab of C 4.
    Both hearths contained: burnt wood (mountain pine), burnt stones of Seewerkalk, burnt bones, powdery and burnt earth.
    Both hearths were entirely intact in layer III (at the lower end of it) — nowhere in the layers there is any disturbance. —
    The hearths lie completely in the Ursus spelaeus layer.— Bächler erroneously distinguished, as stated, Ursus spelaeus from arctoideus; in reality the so-called spelaeus layers, especially in H I and H III, go right to the surface! — On the uniformly great age of all find layers cf. E. Schmid, cited p. 12. Moreover one notes that all cultural traces encountered in the Drachenloch — especially on bones and stone — from the uppermost layers to the lowest, throughout the cave from front in cave section I to the very rear in cave section III, differ in nothing — i.e. are completely identical — and therefore belong to the same, closed cultural sphere of Neanderthal man!! (F 2 is known to have since been dated with"terminus ante quem" to 53,000 years BP!)
    The location of the hearths is an entirely characteristic one — i.e. situated in each case beneath the entrances of cave sections (I–II; II–III), from where the smoke could escape outward in an excellent manner upward and along the ceilings of the caves. (Experiments with smoke! — Toni Nigg, son of the excavator, undertook such experiments in the Drachenloch on 5 August 1956 and was indeed able to confirm Bächler's supposition of an optimal smoke-draw! (op. cit., pp. 139 f.) //
    (101)
    The wood used for burning is mountain pine wood. The current mountain pine limit lies at 1,960–1,970 m altitude — i.e. still 100 m lower than the Gelbberg hut (2,070 m). It is out of the question that the primeval hunter dragged his firewood from this depth up to the Drachenloch — over 500 m higher; he had to take the wood from the immediate vicinity — namely from the formerly much higher-reaching belt of mountain pines on the slope of the Gelbberg–Drachenberg.
    The tree and timber line has demonstrably been artificially lowered here by man ("anthropogenic depression of the timber line").    — The tree line in the Riss/Würm interglacial — a warm period, the most probable time-period for the cave bears of the Drachenloch and their hunters, as everywhere in the Alps — was some hundreds of metres higher than today — as also for the landscape beneath the Conturineshöhle at 2,800 m altitude (Fig. 125, p. 263), in which cave bear bones were found; thus also here, in the Drachenloch at 2,427 m, must one presuppose this.The mass of the burnt woods — notably at charcoal hearth I (cave I–II). . .

    Fig. 125, Barren surroundings of the Conturineshöhle (arrow) at 2,800 m above sea level in the Dolomites near S. Cassiano (South Tyrol) — inside, traces of cave bear and prehistoric man!
    Fig. 125, Barren surroundings of the Conturineshöhle (arrow) at 2,800 m above sea level in the Dolomites near S. Cassiano (South Tyrol) — inside, traces of cave bear and prehistoric man!

Here Bächler breaks off his summary! — The close of his 1920 notebook comprises: p. 119, a numbered list of items needed for the 1921 excavations; p. 120, barometer readings from 16, 17, and 26 August; p. 121, sketches; pp. 122/23, miscellaneous notes including orders and outstanding bills; pp. 124/25, brief notes of the 1920 work contributions from Monday 28 June (path work by Hermann Kressig) to Saturday 21 August; and finally at the very back, p. 126, entries on bus and rail connections St. Gallen–Vättis — also deposited sheets with cross-section sketches, including of AB 6 — cf. Fig. 63 b, p. 122 + explanation.

RECORD NIGG

Tuesday, 24 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 8)

H II, section 4.
Continued work in the whole section. 1st m r / 4th layer, toward section 5: bone pit with numerous bones and a fine skull of the cave bear (man).— Nigg is convinced of the artificial deposition; he writes bone pit — not bone chest — cf. explanation to Fig. 123! — This is Bächler's 3rd bone pit with "D 4" (ibid. 1920, p. 91 — see above), for whose position he here supplements Bächler's data!


Wednesday, 25 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 8)

Snowy weather — hut-bound; afternoon descent to Vättis.

(Thursday to Sunday Nigg in Vättis; Bächler departs on Saturday — see above.)


Saturday, 28 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 9)

Hermann and Abraham — transport of bone material from the cave to the hut and to Vättis.


Monday, 30 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 9–10)

Morning ascent from Vättis.

H II, section 4.
1st m r.(In German cursive script:) Working through the two lowest layers. Much splintered material — bone artefacts; toward m 1 l, earth crumbly to the bottom. (Proximity of the fire-pit!) — Finds down to the lowest light loam layer — but throughout extremely crumbly.
1st m l: working through layers below the fire-pit. Earth very // crumbly, dry. Directly below the fire-pit: large stone slab, and under it many bone remains — but likewise very crumbly.

Bone pit 4, covered with a stone slab (cf. Fig. 120):
Toward section 5, in the two lowest layers, again a bone pit covered by a stone slab — with skulls. Weather: fog; cold; clearing in the evening.


Tuesday, 31 August 1920 (D V/6 5, 10–15)

H II, section 4 / 2nd m left.
Nigg picks up from yesterday's discoveries:80 cm below the surface, directly below the fire-pit, a horizontally lying broken slab (floor of the fire-pit?),— and now describes the 4th bone pit in more detail:under it, reaching into section 5 (projecting only approximately 20 cm into section 4), a second broken slab over a new bone pit with skulls. This broken slab lies horizontally — 90 cm below the surface.— //In order to gain clarity on the situation, I first work through m 2 l completely.
2nd m l, 3rd and 4th layer
Here there is a projecting block of the left cave wall reaching to the depth (or a collapse block?) — Figs. 126–28, pp. 263 f. — Working through by layers is impossible here — also because everything here is dry, loose, grey earth that remains the same in the gaps and angles between wall and block all the way to the depth. Bones here are numerous — but extremely crumbly and brittle.— cf. Figs. 123/24 + explanation!

Fig. 126, Rock ledges on the 'left' wall in H II, section 4/5, cf. Nigg D V/6, 5, 11!
Fig. 126, Rock ledges on the 'left' wall in H II, section 4/5, cf. Nigg D V/6, 5, 11!
Fig. 127, Before the entrance to H III, section metres 4/5 in H II, rock ledges on the left!
Fig. 127, Before the entrance to H III, section metres 4/5 in H II, rock ledges on the left!
Fig. 128, Nigg's cross-section sketch of section 5 in H II, 2 September 1920. D V/6 S 4, 13.
Fig. 128, Nigg's cross-section sketch of section 5 in H II, 2 September 1920. D V/6 S 4, 13.

Section 5 / 1st and 2nd m left:
In order to be able to clearly recognise the situation at the new bone pit, I first remove the upper 3 layers of section 5 in 1st and 2nd m l. The distance of the left cave wall from the axis here is only 1.3 m. Moreover only a fraction of metre 5 is removed — at the cave wall for a length of 40 cm and on the axis 70 cm inward (toward // H III). Here, in the middle of the section, moreover part of section 5 (40 cm deep) has already been lifted during the uncovering of bone pit 1 (to the right of the hearth).
Uppermost layer (+ calcite layer): Already in this layer fairly frequent bear bones appear (in part standing upright!).
3rd layer:
Masses of bone remains — below the left cave wall: skull piece. Everything jumbled together! But finds poorly preserved — crumbly — easily falling apart. Skull piece 50 cm below the surface. Directly behind the fire-pit: still some individual charcoal pieces. Earth here firmly trodden, compressed.

Bone pit 4, covered:
80 cm — Nigg corrects the depth of 90 cm recorded above! — below the surface lies here the already mentioned slab over the bone pit. Under this slab lie 3 skulls side by side — and beside, above and below them (down into the grey loam layer): masses // of bones — everything jumbled together at random. But all bones crumbly and frequently falling apart at the slightest touch — even the canine teeth are crumbly! The earth here does not at all show the characteristics of layer 4; on the contrary it is crumbly and dry; all the more striking is the poor state of the bones. (Influence of the fire-pit or of the winter cold?) It thus seems here, close behind the fire-pit, that a  b o n e  p i t  w a s  d u g  (down into the grey loam layer) and  c o v e r e d  w i t h  a  s t o n e  s l a b .  The pit was filled to the depth with bones and hand-sized to (in individual cases) almost head-sized stones — notably larger and smaller slabs. Individual pieces — especially 2 sacra, a vertebra, and a complete rib (blackish in colour) — lay (the latter horizontally) approximately 10 cm deep in the loam layer (5th layer). //Nigg sketches the situation, Fig. 130, p. 266; this 4th bone pit he also sketches in a coloured cross-section drawing of 2 September — cf. above, Fig. 7, p. 20 and below, Figs. 131 and 133, pp. 267 f. — Weather: fog; cold; clearing in the evening. // In general, however, the loam layer seems to be find-barren after all — though traces of decayed bones are not entirely absent in its uppermost part.A rtefacts in bones occurred — but owing to advanced weathering not unambiguously. Stone artefacts were almost entirely absent in typical forms. (Weathered?)

Fig. 130, Nigg's situation sketch of the 4th bone pit — referred to by him as the third — with cover slab, support block and support slab! — D V/6 5, 14. Dimensions of the cover slab: 100 × 60 (30) × 10 cm; of the block in diameter: 40 cm; of the upright support slab in width: 40 cm! Regarding the position of the skulls he writes: (oval) 'skull lying inverted, entirely under the slab'; (circle) 'skull lying on its side, in front of the above, somewhat lower, not under the slab'; (star) 'fragment of a skull, under the slab'.
Fig. 130, Nigg's situation sketch of the 4th bone pit — referred to by him as the third — with cover slab, support block and support slab! — D V/6 5, 14. Dimensions of the cover slab: 100 × 60 (30) × 10 cm; of the block in diameter: 40 cm; of the upright support slab in width: 40 cm! Regarding the position of the skulls he writes: (oval) 'skull lying inverted, entirely under the slab'; (circle) 'skull lying on its side, in front of the above, somewhat lower, not under the slab'; (star) 'fragment of a skull, under the slab'.

(A shorter version of Tuesday 31 August 1920 by Nigg also in D V/6 sketch book 4, pp. 3–5, likewise with a sketch of the 4th bone pit including cover slab, supporting slab, and supporting block.)


Wednesday, 1 September 1920 (D V/6 5, 16–19)

H II, section 4 / 4th layer / 2nd m r.
Part of a bear's paw. — At depth: large blocks reaching into section 5 (cf. Nigg above, p. 249). I therefore first uncover section 5 down to this depth.— Nigg also calls section 5 the "collapse section"; from the floor-plan sketch of H II (+ passage; cf. Fig. 28, p. 49) it measures only 47 cm to the entrance of H III. Confusingly, Nigg continues to designate the 1st section metre of H III as H II section 6 (!), as in the following and on his coloured cross-section drawing of the exit H II / entrance H III — see Fig. 131, p. 267! (For the situation cf. also floor plan, Fig. 120, p. 255.)

Fig. 131, The 4th bone pit with 3 skulls in section; drawing by Nigg — 2/9/20.
Fig. 131, The 4th bone pit with 3 skulls in section; drawing by Nigg — 2/9/20.

Section 5 / m 1 r (remainder — the following in German cursive script:)
Uppermost layer (+ calcite) (layers 1 and 2).
Individual large long bones (probably displaced from H III). — This metre was partly already removed with 1st m l during the lifting of the skull lying there.(in bone pit 4!)
3rd layer: finds not particularly numerous. — Dispersed material.
4th layer:actual find layer: already at the transition from layer 3 to 4 the finds increase surprisingly and fill the whole 4th layer — mostly right to the bottom — without tailing off in the 5th layer. —
In 1st m r (level with the fire-pit) the earth is firmly trodden. Here: bone and individual stone artefacts.
(Since 2nd m r — toward the wall — threatens to collapse — large stone blocks in the section — I first remove this one as well down to the layer.)

Section 5 / m 2 r / uppermost layer (+ calcite layer):
Throughout already bones (displaced); rubble slabs (smaller) — notably toward the wall. I try to batter this section back obliquely, as the right cave wall slopes down obliquely. It would thus be easier and better to close off cave III.Nigg sketches the situation, Fig. 136, p. 278.

Fig. 136, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 17.
Fig. 136, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 17.

3rd layer:
Finds already numerous. Skull pieces; artefacts — toward the bottom still steadily increasing.
4th layer (also the rest of this layer in 1st m r added.)
1st m r:
Bone pit 5, uncover (Fig. 120, p. 255; Fig. 132, p. 267):
80 cm below the surface in the lower part of the 4th layer: bear skull — lying on its jaws; muzzle toward the right cave wall. Beside and above and below it: bones of all kinds — among them: against the right zygomatic arch pressed the lower head of the thigh bone; under the zygomatic arch a vertebra; beside the right upper jaw a rib; in front of and above the muzzle: toe bones; on the right — very close — a lower jaw etc. —

Bone pit 6 with "D 17 and 20," uncovert (Fig. 120, p. 255; Fig. 132, p. 267):
Toward 2nd m r — lying somewhat higher (60 cm below the surface) but still in the 4th layer: again 3 skulls together. A young specimen lying on its left side with the muzzle toward the rear — reaching into section 6; a second lying on its jaws with the muzzle looking upward — close behind the first at the same height; and the third again somewhat on its left side — to the left of the first — partly concealed by a collapse block — and like the first again with the muzzle pointing into section 6. The rear part of this skull lies exactly on m 5 — i.e. on the boundary between (collapse section) 5 and 6.— Figs. 134, pp. 271 ff. and Fig. 135, pp. 274 ff.

Fig. 132, 5th — 6th — 7th — 8th bone pit.
Fig. 132, 5th — 6th — 7th — 8th bone pit.
Fig. 134 a, 'D 17' — skull from the 6th bone pit, left side.
Fig. 134 a, 'D 17' — skull from the 6th bone pit, left side.
Fig. 134 b, Left skull cap wall of 'D 17' with a deep notch.
Fig. 134 b, Left skull cap wall of 'D 17' with a deep notch.
Fig. 134 c, Right side of 'D 17'.
Fig. 134 c, Right side of 'D 17'.
Fig. 134 d, Underside of 'D 17' with 5 preserved molars in the upper jaw showing barely any traces of wear. Age class 2a, aged 1½–2 years.
Fig. 134 d, Underside of 'D 17' with 5 preserved molars in the upper jaw showing barely any traces of wear. Age class 2a, aged 1½–2 years.
Fig. 134 e, Cut marks on the left frontal arch of 'D 17'.
Fig. 134 e, Cut marks on the left frontal arch of 'D 17'.
Fig. 135 a, From the left: muzzle with forehead of 'D 20', from the 6th bone pit.
Fig. 135 a, From the left: muzzle with forehead of 'D 20', from the 6th bone pit.
Fig. 135 b, Left side of 'D 20', 380 mm profile length, from the 6th bone pit.
Fig. 135 b, Left side of 'D 20', 380 mm profile length, from the 6th bone pit.
Fig. 135 c, Underside of 'D 20' with 4 complete molars in the upper jaw showing no trace of wear, and the left, mutilated canine tooth. Age class 1b, aged ¾–1½ years.
Fig. 135 c, Underside of 'D 20' with 4 complete molars in the upper jaw showing no trace of wear, and the left, mutilated canine tooth. Age class 1b, aged ¾–1½ years.
Fig. 135 d, Right side of 'D 20'.
Fig. 135 d, Right side of 'D 20'.
Fig. 135 e, Cut marks on the left temple and forehead of 'D 20'.
Fig. 135 e, Cut marks on the left temple and forehead of 'D 20'.

Bone pit 7, uncovered (Fig. 120, p. 255; Figs. 132/3, pp. 267 f.):
In the oblique section profile of 2nd m right — Fig. 136, p. 278 — the muzzle of a 4th skull peeps out from under an upright-standing broken slab. Directly at this skull lay numerous bones jumbled together — among others: 1 pelvis bone; 1 small lower jaw; 1 heel bone; rib pieces; a thigh bone; toe bones etc. — all of which I collect separately.

Fig. 133, Nigg's complete cross-section drawing of section metre 5 at the exit of H II / entrance of H III, 2 September 1920 — Figs. 131 + 132 — with the 4th bone pit, covered with a stone slab, in the 1st metre left of the axis, and 3 further bone pits to the right of the axis (5, 6 and 8; Nigg does not draw the 7th, which lies behind the large block — curved arrow!): no. 5 in the first metre right of the axis, no. 6 toward the second metre right, and no. 8 in the second metre right; in total Nigg sketches 10 skulls (Sch) in 4 pits — see straight arrows; the 8th pit, 140 cm from the axis, with 2 arrows. (1 + 2 skulls!)
Fig. 133, Nigg's complete cross-section drawing of section metre 5 at the exit of H II / entrance of H III, 2 September 1920 — Figs. 131 + 132 — with the 4th bone pit, covered with a stone slab, in the 1st metre left of the axis, and 3 further bone pits to the right of the axis (5, 6 and 8; Nigg does not draw the 7th, which lies behind the large block — curved arrow!): no. 5 in the first metre right of the axis, no. 6 toward the second metre right, and no. 8 in the second metre right; in total Nigg sketches 10 skulls (Sch) in 4 pits — see straight arrows; the 8th pit, 140 cm from the axis, with 2 arrows. (1 + 2 skulls!)
Fig. 136, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 17.
Fig. 136, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 17.

Weather: fog; cold.

(A first, shorter version of Wednesday 1 Sept. 1920 by Nigg in D V/6 sketch book 4, pp. 7–10.)

Thursday, 2 September 1920 (D V/6 5, 20–22; in German cursive script)

H II, section 5 / 2nd m r / 4th layer:

Bone pit 8, uncovered (Fig. 120, p. 255; Fig. 132, p. 267; Fig. 137, p. 278):
1.4 m to the right of the cave axis — 60 cm below the surface: yet again a bone pit with 3 skulls, skull fragments, and many bones.
Under a larger skull (No. 2 in the sketch in Fig. 137), which lies on its side and is almost completely covered by a heavy stone block, lies a smaller skull — "D 25," Fig. 138, pp. 279 ff. — jaws facing upward; beside it — under the upright-standing block — a third skull, which is almost completely lodged in section 6 (or rather the rest of section 5 — Aha!!) and only protrudes its very outermost muzzle-tip into section 5. At the skulls here too much bone material jumbled together at random (under skull 3: a fine shoulder blade).
Earth in the pit: loose; many stones; empty spaces between them.— No natural formation during sedimentation — but as stated: pits artificially created by man for the purpose of depositing cave bear bones!! — All bones including skulls poorly preserved.

Fig. 137, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 20.
Fig. 137, Sketch by Nigg, D V/6 5, 20.

Fig. 138 a, 'D 25' — 'small skull', no. 1 on the sketch in Fig. 137, from the 8th bone pit, see Figs. 120 and 132. — 318 mm profile length. Right side.
Fig. 138 a, 'D 25' — 'small skull', no. 1 on the sketch in Fig. 137, from the 8th bone pit, see Figs. 120 and 132. — 318 mm profile length. Right side.
Fig. 138 b, Left side of the 'very young skull' D 25 from the 8th bone pit.
Fig. 138 b, Left side of the 'very young skull' D 25 from the 8th bone pit.
Fig. 138 c, Underside of 'D 25', upper jaw with all molars! Age class 1a, aged ¾–1½ years!
Fig. 138 c, Underside of 'D 25', upper jaw with all molars! Age class 1a, aged ¾–1½ years!
Fig. 138 d, 'D 25', molar 2 left, without any trace of wear!
Fig. 138 d, 'D 25', molar 2 left, without any trace of wear!
Fig. 138 e, 'D 25', with clear cut marks on the skull cap!
Fig. 138 e, 'D 25', with clear cut marks on the skull cap!

1st and 2nd m r / 5th layer: finds less numerous; bones crumbly — strongly decomposed.
6th layer:
Loam layer — in the upper part still containing individual bones and traces of decomposition. — From layer 5 I take an earth sample in a small find-bag. —

Midday: section 5 worked through. Afternoon: drawing of the section — see Fig. 128, p. 264 and Figs. 131–33, pp. 268 f. — Construction of the enclosure before the section; packing of the skulls; sorting of the bones; tidying of the tools etc. — 3.15 descent to the hut with bone material. — 4.30 evening meal. — 5.00 descent to Vättis.

Weather: fog; snowfall; fresh snow in the morning down to above the hut (by evening it has melted back to the first rocky outcrops below the cave). —

(Shorter version of these notes for Thursday 2 September 1920 in: D V/6 sketch book 4, p. 11.)


Friday and Saturday, 3 and 4 September 1920 (D V/6 5, 22)

Transport of find material from the cave to the hut and to Vättis. (Abraham and Hermann.) — Weather: steady rain; snow above. //Page 23: discoveries during bone-washing.


Saturday, 18 September 1920 (D V/6 5, 24)

Abraham and Hermann carry wood for the closure to the hut. Half day.


Monday, 20 September 1920

Hermann alone — material transport. 1 day.


Tuesday, 21 September 1920

Abraham and Hermann — material transport. 1 day.


Saturday, 25 September 1920

Abraham and Hermann — material transport. 1 day.


Monday, 27 September 1920

Closure of the cave. (Abraham and Hermann and I.)

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 1 September 1920

My dear Mr. N i g g!

I arrived safely back in the Gallus-city, where a pile of work again awaits me, until I finally get to my long overdue holiday. —

Yesterday I sent you by postal mandate to Vättis Francs 600.—, which you are to use for settling the outstanding items. Mr. President G s e l l is pleased at the success of this campaign — he sends you his kind regards and wishes that we draw up the final accounts for this year as soon as possible so that everything is in order. — Since the credit of 1,800 Fr. for 1920 is used up with my own expenses, I must apply to the council for a supplementary credit so that your balance too is settled as quickly as possible this year. I therefore ask you to have the accounts drawn up as soon as possible so that we can close. Into these accounts come therefore also the absolutely necessary measures: construction of the closing door in the cave; window shutters for the Gelbberg hut; cabinet under the small cabinet in the hut. The other necessities — new sorting table; loft above the herdsman's loft; table top on the old table; sitting stools for the cave; board shelves in the "cellar" of the hut — we take on a separate account for the winter; i.e. you then simply send me the bill for the latter things once they are done. —

The accident insurance, by arrangement with the company, now only runs until 10 September. By then all work up above should be finished, so that a new insurance does not need to be taken out. I hope the weather plays no tricks, so that the deadline can be kept. Should that not be the case, I ask you for timely notification so that no one works without insurance and would not be covered in case of accident. —

When you have a crate ready with washed things, you can quickly send it here so that I can return the crate to you.The fine skull — Bächler's "magnificent skull" from the 3rd covered bone pit — "D 4" — see Fig. 122, pp. 256 ff.! — from the last excavation days I would naturally like to have soon — for measurement's sake above all. —

We do well to close the cave securely — as directly below the entrance from II to III the Homo drachenbergensis very probably (!) lies.— The traces of his activity were at the exit of cave section II so omnipresent that Bächler — somewhat boldly — was hoping for his burial pit at the entrance to III, as one had discovered in 1908 in the small cave of "La Chapelle-aux-Saints" — Fig. 10, p. 20! — You have already glimpsed him with the mind's eye — and then he must appear! Hocus-pocus, Lord, wouldn't that be fine; I have already dreamed of it. Anyway, next year we shall stand at highly interesting revelations. —

I wish you and your dear ones a good autumn and fine weather for the autumn work. Stay all quite healthy and well — and accept warmest greetings for yourself and your dear family and the helpers Abraham and Hermann!

I am always yours faithfully, Emil Bächler.
St. Gallen, Federal Prayer Day 1920

My dear Mr. Nigg!

You had a fine premonition that the month of September would not be suited to the Drachenloch research. Last Friday morning at 3 o'clock my dear wife woke me — and at 8 o'clock, already healthy and lively, our sweet little one,

Ursula Veronika,

came into the world as a strapping little bear — our "Benjamina." Her little head reminds me so much of the Benjamins of Ursus spelaeus — and so she will not be angry later when she learns that her name was chosen after the lucky finds of 1920 at the Drachenloch.— The birth went perfectly in 1 hour. It is a supremely strapping little thing — barely 200 grams short of 8 pounds — so a proper little bear. And well-behaved — only once disturbing in the night, then quickly quiet without a peep. The mother has been perfectly well to this day and the little bear gets enough milk from her. — So we hope for a good course to the joy of the parents and the mightily delighted siblings. —

Your kind letter (not preserved!) has pleased me greatly — that the final stretch of the section in II was still so fruitful in ursids. In the meantime they will have finished. For the transport and conveyance of the enclosure, you, Abraham, and Hermann are still properly insured, as I resolved the deadline with the insurance and stipulated only the actual working days. The pleasure of the authorities at the good era of 1920 is great — and 1921 already secured. — If you can close the accounts for me soon, I am heartily grateful to you. Do not forget to include your compilation for 1919 and 1920 regarding your working days — including washing and cleaning of finds — so that you too are settled. I want a clean slate and a clear conscience toward you! —

I am only taking my holiday now — until mid-October — but remaining in St. Gallen with the exception of a few excursions. The correspondence is brought to my house every day — including from the museum.

Give my warmest greetings to all the dear ones in your family! Receive yourself the warmest greetings and the assurance of heartfelt thanks for your faithfulness and your exemplary collaboration on the fine work — from your faithful

Emil Bächler.

At my return journey from Vättis I alighted at Pfäfers and paid your dear mother a brief little visit, which gave her great pleasure. I know well enough myself what such a good, excellent mother means in her son — and your great success is also her heartfelt satisfaction. Such a mother is a great blessing — and I wanted to tell her once what her son means to me. — I am heartily glad that you were still able to give your dear mother this experience!
St. Gallen, 13 November 1920

My dear Mr. N i g g!

Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for your various kind consignments and your dear letters (not preserved!) — and quite especially also for the fine little sample, which will find its full appreciation. — I have been so enormously harnessed into other work that only last week did I get round to unpacking the crates. Everything is well preserved and I have enormous pleasure at the results of the discoveries you still made at the close. It was a fruitful summer — what will it be like in III!

On Wednesday I had to fill in at short notice for the cantonal veterinarian, who was supposed to give a lecture on foot-and-mouth disease. Of course I spoke about our Drachenloch and the newest research results. The hall was again packed to the brim and most people amazed by the fine finds and results. —

Next week I shall compile all the accounts and then report your share to the council. But I am still missing your own contribution of work from the summer of 1919 — which belongs to it too — and the days for cleaning the finds. I would like all of this settled yet this month so that I have a clear conscience toward you. I shall also give you answers to the various questions next week.

As concerns the calcspar crystals you found: for technical use, completely glass-clear pieces would need to be present. The two pieces sent to me are still too cloudy for this purpose. It is a similar occurrence to the Kobelwieshöhle in the Rhine valley. For the museum I would gladly purchase a series of pieces for the mineralogical collections as specimens for the Tamina valley. —

I would like at least to have made a small discharge of my obligations toward you today, and ask you heartily to be patient until next week — until I can breathe again. —

The dear Ursula Veronika has become our little sweetheart — a sprightly girl who already growls like a little bear and lets her eyes wander about like a researcher's and laughs as if she had discovered the bears in the Drachenloch herself. —

At the lecture you were warmly remembered — what a pity you were not there. The president of the Historical Society, Prof. Bütler, was mightily pleased — although I had a dig at the historians.

Accept, dear Mr. Nigg, warmest greetings from house to // house — especially from

Your faithful Emil Bächler (in the old haste!)
St. Gallen, 22 December 1920

My dear Mr. N i g g!

In the past weeks I was visited by a sharp lung catarrh that confined me to house and bed for some time. That, and a fearful pile of work, have made it simply impossible for me to close your — or rather the whole Drachenloch — account before Christmas, which I had counted upon as quite certain, so as to meet my obligations in the old year. To that was added — just when I wanted to make time — the serious illness of my wife's stepmother, Mrs. Tobler at the "Gemeli," where I had to take over the matter of the house sale and possible lease (as there is no one else) on her behalf. I reproach myself very strongly that your affair — which lay so close to my heart — was pushed to the back. —

But I shall see to it definitively next week and refer it to the council, so that the matter should be settled in early January. — If it is possible for you, please excuse me and do not be cross with me.

May I ask you to let me know whether the money is to be transferred directly to you or again via the bank in Ragaz. —

That you are doing the work for the (teachers') conference is greatly to be welcomed — and I shall make a small compilation for you on the Drachenloch that is perfectly suited to your purposes. Penck, vol. II (Penck and Brückner, The Alps in the Ice Age,1909) is very heavily written — but I shall send you the volume from my library. —

The Reinhardt (L. Reinhardt, Man in the Ice Age in Europe,1913) you need not buy — I did the fellow in along with others in last Saturday's afternoon edition of the "Tagblatt" — after having a fierce exchange of letters with him. —

But I send you here a little Christmas greeting: "The Cave Children" by Sonnleitner. That is fodder for young and old alike — no one else can match it. You can also use it in school. And the fine spirit that pervades the books. I have just recommended the books in the "Tagblatt" too.

The drawing by dear Anton (Toni Nigg) gave me enormous pleasure. Please write me quickly what I may send the boy for New Year as a return gift. I would like to give him something fitting for his devotion.

The press has, after a stupid report on my lecture about the // Drachenloch, relayed one piece of nonsense after another — which I cannot answer, as it is newspaper drivel that I have always treated with silence. The main thing is what we report. I mentioned your name at the lecture with particular emphasis — and that the work would not be possible without you! — Witnesses: the 200 present at the lecture itself. Then the newspaper buffaloes always only write my name. I shall once in the new year have something sent out via the press agency to set things straight.

We have enviers everywhere, of course — you among your dear colleagues, I among the scientists. But that is right — one lets them be envious. "Enviers, the better" — Prof. F r ü h once wrote to me — "what has no enviers is worth nothing." Let them get on with it!
Abraham and Hermann — their 50 francs each — I must not forget; they shall have it before the new work begins.

And now I wish you and your dear family a truly merry Christmas! My thanks again — many thanks — for the patience you must have on my account. And for the faithfulness you bestow on the work. —

In old friendship, always yours faithful

Emil Bächler.

* * *

1921

Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 9 March 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I must once more heartily beg you to judge and treat me quite leniently — as the boy Absalom. You have always done so in your kind way, for which I shall always be grateful to you. But there simply is and always has been too much upon me; I no longer know how to make the wisest use of each moment — so rare are the minutes. Just as I wanted to put your affairs definitively in order, the serious illness of my dear wife's second mother came upon me, where — in the absence of any male help — I had constantly to step in. Then last week came her unexpected death, where alongside my many obligations I again had to step in — directing and managing everything. Now come the succession matters and the leasing of the 120-year-old "Gemeli" in St. Gallen. This very week we have to clear out all the furniture. My wife's brother is in Naples and cannot come. Everything lies with me. The tax authority pushed its prying nose in the very day after the death of the late Mrs. Tobler — but must wait until we are done. —

You will understand how I fell behind in consequence, and I beg you not to be permanently cross with me. —

For once I am sending you my personal copy of Penck and Brückner, Vol. II (The Alps in the Ice Age, 1909). I refer you especially to pages 440, 699 and following, where the most important material is. When must you give your talk at the conference? I could also send you for a short time a manuscript, destined for imminent printing, containing a brief survey of Swiss prehistory. — And then some notes on the Drachenloch, cum grano salis.

I need Penck and Brückner a great deal myself — if you can make your notes from it soon, I am very grateful to you.

The Sunday before last week I was supposed to give a lecture in Ragaz (Piz Sol Section) on Alpine cave research — as I did five weeks ago in Zurich — when the bereavement came on Saturday. On the Friday I was still able to cancel everything by telegram and must now, it seems, give the lecture in April. I was just about to write to you when the news came that things were going badly with my dear mother-in-law. —

I hope that from the beginning of April you will be satisfied with me again. Our excavations in the Drachenloch are financially fully secured for 1921. Your sum (for 1920 and 1921) we shall simply draw from the reserve fund of 18,000 francs. So there cannot be any shortfall. —

How are you and your dear ones? Our Ursula Veronika is a magnificent little bear-child — full of vitality, health, and joy of life. Along with it, of a touching good behaviour and charming laughter. The dear little thing has not yet had a bad day and stands at her bear-mother's constant and abundant milk-supply. My dear wife sends you and yours her warmest greetings and I join her joyfully.

Always your faithful, but much battered

Emil Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 29 April 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

At last I have reached the point where I can also unburden my conscience toward you. Those were worse exertions than going up to the Drachenloch twice a week.One need only have dealings with tax authorities and be the owner of real property. The tenancy business with the "Gemeli" made me into a "shopkeeper" — God be lamented. In the course of next week your matter will be settled. The money will be sent to the bank in Ragaz as per your instructions. From a manuscript I shall likewise // next week send you a survey of Swiss prehistory and the relevant material on the Drachenloch.

With the warmest greetings from house to house — especially from the magnificent Ursula —

Your faithful E. Bächler

Best thanks for the consignments!
St. Gallen, 3 May 1921

The Administrative Council of the Municipality of St. Gallen

to Mr. Teacher Nigg, Vättis.

We thank you warmly for the work performed at the Drachenloch up to now and express our pleasure that it is to be continued in the near future. The Council has approved your suggestion to present each of the two workers Abraham Bonderer and Hermann Kressig with a gratuity of Fr. 50.—. The sum will be forwarded to you and we ask you to transmit it to both men.

Your outstanding balance of Fr. 744.20 will be sent by the Cashier's Office to the bank in Ragaz as per your request.

Respectfully

(In the name of the Administrative Council)

The President: Gsell
The Council Clerk: Dr. Bodmer
St. Gallen, 4 May 1921

Cashier's Office of the Municipality of St. Gallen

to Mr. Theophil N i g g, Teacher, V ä t t i s.

On the instructions of Museum Director Dr. Bächler, we are today transferring to the bank in Ragaz for credit to your account Fr. 744.20 as remuneration for 82 working days less the debit balance of the 1919 account. At the same time we are paying directly to you via our postal account Fr. 100.— as a gratuity for A. Bonderer & H. Kressig and ask you to arrange payment to these gentlemen. We request the enclosed receipt returned as soon as possible and also await acknowledgement of receipt of our payment to the bank in Ragaz.

Respectfully

Cashier's Office, Municipality of St. Gallen
(Name)

1 receipt enclosed.
St. Gallen, 4 May 1921

My dear Mr. N i g g!

In haste I wish to inform you that the Council yesterday resolved to pay out your balance from the Drachenloch research for 1920 and 1919, and the sum will be sent to the bank in Ragaz in your name — which will happen these days.

I have calculated on the basis of your information of 28 October last:
1919 33 days at 12 Fr. (excl. board) Fr. 396.—
1920 49 days at 12 Fr. (excl. board) Fr. 588.—

——— ——————
  82 days Fr. 984.—
From which is to be deducted the debit balance of the 1919 account which you retained: Fr. 239.80
leaving to your credit: Fr. 744.20

which sum is now directed to your account at the bank in Ragaz. —
In the tally of days I have rounded up the half-days to full days, with which you will certainly agree. —

Should anything not be right, I ask you to tell me quite freely — we shall come together again and want to have everything in order.
You will then receive directly from the Cashier's Office of the Municipality of St. Gallen these days Fr. 100.— which you are to convey to our two faithful men, Abraham Bonderer and Hermann Kressig. —
Our campaign for 1921 is, as I told you earlier, financially secured, so that we can carry on this summer without worry. — This summer I am taking my whole family to Vättis. I can then stay calmly in the Oberland. —
The manuscripts will follow yet this week.
Please accept, dear Mr. Nigg, the warmest greetings for you and your dear family from
Your faithful Emil Bächler
Excuse the longer postponement if at all possible. — A small letter from you to Mr. President W. Gsell, Town Hall St. Gallen, would certainly please him. Please write him a few words.
St. Gallen, 12 May 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Today I am sending you by parcel post the first part of my preliminary work on the Drachenloch, which the Natural History Society is including in its next annual volume (57th volume, Part I, Society years 1920 and 1921, pp. 1–145, see Bibliography).(The Commission has asked me to produce this preliminary communication as quickly as possible.) As you will see on page 8 below before the footnote, we are working out the monograph together.— Bächler writes there:A proper scientific monograph of the prehistoric animal finds and the evidence for the former presence of Old Stone Age man will follow on completion of the research (authors: E. Bächler and Th. Nigg).— This announced monograph in which he sees Nigg as co-author will not come about; only much later — publication year 1940 — will he summarise Wildkirchli, Drachenloch, and Wildenmannlisloch in a single monograph and set out their research findings!

At the close of Part I I have a sketch as a continuation that is necessary for your lecture. I have not yet written it up cleanly and am therefore sending you what is finished in the manuscript.— Which chapters "Part I" encompasses and which chapters Bächler "sketches" for Nigg is not clear.— The proper monograph will of course be much more extensive and your collaboration is not in the least curtailed by these preliminary discussions. —

Please do send the manuscript back to me soon once you have noted down the most important points from it. If you find errors in it, please tell me openly. I do not swear to infallibility. I had to write the whole thing in 3 weeks.— The careful, scientifically exact rendering of the recorded findings — alongside those of Nigg, especially his own — was clearly not possible for Bächler in this short time of 3 weeks; this applies above all also to the most important discoveries at the exit of H II and entrance of H III. He writes of this (underlining from the surviving manuscript in the "Private archive Bächler", box 1, which Nigg may have seen — Figs. 139/140, pp. 291 f.):Completely conclusive proof for this remarkable bone accumulation by man was provided, however, by the find circumstances at the entrance into the third cave and in the front part of the same. Instead of the bone deposits along the cave walls, there were a kind of stone chests here — rectangular structures of rough flat stone slabs taken from the weathering rubble of the cave, built up and more or less closed on all sides and covered with a large cover slab.Some six such stone chests were found in all. Whenever a flatly positioned larger stone slab came to light in the excavation section, one could be sure of dealing with an intentional construction. The real surprise followed only when two of our strong men lifted the respective slab.There in the stone chests lay — usually well oriented — cave bear skulls one upon another, and alongside them a number of large limb bones — exactly as in cave II behind the small stone walls. Here too again and again: non-associated skeletal parts, whose deposition could never be explained without the involvement of man. They were the purest of osteological museums — now 2–3, now 5 and more skulls together with the remaining limb bones. All pieces in the most marvellous preservation.— Figs. 17 and 19, between pp. 96/7 = “D 2 and D 24”; both originate from elsewhere: cf. Explanation of Figs. 57 and 118!- The finds are freely summarised; see as an example Fig. 124, p. 260 and explanations to Figs. 123/4! — For the actual conditions cf. the excavators' records and the plans drawn up therefrom, pp. 255 and 412/13!
Fig. 139, Page 120 (upper half) of Bächler's manuscript for the contribution to the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Society for Natural Sciences, 1920/21. The present section appears there on page 107/108!
Fig. 139, Page 120 (upper half) of Bächler's manuscript for the contribution to the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Society for Natural Sciences, 1920/21. The present section appears there on page 107/108!
Fig. 140, Page 120 (lower half) of Bächler's manuscript for the contribution to the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Society for Natural Sciences, 1920/21. The present section appears there on page 108!
Fig. 140, Page 120 (lower half) of Bächler's manuscript for the contribution to the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Society for Natural Sciences, 1920/21. The present section appears there on page 108!

In the first publication approximately 20 illustrations already appear. The monograph will bring over 60.

For your kind communications (not preserved!) I thank you best. // I am glad that you are now also satisfied and that Abraham and Hermann were pleased by the gratuity. I hope that eventually something proper will come your way too! Now that the monumental new museum building stands complete, the natural sciences also have more hope of an Excelsior. The biological groups I had made are wonderful. I shall have a great deal to do this autumn and winter with the creation of Part II of the regional museum (zoological division). Holidays are once more illusory there. —

I have had the popular Wildkirchli (320 printed pages) ready for a long time — but printing is still far too expensive.— The monograph "Wildkirchli" does not appear until 1936, evidently in an abridged version.— In winter a monograph on the ibex (approximately 420 pages) must also go to press. I shall be dreadfully plagued on account of the completion. —

The dragon stories I have deliberately extracted from my larger manuscript on "Dragon Legends" and placed here. — You see how difficult it stands with Sprecher's explanation (Yearbook, p. 21). Prof. Dr. Pult is one of the finest researchers in Romansh. Track = Vättis dialect "dragg, tragg" is German (Latinised — What does Bächler mean by "Latinised"? — The New High German word "Drache" — Vättis dialect "Dragga (loch)" — certainly derives from the old stock of Indo-European; both the Ancient Greek "drakon" and the Latin "draco" already know this word in the same meaning for "dragon, serpent"! Gutturals "g, gg, ck, k, ch" and dentals "d, t" are mutually interchangeable!) — The word does not derive from Romansh. Etymology requires more than an F. W. Sprecher.

Please accept, dear Mr. Nigg, the warmest greetings from your faithful

Emil Bächler.

Please tell me: Is the hard t in "Draggaloch" also to be heard in the Vättis dialect? Does the settlement of accounts tally?

! Should you feel anything against my preliminary publication on the Drachenloch, please tell me quite bluntly! I would under no circumstances wish even the smallest differences between us. I would feel it as a misfortune. I have only given way to the pressing of the Commission of the Natural History Society and written down something "preliminary" just the once.

As chapters that you would work out in the monograph, I have noted down the following:
  1. Situation, topography: description and exact representation of the entire cave system together with cave plan.
  2. The excavations and find layers (characterisation of the latter). Distribution and occurrence of finds in the layers. The excavation methods.
  3. Historical notes on the Drachenberg. Alpine farming; former spread of the forest.
  4. The current vertebrate fauna of the Calfeisen valley. Folk names of the animals. Bear stories. Hunting history of the valley.
  5. The settlement of the Calfeisen valley by man.
  6. The discovery of the finds. History of the excavations.
I am of course glad to cede other chapters to you as well, since I have enough to do with the palaeontological material and with the characterisation of the prehistoric finds. — Likewise with the geological dating etc. —

If you have any wish, express it freely. I want a clean table between the two of us. —

The following is the sole surviving letter from Nigg to Bächler from the years 1918–21!
(City Archive — Vadiana — St. Gallen, private archive "Emil Bächler," box 32!)

Vättis, 28 June 1921

Dear Mr. Bächler!

Today I can finally return your manuscript to you. My work is done and I must now postpone the lecture by a year. In the last days I received from the president of the district conference the enquiry as to whether I would not, in favour of Teacher David — who has an "urgent" lecture on orthography — be willing to postpone mine. Of course I do so, but recite to myself my little verse about the incurable petty-mindedness of us schoolmasters! Next year the dear gentlemen colleagues will come nicely to Vättis and ascend together with the new orthography to the Drachenloch — in such a way that they shall know once and for all that they went with me! If they do not go along with my proposal, I will refuse the lecture. —

As I have already written to you, I have read your manuscript with great interest — and I hope you will not be vexed with me if I venture in all modesty a few remarks on it. Above all I would ask you not to put forward my name as author of the actual monograph, since my contribution can in any case only be of a modest nature. Of the monograph's chapters that you assign to me for treatment, I can in good conscience take on only chapter 3 (Historical matters) — and possibly chapters 5 and 6 as well (Settlement & Discovery & History of the Excavations). Chapters 1 and 2 suit me less and I would be very glad not to have to take them on, while I would rather venture at chapter 4 "Current Vertebrate Fauna." Nevertheless I would still have to do various preliminary studies for it, and I would ask you to give me the relevant literature so that I can already begin to work my way into it today and commence the observations. In the enclosure I am sending you some notes — principally on the historical section of your manuscript — which I made while studying it and which, as I hope, might be welcome.— One reason for the non-realisation of the great Drachenloch monograph Bächler–Nigg will certainly also be Nigg's failure to agree to drafting chapters 1 and 2 in this letter, which will doubtless have secretly disappointed Bächler. Nigg's modesty has certainly played a trick on him here, for these tasks set by Bächler certainly lay within the scope of Nigg's abilities, which Bächler — who had come to know him well — may have correctly estimated.

We are now in the middle of the haymaking. The holidays have begun. Should we soon begin with the preparations for our imminent campaign up above? It might perhaps be desirable all the same to improve the path below the Patina and also below the Chrächeli at the worst spots. The workers would be very willing to undertake this work between the haymaking, since in any case at present there is a lack of work here. Then there would also be your loft to build up above, and at the same time further material to be made ready to carry up. I ask you also not to forget the desperately needed packaging material for the finds — especially small boxes and larger bags. I therefore most politely ask you for word as to whether we are to begin the path work during the haymaking, so that it is then in order later. I reckon on putting the path properly in order in 3–4 days if both workers help. On the further preliminary work I shall still draw up a compilation // and make you proposals in the near future. Please at the Administration announce the renewed outbreak of "Drachen-loch-itis" in Vättis and the fact that this year it has also seized the workers. —

Regarding your question about the "t" in "Draggaloch," I note that according to my observations exclusively "Traggaloch" or "Trachaloch" is spoken here — in both cases with a hard initial T.

I hope you and your dear ones are well and greet you and your whole household most warmly! With heartfelt thanks, your devoted

Th. Nigg.
St. Gallen, 12.7.21

The Administrative Council President of the Municipality of St. Gallen

to Mr. Teacher Nigg, Vättis.

Dear Sir.

The cashier has today received instructions to send you Fr. 500.— for the coming excavations in the Drachenloch. I wish you good weather, fine working days, and every success.

Respectful greetings

Gsell. President.
St. Gallen, 15 July 1921

My dear Mr. N i g g!

With the very best thanks I inform you — again rather late — of the good receipt of the manuscript and your kind letter. I recently had a fairly fierce debate with old fogeys on account of the field-chaplaincy and had to take the military men once by the scruff of the neck — they have learnt absolutely nothing from the miserable World War. — On top of all that I had to join the urban district school council, whether I wanted to or not.

I am very grateful to you for your kind remarks on my manuscript and shall note your priority in it. But the thing will not go to print before the end of August. We shall still have opportunity to speak about this and that.

The Council has now again approved a credit of 2,200.— francs for the Drachenloch work for 1921, and I have immediately given orders for 500.— Fr. to be sent to you at once, so that the path improvement can now already begin. If you also have the path made more passable up toward the cave on the Drachenberg slope, that is right — since a great deal of material is to be carried down this year. —

It would suit me well if you could let me know the start of the excavation work in the cave so that I can arrange myself accordingly. I think we shall take the months of August and September for it, so that we can clear out cave III. I shall then immediately see to the insurance and send you the necessary things (boxes, bags, crates). I want to have the burners fetched here too next week and send you the reflectors as well. —

I still have a number of works to finish here — among other things the annual report for the museum. — I have, as I already mentioned to you, the intention of coming to Vättis with my family for at least three weeks of the holidays. I already spoke with district forester Jäger about this last year, since we simply need several rooms. Into an inn we do not want to go, in order to be more undisturbed. I first have to write again to see whether they have not yet given the place away and whether my wife with two children could come in the first or second week of August. My wife would stay approximately 14 days — then our maid would relieve her so that my wife can get home again to little Ursula. With one room in the schoolhouse with you // we would of course have too little space. I think that this solution will not be disagreeable to you. If you find something more suitable, I am grateful to you. The families will come together anyway, and Heinz is already mightily looking forward to going to the Vättnerberg with Theophil or Anton and living there as an alpine farmer. —
I myself am again totaliter done in and would gladly lie for a few days on the Gelbberg grass outside and be quite idle. —

Please accept, dear Mr. Nigg, once again warmest thanks and the friendliest greetings from house to house — especially from your faithful

E. Bächler

Would you perhaps ask at District Forester Jäger's whether we could have the rooms. —

Mid-July the path work begins and with it Nigg resumes his records; preceding it is a control inspection in the spring of 1921, which Nigg has also recorded:

Control inspection of 23 February 1921 (D V/6 1, 66–67)

In partially firm snow and magnificent weather, in the company of Joseph Sprecher the younger, to the hut and to the cave. Finding:

Hut: lock on the hut door broken; otherwise everything intact. —

Cave: the door was opened by all appearances; cave II: partition toward III intact; also no other signs that anything was done here. Temperature above 0° — estimated 6–7° (?). Floor only frozen weakly in the front part, directly behind the door; here at the ceiling and on the inside of the door, as well as outside at the top of the entrance: frost formation. Cave I very dry; traces // point only to slight water flow during the winter.

Snow depth before the cave approximately 1 m; on the Gelbberg approximately 60–70 cm. — Corner (pulpit) at the back by the tower almost entirely bare. We observed numerous chamois in the Tersol — altogether probably over 100 animals in various groups distributed over the snow-free ridges on the east (Gelbberg) side of the alp. In the Gelbberg itself only a single animal observed. (!?)

RECORD NIGG

Friday, 15 July 1921 (D V/6 5, 26)

Abraham and Hermann — transport of boards (for the loft). Setting up the cabinet in the hut; clearing of the path.


Saturday, 16 July 1921— Abraham, Hermann, and I: work on the path.


Monday, 18 July 1921— (all 3) work on the path.


Tuesday, 19 July 1921— (all 3) work on the path (above the Patina).


Wednesday, 20 July 1921— (all 3) ascent to the hut; work on the path to the cave.


Thursday, 21 July 1921— (all 3) work on the path to the cave. Marking.

(Mountain hay-harvest) — continuation of works on 1 August.

(Letter-paper with the emblem of the wild animal park Peter und Paul, St. Gallen)

St. Gallen, 24/25 July 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

In all haste I am sending you at least the one reflector (flat reflector) for the acetylene lamp; the other I have sent to Lucerne (firm Margreth), since one cannot get the burners in St. Gallen. — The acetylene-lamp mechanic in St. Gallen maintains that the burner sent to you is absolutely still good. But I have ordered 2 new ones.

The two crates NM 1 & 2 went off from here yesterday — containing small boxes for the small things from the Drachenloch. Today I am ordering the blankets from the armoury. Today (Monday) in eight days' time I am coming with my family to Vättis. Please let the district forester know. Wife and 2 children — Urseli stays here with the maid. My wife stays 14 days; then our maid comes up and stays with Heinz and Hanneli for a further 8 days. I would therefore rent the rooms at the district forester's for 3 weeks. — In case you should still be haymaking, I shall simply stay in the valley and go on excursions with wife and children. When work in III begins I would like to be there in any case. // I shall bring the account book myself.

In the Gelbberg hut, please have the loft above the "Schäfler" (shepherd's sleeping box) installed, and likewise the larger table top, so that we are comfortable.

If you still need anything, please let me know quickly so that I can see to it before departure.

With warmest greetings and until a happy reunion,

Your E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 28 July 1921

My dear Mr. N i g g!

What a dreadful stroke of bad luck! We had already prepared with matchless joy for the departure to Vättis (Monday), when Heinz — the dear fellow — came down yesterday with chickenpox, which has now fully broken out and thrown him into bed in this heat. Our doctor naturally forbids departure; Heinz must stay in bed 8–10 days. We do not know whether Hanneli and little Ursula Veronika have perhaps already been infected too — which cannot be said with certainty before 10 days have elapsed. The chickenpox we must not bring to Vättis. That is fait accompli and nothing can be done about it. — Force majeure!

I have now also written to the district forester about the matter with this post and asked him to dispose of the rooms on other terms immediately, since it is now the season in Vättis. At best my wife and the two children could still use the last 8 days of the children's holidays for a stay in Vättis — but then they would have to nest in the "Lerche" or in the "Tamina," if the rooms at the district forester's are not perhaps still free after all. I have however given free passage there over the rooms so that the district forester suffers no loss.
Since I now still have to watch for some days how things develop with the chickenpox, my arrival in Vättis will likewise be delayed by some days — probably until Wednesday. You will understand that.

Tomorrow I am still sending you an acetylene lamp (hand lamp), which we can use well up above. The burners have unfortunately not yet arrived from Lucerne. I am, however, sending the hollow reflector straight away now to Vättis. Small cigar boxes for finds will follow.

So do not let yourself be held back from starting the resumed excavations. Strike into cave 3 where you left off last year. Do however always still leave something at the edges so that I can check the cross-section in situ. No. 3 is very important for new reference points. In any case you could also make an incision in the dome of cave I. Well, you will find the right approach. — The incident should hopefully not cloud our joy. — //

Please also let me know quickly the start of work up above so that I can have the insurance begin immediately. —

If you still need tools that can be made in Vättis, simply order them without any fuss.
The loft for me above the "Schäfler" — have it made right away. We shall have visitors this summer anyway who will stay overnight. —

The Piz Sol section wants to come up at the end of August. I must first give a lecture then. — If I come on Wednesday, I can again lodge with you, as there is no point in my being at the district forester's. I have written you that. —

With the warmest greetings and until a happy reunion for all, I am your faithful

Emil Bächler


RECORD NIGG


Monday, 1 August 1921 (D V/6 5, 27)

(Hermann alone): transport of blankets to the hut; mowing of loft-hay; installation of the loft above the "Schäfler."


Tuesday, 2 August 1921

(all 3) ascent to the hut with provisions etc. Bringing in loft-hay — woodcutting.

Weather: very hot; Foehn; thundery in the evening.

(Telegram)

St. Gallen, 2 VIII 1921

Mrs. Teacher Nigg, Vättis.

Cannot come to Vättis until Saturday evening. Letter follows.

Dr. Bächler
St. Gallen, 2 August 1921

Most esteemed Mrs. Nigg!

Through various interruptions it has unfortunately been made impossible for me to come to Vättis as early as tomorrow, so that it will be Sunday before I appear there — or possibly late on Saturday. — If anyone goes up to the Gelbberg this week, please have word sent there to your dear husband that he is to carry on cheerfully in cave III until I come.

The lad Heinz has slowly recovered. // Yet he will probably have to forgo his holidays away from home — like his little sister — which both are very sorry about. Hopefully there will be another time.

With warm greetings to you and your dear ones I am your devoted

Emil Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Wednesday, 3 August 1921 (D V/6 5, 27–33)

Ascent to the cave. Construction of sorting table and eating table. Drawing of the floor plan in the dome — Fig. 141, p. 303 (cf. Fig. 33, p. 60). Start of excavations in H I, m 18 & 19, 1st m right.— On account of Bächler's absence Nigg does not yet begin with H III, but continues the work ended on 11 August 1920 — cf. above, p. 233 — to the right of the axis toward the "dome structure"! — Here a large collapse block, projecting into the already excavated trench before the entrance to II. Rubble section — layering not recognisable; much coarse and fine rubble, heavily interspersed with moist loamy earth. Bone finds not absent but not numerous.

Fig. 141, Nigg's dome floor plan, D V/6 sketchbook I, 1.
Fig. 141, Nigg's dome floor plan, D V/6 sketchbook I, 1.

A thunderstorm drawing in over the Gelbberg forces us to descend at half past four. Anton brings Dr. Bächler's telegram.
Weather: Foehn; hot; thunderstorm in the evening. //


Thursday, 4 August 1921

Yesterday's thunderstorm was followed by steady rain with snowfall. Since the precipitation lets up in the afternoon, we ascend to the cave to seal the water trough there with ash. On the way back we carry out the path marking with upright-set stone slabs and red paint marks.

Weather: fog in the morning; rain; snow (fresh snow down to the Säss). Letting up of precipitation in the afternoon; slow clearing toward evening.


Friday, 5 August 1921

H I, sections 18 & 19 / 1st m r: uppermost and rubble layer:Numerous small and very small bone splinters.(Products of the ceiling collapse or proximity of a workshop site — Bächler had already assumed in 1920, on the basis of these numerous bone splinters and other conspicuous finds that he drew and described — Figs. 102 ff., pp. 211 ff. and 109 ff., pp. 222 ff. — a work site immediately before the passage into H II; cf. above, pp. 207 f. and Nigg above, pp. 219 and 233, with comment.)

Sections 16 & 17: In order to be able to carry out the excavations in the dome more easily, m 16 & 17 (1st m right) in H I are also excavated. The right side of these sections in H I (16–19) likewise extends into the dome space.

Sections 16 & 17, 1st m r: uppermost layer — black earth speckled grey-white // by masses of snail-shell fragments, with much rubble; few finds (tooth of a larger ruminant).

Sections 16 & 17, 1st m r: second layer:
Almost only rubble — many large ceiling-collapse slabs and blocks. Finds: few bone splinters. At depth large blocks appear that are very thick. I therefore move to 2nd m r and excavate sections 17 & 18 there in order to establish the situation. Here too almost immediately below the surface almost nothing but rubble with numerous heavy slabs.

Excavation in the dome. Result = 0.

Weather: warm; very fine (Foehn pressure).


Saturday, 6 August 1921

Continuation of last year's excavations in H II — passage to H III (H II, sections 5/6).

H III, section 1, 1st m l.
Uppermost layer: already fairly numerous // bear bones — in part projecting above the surface of the present cave floor.— In fact the deposits in H III have a lesser thickness compared to those of H II (including the "passage"), so that the cave bear bone finds and bone depots come closer to the surface or in part actually lie on it! —
The second layer is not clearly marked here and is excavated together with the 1st layer as far as the 3rd layer.(!)
3rd layer: reddish-brown, crumbly earth with little rubble and numerous but very crumbly and brittle bone remains. Exactly the same picture as in last year's sections. Passes downward very distinctly and almost abruptly into the 4th layer. Individual ribs seem to have been used as tools.
4th layer: characterised especially by very many rubble blocks — smaller and larger horizontally lying slabs. Bone finds still numerous.
Toward the depth the rubble again becomes sparser (transition to the following layer): in places calcite formation (hard); charcoal traces (proximity to a hearth? Perhaps displaced charcoals from fire-pit F 2 in the previous section?)

Weather: magnificent; some Foehn pressure. //


Monday, 8 August 1921

Ascent with Mr. Bächler and artist-painter Früh. Josef Kressig engaged as carrier (and paid by Mr. Bächler). — Afternoon: woodcutting; written work. (Transferring the diary into the new book — presumably Bächler's transfer is meant!) —

On this day Nigg is photographed by artist-painter Früh — see Fig. 19 c, p. 28; Bächler stays until 19 August and it is he who makes the primary excavation notes; RECORD NIGGs during this period are only short summaries — the 12th of August excepted!


Tuesday, 9 August 1921 (Dr. Bächler here)

Ascent to the cave. Continued work at section H III, section 1 — 3rd/4th layer — 2nd m l.Skull — more detail from Bächler, see below!


Wednesday, 10 August 1921

Morning: continued work at section 1, H III.Lifting of the skull. Afternoon: Abraham and I to Vättis for packing material.


Thursday, 11 August 1921

Not to the cave. Abraham and I arrive at the hut at midday with material. Foehn and rain. //


Friday, 12 August 1921

Dr. Bächler stays in the hut. I with the workers to the cave — continued work.

H III, section 1 — 2nd m l — 4th (lowest) layer. Much rubble; among it typical rolled pebble-material — also Gault pieces — the Drachenloch cave lies on Gault; see drawing in Fig. 63 a, p. 122, but up to now not rolled — "rolled" as a typical mark of a foreign body carried by man into the cave interior. Bones crumbly; only small fragments; in general sparse. More numerous toward the right cave wall — but always very crumbly. Skull fragments. Artefact (rib). Piece of quartzite (at the right cave wall, 4th layer — brought in by man; Fig. 142, p. 303!) Numerous rubble slabs — especially toward the right wall. All finds from the 4th layer (whole section) are taken together — i.e. left of the axis separately and right of the axis likewise separately. Gault pieces fairly frequent throughout the layer. Several pieces are added to the finds as specimens. — Weather: morning Foehn; afternoon fog and rain; evening snowfall. — We descend to Vättis. //

Fig. 142, Quartzite from H III, metre 0–1 left, layer 4.
Fig. 142, Quartzite from H III, metre 0–1 left, layer 4.


Tuesday, 16 August

Evening ascent to the hut (Dr. Bächler, I, Abraham, and Hermann).


Wednesday, 17 August 1921

Ascent to the cave. H III, section 2. Drawing of section 1— evidently by Bächler; this cross-section drawing is missing! — (Working through) the uppermost layer — full width.

Weather: clear; cool.


Thursday, 18 August 1921

Continued work at section H III / section 2 / 3rd and 4th layer. Weather: clear and warm.


Friday, 19 August 1921

Continued work in H III, section 2 — layer 4.Two skulls — signs of skull cult — i.e. primarily a skull deposit! — more detail from Bächler, see below, p. 307!

Evening: Mr. Bächler to Vättis.

Weather: warm; light Foehn in the morning; strong Foehn in the afternoon and evening.

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1921

(With supplemented page numbers: 1 — inside cover page, measurements outside the cave — 2/3, list of Bächler's working days in 1921 in the Drachenloch; cf. the foregoing data from Nigg — here and at Bächler's second visit to the Drachenloch in September 1921! — 4/5, expenditures at 1st journey.)


6, Tuesday, 9 August 1921

Ascent to the Drachenloch. Weather very fine — Foehn.
1. Staking out of the axis in H III.
2. Start of work in m 0–1 in cave III. Uncovering of the uppermost layers.
Uppermost layer (15 cm): blackish-crumbly; interspersed with faeces of birds and bats. Mosses (vole nests).
Bones protruding through; some from burrowing. //

7, Entrance from II to III.
The middle of the first longitudinal metre 0–1 was barricaded with large 50 × 60 cm C 4 blocks. It subsequently emerged that these blocks are genuinely ceiling-fallen sections, whose negatives are still demonstrable above in the ceiling. One of the blocks was already no longer in layer III (red earth), so that its weathering from the ceiling falls into historical — i.e. post-prehistoric — time. The 2nd block still reached with its underside into the prehistoric period. //— Already in 1919 Bächler mentions a "barricade block" that closed off H II from H III (see p. 194); with these blocks too it is hardly a question of ("historical") ceiling fractures — cf. Prologue, p. 12 and Bächler below, p. 307!

(8, temperature measurements in the cave.)

9, At the left side wall in m 0–1 are bench-like, horizontally deposited seats of 2 approximately 1.5–2 m long C 4 blocks — finely regular. Behind this bench: a hollow space.— These begin already at the exit of H II; they can only be Nigg's "rock ledges" — cf. Figs. 126, p. 263 and 131, p. 267. — Before this bench, in C 4 small-plates 2–3 dm long and 2 dm wide: an Ursus spelaeus skull; embedded rock slabs in front of it. This skull too, with the remaining bones, was archived.— According to Bächler's description this skull lay in the gap between the rock bench at the left cave wall and the "embedded" — i.e. stacked — stone slabs, and was additionally framed by smaller C 4 Seewerkalk platelets; Bächler calls these types of stone constructions "stone chests"! — So e.g. in his 1921 publication, see above, p. 290. He probably counted among them the first 4 bone deposits covered with a stone slab + the present one + the one following in the same section metre 0–1 to the right of the axis — see below! — As Bächler reports below, this skull had 1 femur + 1 humerus pushed through the left zygomatic arch opening — see below! — According to data on one of the note-sheets that Heinz Bächler composed on the cave bear skulls from the Drachenloch (op. cit.), the skull had been labelled "D 7" in the depot; its section length was 430 mm (1940, p. 191); its state of preservation is described as "very splintery and brittle" and its age class given as "II c" (1940, p. 192) — "teeth slightly worn." Unfortunately this skull "D 7" can no longer be found in the depot today! — //

(10)4th layer: at first light-greyish, compact; then interspersed with a number of small C 4 platelets lying — so to speak — horizontally plated. Between them a crumbly, almost dry greyish calcite-earth that contrasts strongly with the actual red earth of layer III through its much paler colour. Often this earth also contains whitish smears — deriving mainly from the strongly decomposed, white, crumbling surface of the C 4 platelets and slabs. — The Seewerkalk slabs here are decomposed fairly far into their interior — just as in the lower layers in the Wildkirchli. — The paler colour of the earth of this 4th layer derives mainly from the //(11) much lower content of bone material.
In fact layer IV is much the poorer in bones; here and there scattered bones appear that have no mutual association. //(12, empty)

(13), Evidence for the presence of man in cave III.

  1. Overlaying and enclosing of Ursus bones — skull — with horizontally deposited C 4 slabs.— "D 7" — see above!

  2. Femur and humerus bones pushed through the left zygomatic arch opening — nature and bear were not capable of this.— cf. Fig. 143, p. 304!

    Fig. 143, Bächler's sketch of 'D 7' with femur drawn through the left zygomatic arch!
    Fig. 143, Bächler's sketch of 'D 7' with femur drawn through the left zygomatic arch!

  3. Find of a piece of Gault in the middle of C 4 slabs on the left wall side.
    This is the sole find of this kind up to now. Under it lay all C 4 pieces. The Seewerkalk has up to now always formed the content of the waste product of the cave ceiling; the walls //(14) are up to now always C 4; Gault (C 3) has never been encountered in the wall rock even in the deepest sections — it lies deeper, probably still below the white loam layer. — The (C 3) Gault piece is typical in its colour and character; it must have been brought in by man — specifically directly from the entrance outside the cave.

  4. Question: Why is it that the rubble pieces of layer IV are always positioned so characteristically horizontally — always in such small platelets?
    It gives entirely the appearance as if they were in part intentionally placed — in order to dry or cover the moist substratum of the white loam layer ("Bsetzi"— stone-paving). It is barely possible that these platelets represent //(15) pieces broken by falling from larger fall-slabs, or were formed by the decomposition of larger slabs.

  5. At places with many bones (bone deposits) the earth is always more compact — even toward the rock wall. The earth here is stamped and compressed. Deliberate covering-over and pressing-in of the bones with earth? — The conditions of the 8th bone pit contradict this statement — cf. Nigg's statements above, p. 270! There the bones, after being placed in the dug pit, were evidently covered with only a little earth, so that the spaces between the bones were not filled in. Evidently, however, the other version also existed — whereby the pit was filled with abundant earth after the deposition of the bones and the same then stamped in to level the floor.

  6. The larger skulls with bone deposits are almost throughout (entrance II to III) framed with slabs like the charcoal hearths and covered with a large C 4 slab.— Bächler explicitly mentions, alongside the cover slab, only here in the present "skull chest" a complete framing — including laterally with smaller slabs — corresponding to charcoal hearth "F 2"! — The skulls and limb bones together with //(16) vertebrae under the slabs are all well preserved. The assumption that at these bone accumulation points animals killed by ceiling rock are present is completely refuted by the following facts:

    1. Bones of different individuals are present without exception. See point 5.

    2. Not a single complete skeleton is present — even under and beside the largest slabs.

    3. The limb bones are always completely preserved; where broken, their bilateral ends are absent — i.e. only one is present. Therefore the fractures are never splintered breaks but transversely struck-off breaks. Not one of the skulls lying under slabs shows any injuries whatsoever on the //(17) surface.

    4. Why then have no remains of quite old bears either entered the cave or been found under the rock slabs? (? !)

    5. As absolutely conclusive proof of the bone remains here archived by man stands the co-occurrence of bones of the most varied Ursus individuals (juvenile and middle-aged) and other animals. —99.5% are cave bear bones! — It is always only parts of the skeleton — never the whole.

    6. In accumulating the bones, everyone is struck by the fact that alongside the skull there are always several large limb bones included:
      In the skull found in m 0–1 toward m 2, in whose zygomatic arch opening 1 femur and 1 humerus were found, it shows that the skull was already entirely stripped of flesh and //(18) skin — otherwise the two bones could not have been pushed through.— "Defleshing" by man! — The bones present at the skull are not mutually associated — see below! — Test on the skull's example.— (Meaning: pulling femur and humerus through the zygomatic arch!)

      Further evidence:

    7. Charcoal hearths with slabs.

    8. Deliberately smashed bones — (fracture, absence of the other end).

    9. Archiving behind small walls, skull deposits — as here in H III, m 0–1 left.

    10. All young animals: prey animals.

    11. Bone artefacts.

    12. Quartzite find, 12 August 1921 — Fig. 142, p. 303; (19) which is out of place in the cave — it must have been brought in from outside — from section m 0–1 in cave III, layer IV, (18)+ smoothed piece of calcite.

    13. Non-associated bones (limb bones) at the deposits.

    14. Arrangements and archiving of

      1. Fibulae

      2. Ribs

      3. Coxae (acetabula)
        Always along the walls — centre free. // (19) — No gnawed bones!

    15. Very many jaws broken in the middle, whose rear joint-end is absent. The canine teeth are in each case struck off at the tip. With some jaws these too are absent.

    16. The absence of mass bone deposits and hearths in cave I — versus the accumulations in II and III. // (20)

    17. The presence of calcite pieces (yellowish-white) in each case around the skulls and bone deposits — notably in H III, m 0–1 left!

    18. — see above! — Femur (+ 3 humeri) pulled through the zygomatic arch. // (21)
      At the skull in section 0–1 left — bone accompaniments — Fig. 144, p. 304:

      Fig. 144, Simplified, non-detailed reconstruction of 'D 7' with accompanying bone deposits!
      Fig. 144, Simplified, non-detailed reconstruction of 'D 7' with accompanying bone deposits!

      1. A right femur — both epiphyses gone + the bone split lengthwise on both flat sides, notably on the inner side. Pulled through the zygomatic arch.

      2. A left humerus — lower epiphysis (trochlea) preserved; upper epiphysis off + flat sides with cracks — notably the inner side. Pulled through the zygomatic arch.

      3. and 4. Two other left humeri — in both the upper epiphysis absent; 1 with the epiphysis struck off (bone fracture of the shaft-end!)
        (All three upper arms not mutually associated.)         // (22)

      5. 1 tibia left — complete, with oblique crack through the upper side of the shaft-centre.

      6. 1 tibia right — complete, with longitudinal cracks on the front side of the shaft; not belonging to 5, as smaller than 5.

      7. 1 ulna (left?) — almost complete; only the upper epiphysis damaged.

      8. 5 lumbar vertebrae — not mutually associated.

      9. 2 thoracic vertebrae.

      10. 1 epistropheus (large).

      11. 1 jaw piece from a young specimen.

      12. 1 femur epiphysis.

      13. 1 ulna epiphysis. //


(20) (Friday),12 August 1921

Partly stormy; rain; snow in the evening down to the Patina. Descent to Vättis. Geological search. Rock samples from the Gelbberg hut upward (specimens for the museum). Mr. Nigg, Abraham, and Hermann work the section 0–1 out completely to the floor.

(From 13 to 15 August 1921: no work.)


Tuesday, 16 August 1921

Ascent to the Gelbberg at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. // (23 empty, 24)


(Wednesday), 17 August 1921

Ascent to the Drachenloch. Weather fine — Foehn.

(Temperature data follow that Bächler obtained on the ascent and in the cave — H II: 4.2° — ) //

(25, In the cave it drips — tr ench — constantly. Trench (“German: Graben”) wet; from rain to snow. 14/15/16/VIII/1921. //(26)


(Wednesday), 17 August 1921

I. Drawing of the section (cross-section) of m 1, point 1. (1 m inward from point 0. See special section.— The cross-section drawing at the point specified by Bächler is missing! An idea of this missing section is given by Bächler's characterisation of the layers in the following:)

II. Continued work: m 1–2.
Removal of layers I and II down to the red layer. //(27 empty, 28)

Characterisation of layers I–V.

Layer I: surface layer.
It is of very loose character where it has not been made firm by the entering and exiting at cave III. It is of blackish, crumbly-humusy colour. Aside from the obligatory calcite it contains much bird faeces (alpine jackdaws, mice) — also mosses and plant fibres dragged in by mice and other animals; possibly also accentors (Accentor alpinus). Furthermore we find in it — notably under stones — masses of bleached snail shells, rodent bones of recent type, and bird bones. //(29 empty, 30)

Layer II.
Greyish earth (calcite) with many smears — up to 0.4–0.5 cm thick white calcite-sinter smears (specimens) — in part interspersed with bleached snail shells. Consistency crumbly-powdery. Contains bone remains of ursids that in part project upward into the uppermost (I.) layer. The stones present in the layer are throughout still angular — little interspersed. — In places this layer is very compressed. It descends deeply at the rock walls on both sides. Even in m 1 toward the axis this layer quickly goes to greater depth and gains in thickness. There the white calcite is up to 10–15 cm thick and compact. //(31) Many bones heavily over-calcited white — readily recognisable. In places over-calcited bones are also found in layer IV — though by far not so densely covered. //(32)
As it lies closer to the surface, the calcite is mostly still very fine; yet there are places where it is entirely dry and powdery and dissolves in the hand. Of loamy character there is as yet barely anything to be felt — at least the calcite cannot be balled. Weathering stones are here and there — mostly of small calibre.
Several collapse blocks went no further than this layer II; the largest, however, lay directly on layer I. They are as barricade blocks historical — cf. above, p. 301! — //(33) Between layers II and III there is an intermediate layer: lighter, more grey and loamy-compact — 10–15 cm, at one spot up to 30 cm. //(34)

Layer III.
Red calcite-earth. Crumbly to powdery. Bones all reddish; the larger ones (limb bones) mostly horizontally deposited.
This layer has been inhabited the longest — as the most hunting-prey is present and the bone material of the prey was archived here in abundant fashion.//

(36) Layer IV:
Remarkable stone-platelet layer — mostly small, horizontally deposited, in strata — in general — as if intentionally laid so as to hold back the thickness of the floor.— A better explanation Bächler finds (1921, p. 14) above, p. 302 (the fourth proof of the presence of man). — In section II, 40–50 cm thick, nothing but platelets.//(35) These stone platelets and slabs are entirely characteristic in their horizontal application. (See section II in cave III on m 1 of the longitudinal axis — This section is missing; cf. above!) — Pure calcites as framing of the bone deposits.— Bächler is thinking primarily of the framing of "D 7" with C 4 platelets — see above — and of the two skulls discovered on 19 August — see below! — Cult.— On the content of the present rite (cult) see Prologue, pp. 14/15! — //(36)

The earth is lighter than in III. Bones paler, yellowish. The layer contains nothing but non-associated, dispersed material — and in the centre very little. —
The stones are all provided with a white decomposition crust and are often decomposed right to the C 4 core. The earth lying between the slabs is loamy-moist and lighter than in III. //(40!)


Thursday, 18 August 1921

Continued work at sections I–II / layers II and III.

Magnificent weather; (son) Heinz at the Drachenloch! //(41)


(Friday), 19 August 1921

(Light Foehn — magnificent weather; temperatures: middle of cave I = 7°; rear of cave I = 6°; dome = 6.4°; in cave II = 4.5°.) //(37!)

m 1–2, right of the axis:
In this platelet layer — approximately 30 cm deep within it (cm from above) — under a stone slab and above another one: 2 skulls of older Ursus spelaeus specimens.— A secure identification of the two skulls is not possible! — The upper skull lay fairly normally; muzzle angled somewhat obliquely toward the right cave wall from left to right (zygomatic arch torn off but present). The lower, rear skull lay inverted — occipital aperture facing forward (section openi ng). — The two skulls were moreover entirely wedged in platelets — 1 platelet in the nasal opening. — The skulls are very moist and brittle; the left zygomatic arch was fairly well abraded (cleared away).//(38)
At the skull lay 1 radius and 1 ulna (humeri absent) — also 2 cervical vertebrae (atlas and epistropheus).

The prognosis of bone-cult has been remarkably borne out here. The deposition of the platelets at the front of the section was suspicious. Here too an archiving of bones (especially limb bones) — radius and ulna associated. But never a complete skeleton. Ulna strongly splintered on one long side.—

The many platelets do not derive from mere surface weathering but were laid down systematically. A decomposition of larger slabs //(39) into such individual platelets is impossible — it is a question of intentional arrangement of the same.

Shorter habitation in layer II and mainly in layer IV; longer mainly in layer III (layer IV much intentionally built up at the section); quite brief habitation in layer V. A principal habitation took place in layer IV.—

Skulls in IV were buried by the inhabitants of layer III and covered with slabs (cult!).— The Drachenloch cave was never a dwelling — only a work place and a temporary place of sojourn! — Skull II facing forward (directed — very finely deposited — without the jaw — again buried in slabs. Slabs small, lateral; base-slab and cover-slab larger; complete framing. Frequently white calcites. Lifting by Theophil Nigg.

RECORD NIGG

Saturday, 20 August 1921 (D V/6 5, 34–50)

H III, section 2 (m 1–2)/ 4th layer.
Under the left cave wall again a skull — but very crumbly; falls apart at the slightest touch. Covered with select thin stone slabs of plate-size. In m 1 right, close to the axis and abutting on section 3, under a large cover slab, again resting on small platelets: skull and other bone fragments.
Otherwise few finds emerge in this layer — and these moreover mostly very poorly preserved. — 6 o'clock descent to Vättis.

Weather: overcast; windless; foggy in the evening. //


Monday, 22 August 1921

Morning ascent from Vättis to the hut (with Abraham and Hermann). Midday to the cave. H III, section 2 / 5th layer — full width.

Finds still up to directly on the loam layer. Notably toward the left cave wall the finds are still fairly numerous — including worked bones.

(Under left cave wall: a living beetle.) —

Drawing of section 3 in H III.— Fig. 145, p. 311: Nigg takes the section at the point where the 3rd section metre begins, at m 2 in H III; the section at m 1 — where the 2nd section metre begins — was (or should have been) taken by the present Bächler, but is today missing; cf. Above!

Weather: clearing; cool in the evening. Temperature at 6 o'clock in the evening before the hut: 9.7° C. //

Fig. 145, Nigg's cross-section drawing of section 3 in H III, D V/6 sketchbook 1, 2.
Fig. 145, Nigg's cross-section drawing of section 3 in H III, D V/6 sketchbook 1, 2.


Tuesday, 23 August 1921

H III, section 3: surface layer — full width:
The surface layer here consists almost throughout of a 2–8 cm thick, loose, white calcite layer, below which a red, soft layer containing many bones lies directly — corresponding to the hitherto 3rd layer. A different arrangement of layers from what we have had so far seems to be developing in cave 3. The difference is up to now most conspicuous in the uppermost two layers. The hitherto black humus layer is gradually absent; in section 3 it can only be detected near the cave walls; in the middle of the section it is completely absent. In its place appears here as the uppermost layer the already mentioned calcite layer.

Finds: bears up to the surface — in part bones projecting obliquely to upright from the deeper layers.//Worked bones — notably ribs — are fairly frequent.
3rd layer:
1st m right: here appear numerous finds: remains of a young bear — in part associated; also magnificent large epistropheus; associated row of vertebrae (without ribs) continuing into section 4.
2nd m right: remains of (? ibex), artefacts. Earth here very moist, loamy (proximity of cave wall).
2nd m left:here is the lighter layer drawn in section 3. The earth proves very dry — almost dusty; this and the circumstance that almost nothing comes to light (except for the small bear jaw) suggests a disturbance of the section by earlier excavation. This must, however, already lie very far back // since above it lies an undisturbed calcite layer.
1st m left: somewhat fewer finds than right of the axis.
3rd m left: (fragment toward the cave wall) numerous bone remains — but extraordinarily crumbly.

Weather: foggy; rough. Anton brings find pieces to Vättis.


Wednesday, 24 August 1921

H III, section 3 / 3rd and 4th layer:
On the axis: 1st m right and 1st m left — two bear skulls under a heavy broken slab — approximately 70 cm below the surface. Broken slab in the upper part of the 3rd layer; skulls in the lower part of the same level. Below and above them and in their vicinity: numerous bones collected separately. Also in the large skull (complete with both lower jaws) bones and small stones lay inside — between the lower jaws and within the zygomatic arches. Furthermore a whole number of bones were placed under the skull — likewise collected separately.— Fig. 146, p. 311.

Fig. 146, D V/6 S I, 3: Nigg's sketch of the covered skull and bone deposit, H III / section 3.
Fig. 146, D V/6 S I, 3: Nigg's sketch of the covered skull and bone deposit, H III / section 3.

At the "small skull" (see adjacent sketch II — Nigg 5, 40; he transfers this sketch also into the separate sketch book I, 1921, p. 3 = Fig. 146!) — between the left zygomatic arch: 2 ribs and 1 fibula fragment; between the right zygomatic arch: a carpal bone; under the skull: 1 rib; worked rib fragment; 1 joint-head; resting on small platelets.— Skull II + the skull I lying above it — see sketch! — For this skull the lower jaws are absent. In the muzzle: a vertebral disc.— For the small skull II see Fig. 147, pp. 312 ff.; the complete "large skull I" is unfortunately no longer identifiable in the current depot!!

Fig. 147 a, 'D 13' — 'small skull II' with 394 mm profile length from the double skull deposit under a heavy broken slab in H III, section metre 3, 1st metre left and right (axis), (lower part of) layer 3.
Fig. 147 a, 'D 13' — 'small skull II' with 394 mm profile length from the double skull deposit under a heavy broken slab in H III, section metre 3, 1st metre left and right (axis), (lower part of) layer 3.
Fig. 147 b, Underside of 'D 13' — molars with traces of wear, age class 'II c' in Bächler 1940, 192! — 'Between the left zygomatic arch are lodged 2 ribs and 1 fibula (fragment), between the right one a carpal bone'.
Fig. 147 b, Underside of 'D 13' — molars with traces of wear, age class 'II c' in Bächler 1940, 192! — 'Between the left zygomatic arch are lodged 2 ribs and 1 fibula (fragment), between the right one a carpal bone'.
Fig. 147 c, Left side of 'D 13' with inscription 'H III, section 3 — 24/VIII/21'.
Fig. 147 c, Left side of 'D 13' with inscription 'H III, section 3 — 24/VIII/21'.
Fig. 147 d, Frontal arch of 'D 13' with cut marks!
Fig. 147 d, Frontal arch of 'D 13' with cut marks!
Fig. 147 e, Frontal arch of 'D 13' (continued from above) with cut marks!
Fig. 147 e, Frontal arch of 'D 13' (continued from above) with cut marks!
Fig. 147 f, Left forehead of 'D 13', likewise with cut marks!
Fig. 147 f, Left forehead of 'D 13', likewise with cut marks!

In 1st m left beside the skulls the layer is formed of innumerable — mostly not hand-sized — flat platelets // lying mostly more or less horizontally.— Bächler's "Bsetzi" (stone paving), uncovered by him in larger extent in the first two section metres of H III! — Finds here strikingly sparse.
In 1st m right the earth is very strongly loamy and moist (sticks strongly to the tool). Here in the 3rd layer there is still a remarkable bone fragment — perforated. (Ibex?) — Even if perhaps not identical to the present perforated "ibex" bone fragment, there lies in the current depot a conspicuous small bone fragment with a large, certainly artificial perforation — see Fig. 148, pp. 316 f.

Fig. 148 a, Artificially perforated bone fragment from ? H III / section 3 / 1st m right / layer 3.
Fig. 148 a, Artificially perforated bone fragment from ? H III / section 3 / 1st m right / layer 3.
Fig. 148 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 38 mm.
Fig. 148 b, The same — inner surface. Max. length 38 mm.
Fig. 148 c, Outer surface enlarged, with various fine scratch marks; the hole is artificially rounded — perforation!
Fig. 148 c, Outer surface enlarged, with various fine scratch marks; the hole is artificially rounded — perforation!

Under a heavy cover slab projecting into section 4: a skull cap and other bones. The layer sequence becomes unclear here; most finds lie unmistakably, however, above layer 4.

Weather: foggy in the morning; Foehn; rough; windless in the evening; milder; but changeable. //


Thursday, 25 August 1921

H III, section 3 / 3rd and 4th layer:
In 1st and 2nd m right the 3rd layer becomes strongly loamy and moist, while the 4th layer below it is again dry and crumbly — though as previously heavily interspersed with stones. To the left of the axis, however, this change in layer 3 cannot be observed. Finds: comparatively not numerous.
In the 4th layer to the right of the axis lies a massive broken slab that evidently still extends into section 4. Finds in this layer increasingly sparse. They do, however, go down into the uppermost part of the light loam layer — being here, however, extraordinarily crumbly.

The finds of layers 4 and 5 I take together. The bones that lay at the skulls, however, come from both layer 3 and layer 4.

Weather: fog; rain. //


Friday, 26 August 1921

Drawing of section H III, section 4 (m 3–4!) (see sketch book — Fig. 149, p. 318).

Fig. 149, Nigg's cross-section drawing of H III, section 4, D V/6 sketchbook II, 4.
Fig. 149, Nigg's cross-section drawing of H III, section 4, D V/6 sketchbook II, 4.

Section 4: surface layer — full width:
The surface layer in H III is characterised by an ever more distinctly formed, light band of soft calcite that toward the rear grows in places to a thickness of 20 cm and more. Above it — notably at the walls (where the calcite band is for the present still gradually disappearing) — a black humus layer. In the middle of the section, however, this is very weakly developed; in places calcite appears directly at the surface. Below the calcite, immediately a crumbly, strongly red layer appears — now designated as layer II in the section. The calcite layer evidently contains no finds. What bones occur in it either protrude upward from layer II or have been pressed in from the surface (sinkage). //
2nd layer:
Intensely reddish-brown, soft, crumbly earth with quite a number of finds — in part projecting up into the calcite layer and beyond it.From the axis to the right it becomes moist (loamy) owing to cave water dripping here from the cave wall.

Weather: foggy; but fairly windless; not particularly cold. //


Saturday, 27 August 1921

H III, section 4 / 2nd layer — full width:
As is drawn in section 4 (see sketch), the 2nd layer rises to the right toward the surface — i.e. it tapers out in 2nd m right. The earth, as already noted, is of strongly dark reddish-brown colour — crumbly, soft, and contains (except along the left cave wall) little rubble. The finds are mostly well to very well preserved and fairly numerous. In 2nd m left:a small bear skull, projecting up into the lower part of the calcite layer. (The nasal opening and the front part of the skull: full of white soft calcite.) The skull lacks teeth and zygomatic arches — otherwise well preserved. It was not, like the previous ones, framed and covered by stone slabs but lay in free earth.— Fig. 150, pp. 318 ff. — Evidently both practices were applied — with or without stone framing! — The cave interior in the rock formed in principle already a suitable place for stone-coffining; in the middle of the cave passage one operated rather with stone slabs! —

Fig. 150 a, 'D 23' with inscription 'H III, section 4, layer 2, 2nd m left — 28 (27.!)/VIII/21'.
Fig. 150 a, 'D 23' with inscription 'H III, section 4, layer 2, 2nd m left — 28 (27.!)/VIII/21'.
Fig. 150 b, 'D 23', right and underside. Profile length 363 mm. The molars show no trace of wear! — (Age class 'I b', Bächler 1940, 192).
Fig. 150 b, 'D 23', right and underside. Profile length 363 mm. The molars show no trace of wear! — (Age class 'I b', Bächler 1940, 192).
Fig. 150 c, Right frontal arch of 'D 23' with cut marks!
Fig. 150 c, Right frontal arch of 'D 23' with cut marks!
Fig. 150 d, Right frontal arch (from the side) of 'D 23' with cut marks!
Fig. 150 d, Right frontal arch (from the side) of 'D 23' with cut marks!

Individual bones lying in its vicinity have nonetheless // been separately collected and designated as belonging to the skull.
3rd layer: comparatively fewer finds than in the previous layer. Earth lighter; moister; somewhat stonier. — Evening: descent to Vättis. Weather: clearing. E m d e n. — The excavations are not continued until Tuesday 6 September!


Friday, 2 September 1921

Hermann fetches bones from the hut.


Saturday, 3 September 1921

Hermann and Abraham carry bones down from the hut. //


Monday, 5 September 1921

Hermann and Abraham bring bones from the hut.


Tuesday, 6 September 1921

Continuation of excavations in H III, section 4 / 3rd layer:2nd m right (toward the right cave wall) — earth very moist (drip water from the cave ceiling). Finds fairly frequent — but in many cases poorly preserved.4th layer: finds strikingly sparse. The layer already lies within the range of the great collapse blocks and also contains many smaller rubble slabs and platelets. At some places (1st and 2nd m left) flat rubble slabs again lie horizontally in the section — without, however, bones being deposited under them. It appears rather that here the floor between the large blocks was filled and levelled with rubble and larger slabs. The earth in this layer is again drier and deep reddish-brown. Below the large rubble blocks the loam layer rises far upward. In general the finds seem increasingly to lie in the upper layers (1st–3rd), while they become ever sparser in the 4th — the lowest find layer.

Weather: foggy; mild; clearing toward evening.


Wednesday, 7 September 1921 (D V/6 5, 48–50)

H III, section 4 / 4th layer:
Toward the right cave wall somewhat more finds — but everything crumbly. Earth here full of // weathered rubble and large blocks. (Midday: Dr. Bächler arrives.)


Thursday, 8 September 1921

H III, section 5 (remainder) — 4th and 5th layer (last year —1919! — test trench already dug).— Accordingly the test trench was dug across the full width of section 5 — cf. above, pp. 168/9! — Nigg drew no section 5! — Weather: magnificent.


Friday, 9 September 1921

H III, section 5 / layers 4 and 5:
Clearing of the deposited rubble from the test trench. Abraham to Vättis in the evening.

Weather: light Foehn in the morning; fairly strong Foehn in the afternoon and evening.


Saturday, 10 September 1921

Dr. Bächler, Hermann, and I — excursion into H IV.— cf. Figs. 25, 153, and 156, pp. 47, 323, and 324. //


Tuesday, 13 September 1921

Morning: ascent to the hut; midday to the cave. Drawing of the floor plan and elevation of H III.— cf. Fig. 156, p. 324.

Fig. 156, Bächler's sketches of the cave floor plan and elevation including cross-sections, published in the Yearbook, loc. cit., Fig. 10, after the originals of 13 September 1921.
Fig. 156, Bächler's sketches of the cave floor plan and elevation including cross-sections, published in the Yearbook, loc. cit., Fig. 10, after the originals of 13 September 1921.


Wednesday, 14 September 1921

Geological excursion to the upper Gelbberg valley and Älplikopf; afternoon into the scree below the Gelbberg. Measurements.


Thursday, 15 September 1921

Continuation in H III, section 6.
Surface layer and calcite. Large jaw left of the axis.
Drawing of the section.— On this day Nigg drew section 6 (after 5 longitudinal axis metres) in H III! — No cross-section drawing exists from the point after 4 longitudinal axis metres in H III!

Fig. 155, Nigg's partial cross-section drawing of H III, section 6 (m 5–6!), sketchbook (S) II, page 5. — He skips section 5 — the test trench from 1919!
Fig. 155, Nigg's partial cross-section drawing of H III, section 6 (m 5–6!), sketchbook (S) II, page 5. — He skips section 5 — the test trench from 1919!

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1921, PART 2

46, (Wednesday), 7 September 1921

Worked through from 21 Aug. – 28 Aug. and to 6 September: longitudinal axis metres 3 and 4 (2–3, 3–4). Here, on the right cave wall side from the middle onward and in the middle, large collapse blocks appear (for the first time) — resting on the white loam layer and partly sunk into it.The gaps and unevennesses between the collapse blocks are levelled out with nothing but small horizontally deposited slabs (45, intentional levelling). The finds are there quite sparse. // 47, In longitudinal metre 4 the surface of the loam layer (white) rises further, after it fell noticeably in the passage.
The ceiling of cave III shows at its exit toward II a typical smoothing — as if deriving from an ice layer — cf. Fig. 129, p. 265. But it is certainly the consequence of ice pressure in the cave, which made itself felt toward the narrowing front portal.

Fig. 129, View from H III into H II with rock ledges at section 4/5 on the south wall!
Fig. 129, View from H III into H II with rock ledges at section 4/5 on the south wall!

For the rest, masses of rounded-off partial surfaces of the ceiling are found — on which the calm chemical corrosion by continuous drip water is very clearly marked. //48, Notably at the left cave wall, above the filling boundary, there is an approximately 50 cm wide band of white calcite coating on which fine water droplets (ice) now form.—

In cave III a tremendous ceiling collapse must have taken place — perhaps as a result of an earthquake or other sudden relieving of the equilibrium of the ceiling layers — cf. the tremendous collapse blocks in the drawn cross-sections, Figs. 149 and 155, pp. 318 and 324! //(49, empty)


50, (Thursday), 8 September 1921

Weather wonderfully autumnal. Grandiose view.

Temperature outside the cave, eating-place, direct sunlight: 16.8° C. 10:15.

(Further temperature measurements follow: in cave I — 7.4°; in cave II — 3.6°; at the eating-place, 1 o'clock — 11.8° / 4.30 — 9.8°.)

In cave III: continued work on the right — in the test trench already dug in 1919, in the 5th section metre. The tremendous collapse blocks — see above — are to be circumvented. The blocks reach into the white loam layer. There were — during the 1919 excavation — already obstacles here at the //(51) first cave wall niches.—

The two lower layers contain only sparse and dispersed material. Most finds along the rock wall.
Layer IV very loamy; wet; upper part sinter-pulpy (white and yellow at the ceiling). There was water movement here.Specimens from the ceiling. //


52, (Friday), 9 September 1921

Continued work in cave III. Working through right side and the old rubble heap from the test trench (small skeleton cleared away — cf. above, p. 168!)

(Further temperature measurements:eating-place, direct sunlight: 15.1°; cave I: 5°; cave III rear at the ceiling: 4°; at the hole to (H) IV (Fig. 153, p. 323):2.6°. — Lamp heavily sooting in the morning; afternoon: burner hole reduced with plasticine — burns with a smaller but clean flame.) —

Fig. 152, View in the reverse direction from the end of H III forward into H II, together with the passage at the beginning of H II. — Bächler's cover-fall slabs appearing at the surface (together with excavated ones!) in the foreground.
Fig. 152, View in the reverse direction from the end of H III forward into H II, together with the passage at the beginning of H II. — Bächler's cover-fall slabs appearing at the surface (together with excavated ones!) in the foreground.
Fig. 153, The hole in the floor at the end of H III leads to cave sections H IV–VI.
Fig. 153, The hole in the floor at the end of H III leads to cave sections H IV–VI.

In the second third of cave III, massive cover-fall slabs appear at the surface that are of recent origin — but have lain there for a long time already, as the rock at the ceiling has in the meantime undergone deep-going corrosion.— cf. Fig. 151, p. 321. //

Fig. 151, Second and third third of H III with cover-fall slabs appearing at the surface in increasing numbers according to Bächler. In the darker background the end of H III!
Fig. 151, Second and third third of H III with cover-fall slabs appearing at the surface in increasing numbers according to Bächler. In the darker background the end of H III!

(53/4 above, directional and length measurements:cave III rear toward the North Pole: 104–106° — WNW–ESE / length: 19 m —17.5 m — see below! — // cave I, from fixed point "0" outside = 19 m; from fixed point "0" outside to cave portal outer wall = 10 m; total = length 29 m.— Main axis of the cave: 106° deviation from the magnetic North Pole.)

53, Cave III already shows the typical effects of chemical corrosion at ceiling and walls — documented in kernelled etchings that have usually set in along the bedding planes — cf. Figs. 151/2. At the ceiling and walls there are numerous round-holed cavernous hollows — which, however, mostly do not reach far into the rock (all caverns with a smaller opening at the rear). In the rear of H III, toward IV at the hole, the C 4 strata are enormously bent, undulated, "delaminated" into narrow layered slabs — so that this crumpling and bending formed caves III and IV. — //54, At the walls of H III we have the same rhizopod growths as in the Wildkirchli — which attach themselves to the walls entirely in the dark. They are mostly smaller, not hemispherical formations; much finer, and most dried out and drawn into worm-like formations (notably to the right on the walls).— Rhizopod colonies were not yet observed in cave II.//55, All chimneys and round-hole formations in cave I (dome), II and III have toward the rear in the rock wall round holes from which the H₂O flowed forth. The cavernities have the appearance of having initially been closed — in which H₂O corrosively produced the larger hollow space — then were broken open. But it may also be that the H₂O produced the larger hollow spaces along the walls by slowly flowing down the rock.— //


56, (Saturday), 10 September 1921

Temperature, eating-place: 16.4° C, 9.30 a.m., direct sunlight; 13.0° C, shade.

Weather: very fine; light Foehn with Foehn banks and balled clouds. //57, Inspection of the rear caves IV. — see Figs. 153, 156, and 25, pp. 323 f. And 47.

Fig. 153, The hole in the floor at the end of H III leads to cave sections H IV–VI.
Fig. 153, The hole in the floor at the end of H III leads to cave sections H IV–VI.
Fig. 156, Bächler's sketches of the cave floor plan and elevation including cross-sections, published in the Yearbook, loc. cit., Fig. 10, after the originals of 13 September 1921.
Fig. 156, Bächler's sketches of the cave floor plan and elevation including cross-sections, published in the Yearbook, loc. cit., Fig. 10, after the originals of 13 September 1921.

From III one descends into the depth — approximately 2 metres — into a small interior barely 2 m wide and 2 m long. Then follows, slowly sinking, a tube barely 2 m long — heavily loamed — one can barely squeeze through. Then the space widens to approximately 1 m length and 1 m width — height approximately 1.30 m. Then one stands at the edge of the cauldron. The cauldron lies approximately 4 m lower than the penultimate cavern section. Length and width approximately 2 m; floor plan roundish; height 3 m. Rose-like and coral-like stalactites. Everything over-calcited. Total length approximately 6 metres.— Fig. 154, p. 323. //58, The axis of caves IV and V is fairly parallel to the main axis in III.(A floor plan sketch of the end of H III to H VI follows — see figures!) The rearmost part increasingly gains in over-calciting, stalactite formations, and calcite crystal formations.— From the difficultly accessible cave sections V and VI, no cave bear bone finds and no other traces of prehistoric man are known! — //59,

Fig. 154, Bächler's sketch of the rearmost cave sections IV–VI, 1921, page 58.
Fig. 154, Bächler's sketch of the rearmost cave sections IV–VI, 1921, page 58.

The total length of the cave sections:

I. a) From the cave portal outer wall to x/0 - point = 10 m
b) from fixed point 0/x to cave II = 19 m
II. cave = 7 m (9½ section metres!)
III. cave

 = 19 m (16½ section metres!)
IV.–VI. cave = 8 m
→

 = 63 m

The cave runs nearly parallel to the south wall of the Drachenberg — i.e. the cave axis runs still somewhat toward the axis of the wall. //60,


(Tuesday), 13 September 1921

Wonderful weather; light Foehn. Ascent to Gelbberg and Drachenloch.(Ornithological notes follow.) — Floor sketch of the cave made.— The original sketches have presumably been lost, but served without doubt as the template for the cave sketches published in the Yearbook 1920/21, Fig. 10, which Bächler drew on 15 December 1921 — Fig. 156, p. 324! — Working through the last remainder of the test trench. Collecting of mosses and lichens from cave I and the dome.//


61, (Wednesday), 14 September 1921

(Excursion to the Vättnerkopf; rock specimens.)


62, (Thursday), 15 September 1921

Cf. Nigg above — visitors in the Drachenloch.


(Friday), 16 September 1921

Descent to Vättis and return journey to St. Gallen.—

RECORD NIGG (D V/6 5, 50–58, end of 1921)

Friday, 16 September 1921

(Morning: Dr. Bächler descends to Vättis with wife.)

H III, section 6:
Surface layer and calcite: fairly numerous finds that reach up from the 2nd // layer into the calcite and into the uppermost layer. The left side of the section is drier than the right half of the axis. Strikingly, however, the finds accumulate precisely at the right cave wall — which slopes obliquely downward here, forming niches — while the left wall descends almost vertically.
Layer II: full width — finds not particularly numerous; toward the right cave wall more frequent. Here, on the floor of the second layer (resting on the 3rd layer):skeletal remains of a quite young bear — cf. above, pp. 168 f. with comment and p. 308 — and under the receding right wall: numerous but poorly preserved bear remains (shattered bear skull — Fig. 157, pp. 329 f.) The earth in this layer is magnificently crumbly to the left of the axis — to the right, however, moist and loamy.

Fig. 157 a, Nigg's 'shattered bear skull', restored as far as possible, which he came upon on 16 September 1921 beneath the right cave wall and which received the label 'D 26' in the depot, with the corresponding slip for provenance and find date. Original profile length approximately 250 mm. Heinz Bächler describes it in his notes as 'very young, age class 1a — without a trace of wear on the teeth', i.e. somewhat over ¾ years old! — Right side.
Fig. 157 a, Nigg's 'shattered bear skull', restored as far as possible, which he came upon on 16 September 1921 beneath the right cave wall and which received the label 'D 26' in the depot, with the corresponding slip for provenance and find date. Original profile length approximately 250 mm. Heinz Bächler describes it in his notes as 'very young, age class 1a — without a trace of wear on the teeth', i.e. somewhat over ¾ years old! — Right side.
Fig. 157 b, Left side of 'D 26'.
Fig. 157 b, Left side of 'D 26'.
Fig. 157 c, 'D 26' from above.
Fig. 157 c, 'D 26' from above.
Layer III: left half of the section — soft, crumbly earth; few finds. //
Right half: earth moister, loamy — sticks to the tool.Finds increase strikingly in number as I advance from left to right over the axis. There I encounter, approximately 1 m to the right of the axis at 50 cm depth, a large lower jaw that evidently belongs to the one found left of the axis (toward the left cave wall) in layer II.— Nigg means the two halves — he does not mention the finding of the first! — At the same depth before it, projecting into section 7: the rear part of a skull.(To the right of it lay the remains of the young bear.) The skull is again partly under a small stone slab.On lifting, the skull proves, however, to be only the rear roof of one — the rest is absent.— This occiput is registered by Heinz Bächler in his note-sheets on the skulls from the Drachenloch as "D 34" ("H III, section 6, 16 September 1921, layer 2; age: still young to middle"); there evidently also existed an associated jaw piece that Nigg did not record, and of whose teeth Bächler writes: "No trace of wear!" — Today both parts are unfortunately no longer to be found. —

Weather: very fine and warm. //


Saturday, 17 September 1921

H III, section 6 / 4th layer:
Left half.In the middle of the section: heavy broken slabs of Seewerkalk schist. To the left of them, toward the wall — earth dry, crumbly, little rubble, and strikingly few bones. Under the left edge of the slabs — partly covered by them and projecting into section 7 — a skull and in its vicinity numerous bones; likewise in part under the slab — as indeed finds are more numerous generally in the vicinity and above the slab.— Nigg sketches the situation, Fig. 158, p. 331. — It appears that the ceiling-fall material — which in H III from section 4 onward and increasingly toward the rear appeared mainly in the middle in the area of the axis (see Figs. 151/2, pp. 321 f. and section drawings — notably 6, 7, and 8, with the two broken slabs sketched here by Nigg) — was often used directly on the spot for the covering and burial of cave bear bones and skulls. The heavy broken slabs of Seewerkalk schist had, according to Nigg's data on the mentioned sketch, an extent of 2–2.5 m! Prehistoric man may in this case have dug a pit at the edge of the already lying broken slabs for the depot, deposited skull and bones, perhaps slightly drawn the slabs over them, and later also laid further bones on top of the slab — as he was wont to do elsewhere!! — //

Fig. 158, Nigg sketches the situation of the skull find of 17/9/21 — D V/6 5, 53.
Fig. 158, Nigg sketches the situation of the skull find of 17/9/21 — D V/6 5, 53.

The skull lies on the loam layer and is extraordinarily crumbly. It falls apart on lifting.


Monday, 19 September 1921

Morning ascent to the hut; midday to the cave.

H III, section 6:
To the right of the axis the 4th layer is extraordinarily moist — so that it can almost be spread like plaster. (Cause: drip water from the cave ceiling — stalactite formation on it.) — No place for a longer sojourn for man or bear — neither today nor then, approximately in the interglacial! — Under the receding right cave wall, in a spacious niche, bones and stones are loosely piled up in masses. The state of the bones is, however, in a high degree of decomposition. Of the 5 skulls lying in the niche, all // fall apart on lifting despite care. Even the teeth decomposed. The niche contains alongside the bear remains a quantity of small material (wolf? jaw; bird skull; bat jaw etc.) — which probably arrived there much later! This natural niche in the left cave wall of H III in section metres 6 and 7 offered the Drachenloch bear-hunter a welcome place for a larger skull and bone depot! — Figs. 159 and 160, pp. 331 f. — Weather: clearing.

Fig. 159, Today, rubble material from the excavation lies before the niche in H III, sections 6/7!
Fig. 159, Today, rubble material from the excavation lies before the niche in H III, sections 6/7!
Fig. 160, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III at the point 'metre 7', after 6 longitudinal-axis metres, with the niche at the right wall, which contained 5 bear skulls and masses of cave bear bones. The niche was not visible before excavation and was not filled with material up to the ceiling, so that there was a cavity above! — In the centre the two heavy, 2–2½ m long broken slabs. — D V/6 sketchbook II, page 6.
Fig. 160, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III at the point 'metre 7', after 6 longitudinal-axis metres, with the niche at the right wall, which contained 5 bear skulls and masses of cave bear bones. The niche was not visible before excavation and was not filled with material up to the ceiling, so that there was a cavity above! — In the centre the two heavy, 2–2½ m long broken slabs. — D V/6 sketchbook II, page 6.


Tuesday, 20 September 1921

Ascent for the closure of work.

H III, section 6: lowest (4th and 5th) layers:
Very few finds. Nothing particular to note.

In general the situation in section 7 seems again to improve — insofar as the extremely heavy collapse blocks of the recent last sections seem after all to be absent, even if heavier broken slabs are not lacking. One heavy broken slab approximately 2 m wide of Seewer schist we leave for the present unlifted, as it extends into section 7 and rests on the loam layer. In the lowest layers the earth to the right of the axis also proves much drier and less rubble-bearing than to the left of the axis — cf. above. It contains, however, also strikingly few finds:The actual waste-pit of this spot of H III seems to be precisely the niche under the right cave wall. Let it be noted here in addition that the surface of the find layers in this side-grotto did not reach up to the rock ceiling, and that therefore an enclosed air space lay between them. Finds lay here, however, not only up to below the surface — they protruded from it (dark bear skull) and lay loosely on it at the surface (smaller bones of birds and rodents.— The latter arrived there much later!) The grotto was completely cleared out — also that part of it that extends into section 7. (For the situation see section 7.) — Drawing of section 7 — Fig. 160, p. 332.
Clearing out; construction of the closure toward cave II (walling up). Transport of material to the hut. Evening: descent to Vättis. Anton brings bolt for the door and tools from Vättis to the cave.— Weather: violent showers in the morning; fog; rain lets up in the evening; sets in again during the night. //


Wednesday, 21 September 1921

Abraham and Hermann — transport of find material and the woollen blankets to Vättis.


Thursday, 22 September 1921

Abraham and Hermann — material transport.


Friday, 23 September 1921

Abraham and Hermann — material transport.


Saturday, 24 September 1921

Abraham and Hermann — material transport.

C l o s e  1 9 2 1.

St. Gallen, 20 October 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

At last I have again managed a few days' holiday — so that I was able to walk with my family for 5 days in the Säntis range right to its summit, from where we had a wonderful view southward on Thursday toward the Piz Sol, Ringel, and other familiar mountain forms. — The day before yesterday the crates from Vättis arrived safely — which I shall inspect tomorrow. Many thanks for all your immense trouble — who could ever properly thank you for your self-sacrifice! — Prof. Bayer (Vienna) is only coming next year, but certainly. It is thus out of the question for me to come to Vättis again this year, since the week after next I must commence my lectures and the winter programme.

In my more than 2-year search for "Tschudi's Animal Life of the Alpine World" I was lucky enough to track down the book (the last edition — no others have appeared) in antiquarian fashion through Geering in Basel. And there I know nothing more pleasing than to present you with the finest of animal books — from which I drew my joy in nature — as a small token of my gratitude. May it bring you the pleasure it always brings me when I call back the happiness of youth to mind. //

Since I am not going to be so long in arrears again this year with the Drachenloch accounts, I ask you kindly to close your account as soon as time permits you.

Walter Früh is delighted by his last visit to Vättis. The pictures are coming out perfectly (see Fig. 19 c, p. 28) — I hope to find in Mr. Mettler a splendid donor of them. Anton will now probably turn to painting this winter, since he has found such a good master.—

I wish you and your dear family a very good winter and thank you once more for all kindness and faithfulness,

Your friendly E. Bächler,

greeting you and your dear ones.
St. Gallen, 3 November 1921

My dear Mr. Nigg!

I am once again "in the chase" — damnably so — and can no longer keep up. So: will you please procure 2 copies of the enlarged topographical map for the Natural History Museum. The Eschmann map you keep as your own property — since I have a duplicate. Unfortunately I have not yet got round to unpacking, since I had to prepare the opening of the biological collections — the entire lower storey of the Kirchhofer house. Next week I shall get to it. But all the crates are in good condition.

This winter it is time for the Drachenloch exhibition in the regional museum! That will be fine.

With warm greetings from house to house I am your faithful

Emil Bächler.

* * *

1922

St. Gallen, 22 January 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

If I have not written to you for an unconscionably long time, you must and may never think otherwise than: he has again had to fend on all possible and impossible fronts — so long as the breath doesn't give out too soon. That's how it is! Constant in a mad chase — hunter and hunted at once. So not the slightest trace of ill-humour — in which case you would have the first right to complain.

Now that you have given me the right "nudge," I respond with heartfelt thanks for your kind letter (not preserved!) and the splendid sections//you enclosed — which please me greatly. That I have not been idle you will learn at the end of February! Of the crates I have — horribile dictu — so far only unpacked 4 — the finest pieces naturally. Everything is in magnificent condition. The great skull — perfect — has caused a sensation, even more than in Vättis, where it was also not "a matter of course" (cf. p. 309). In a fortnight I shall have everything unpacked. The account will be closed by 15 February. Many thanks. — Please do not under any circumstances risk a "walk to the Drachenloch" (cf. p. 296). It sits quietly up there in the snow. And you //must stay fit and healthy and whole for the final campaigns — and for many years yet!

I shall report more to you shortly. All good things to you and your dear family and our two men in the year that has already bravely begun! Belated congratulations — but earnest and sincere. May '22 also be as joyful at the Drachenloch as its predecessors!

With warm greetings and a friendly handshake

Your faithful Emil Bächler
Vättis, 13 February 1922

Dear Mr. Bächler!

I thank you most warmly for your letter of the 22nd of last month and come today to tell you that after the settlement of accounts please do not transfer my share to the bank in Ragaz any more. It gives me the impression that other people have poked their noses in, and I have a strong suspicion of forester Jäger, who sits on the bank board in Ragaz. Would it not be possible for my balance to be sent by cheque to some bank in St. Gallen, or dispatched directly in a less conspicuous manner (which I would prefer most of all)? I have closed the current account in Ragaz in any case. You may perhaps know a way to settle the matter inconspicuously. —

We now have a proper amount of snow here — more than rarely — but for several days in magnificent, mild, and clear weather under Foehn influence.

I hope you and your dear ones are all well and remain with best thanks and warmest greetings from house to house

Your devoted Th. Nigg.
St. Gallen, 18 February 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Ahead of the months still owing to you, I am here sending you the popular Drachenloch — which after many labours has today been completed — at least as a yearbook.— The already repeatedly cited Yearbook of the St. Gallen Natural History Society, 57th volume, Society years 1920/21. With regard to the Drachenloch it remained, apart from the extent of the illustrated material, the most detailed and "source-closest" account (see above); it appeared, however, certainly too early! — The offprints will only be ready in a fortnight — you will then receive a further 2 copies. As a forerunner to our joint work (p. 8 below) — which naturally cannot appear for a few years yet — this writing orients laymen and scholars as far as is//for once practicable and necessary.— This joint work will unfortunately never be realised — cf. above! — At some places in the text I had to come forward rather firmly in the lines of argument — because there are still doubters at whom one must wave the mallet.(See Prologue, p. 13!) — Several important data emerge from the study of the material and the find circumstances, which must of course be described more fully later. Work still in abundance. President Gsell takes great pleasure in the work and I am glad to assume that it has also turned out to your satisfaction.(Page 9, p. 11 above, p. 104 close of the first paragraph — pages in which Bächler aims at Nigg's merits!) In the historical section//of the discovery of the finds I proceeded exactly according to my diary.—

Of the work — whose production costs approximately 5,200 Fr. — we have had 1,000 offprints made, at 5 Fr. per copy for the book trade. I myself receive only 40 copies, so that I must be very economical if only the specialists are to be considered.— To whom in Vättis must we absolutely supply 1 copy? I would like to make sure that we two still have a few copies at our disposal.— I ask you not to present the first yearbook copy in Vättis just yet — otherwise everyone will think they ought to be given a copy as a gift. I cannot go that far, // since I am not willing to make further financial sacrifices.—

Unfortunately for 4 weeks we have had a veritable hospital in the house — wife and 2 children (Heinz and Hanneli) lay seriously ill in bed (onset of pneumonia, influenza). On Tuesday the dear little Ursula suddenly had violent influenza coughing fits with severe convulsive spasms. We were for 4 days in the greatest anxiety about the dear little one. At the moment some improvement has set in.— Your wish I shall gladly comply with and devise a proper payment method.

Please accept, dear Mr. Nigg, along with your dear ones the warmest greetings from

Your faithful Emil Bächler.
Vättis, 28 February 1922

Dear Mr. Bächler!

I thank you warmly for the book "Drachenloch" you sent me — it interests me greatly and gives me extraordinary pleasure. I had just risen from my bed — to which an attack of influenza had consigned me — when the post brought your parcel, and so I had time to leaf through it. Especially chapters IX, X, and XI interested me above all — they contain the main results of our work, and only when one sees everything in context before one does it become truly clear what a magnificent site the Drachenloch actually is! And then the splendid pictures! The book will fly off the shelves — you will see! I should now like a number of copies to come into our valley too, and I shall draw the attention of those interested in our work to the book. I do not know today precisely how many copies I can place — but I would ask you to set aside for me in any case approximately 2 dozen of the 1,000 offprints, which I hope to find buyers for around here. I fear that if the work goes into the bookshop, our people will come too late. Please let me know whether you cannot secure the desired number for me for sale. — I would present the book here // to no one as a gift except to the old president. He is really the only one here who appreciates our cause and regards it with goodwill and without envy. I do not know, however, whether one ought to give the powerful treasurer A. Kohler one too — out of prudence, not because he would deserve it. You will understand me! Further copies I would definitely not give away here. Whoever is genuinely interested in our work should demonstrate it by buying the book.—

In the book, p. 116, where you deal with the fibulae, you do not mention the worn ribs that are so numerous in last year's yield and in H III seem positively to replace the fibulae. Surely also a clear sign that a different horde was at work here than in H II.— I have assembled them in the consignments, as far as I can remember, as well as possible — I hope they arrived?

I am quite sorry to hear that your dear ones are ill. I wish all of them a very speedy recovery! — Influenza has also moved in here — half the village is laid up and we too had a general sick-bed at home. Things are going somewhat better again now — only Anton seems not yet to have recovered, although he has been up for 2 days.

Accept once more my most heartfelt thanks for the magnificent book and receive warmest greetings from your devoted

Th. Nigg.
St. Gallen, 14 March 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

With this you receive the proper offprint "Drachenloch"; the yearbook copy sent earlier you may use in whatever way you like for lending to interested parties — it naturally belongs to you. (In St. Gallen and elsewhere there is greatest pleasure at the little book.) — Since we have 900 offprints for sale, 20 copies are in any case at your disposal for occasional sale at 5 Fr. each.— If you consider it right, I would dedicate 1 offprint each to:
  1. President Jäger
  2. Community treasurer Anian Kohler
  3. to Abraham Bonderer
  4. to Hermann Kressig
  5. Community mayor Mader, Pfäfers

If you yourself still wish some offprints for yourself, you will get them free of charge in any case! Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 I would send directly to you for kind distribution.— Neumann receives none from me, of course. I therefore await your report gladly and am with warmest greetings from house to house

Your faithful Emil Bächler.
St. Gallen, 27 March 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

In haste — I am momentarily in the old chase again — I am sending you 5 copies of the Drachenloch. 2 are still for you (you can have more later); 1 for President Jäger; 2 for our Abraham and Hermann.— To Community Mayor Mader 1 copy has also gone off.—

Mr. Dr. Rehsteiner is sending you 20 copies from stock, which you are to try to sell (at 5 Fr. each.) — What you cannot place, send back. There is // absolutely no hurry with the sales. I personally have nothing to do with the distribution.—

The newspapers are already writing valiantly.— Sense and nonsense. Some very well. I am sending you cuttings.— Among others: the St. Galler Tagblatt, editor Steinmann, on 21 and 22 March, under the title "Research in the Drachenloch"; the NZZ, Prof. Karl Hescheler, on 28 and 29 March, "From the Drachenloch"; and the "Bund," Prof. Otto Tschumi — see letter below!

With warmest greetings to all — your faithful

Emil Bächler
St. Gallen, 28 March 1922

Dear Mr. Nigg!

The 20 offprints will go off to you tomorrow. Here is the review in the NZZ by university professor K. Hescheler, who worked on the zoological section of the Kesslerloch.

In haste with warmest greetings from house to house

Your faithful Emil Bächler

(Letter from prehistory professor O. Tschumi, Bern, to his colleague Emil Bächler — Archive "Emil Bächler," Box 31)

Bern, 13 III 22.

Most esteemed colleague!

The review of your grippingly written book for the "Bund" has gone off and will appear shortly. Please receive the most heartfelt thanks for the dispatch of a copy with dedication! I hope that a trace of the reading pleasure I experienced has passed into the review. I have highlighted Mr. Nigg strongly — in order to encourage those all-too-many among the teaching profession who keep away from antiquarian research — and I hope you are in agreement with the form. If after the great // pleasure I may express a wish, it would be the addition of a scale bar on the find plates, so that one can also immediately orient oneself in the picture as to size.— The anthropological work by Classen (K. Classen, The Peoples of Europe in the Later Stone Age, 1912 — cited in the Yearbook, p. 2) is very strongly attacked in specialist circles and its use requires caution.—

On the whole I yesterday in my thoughts spent a fine day together with you and rejoiced at this masterly manner of bringing such difficult material close to the public.— Just now a woman from Berne — Mrs. Rychner in Langenthal — has bequeathed 3,000 Fr. to the SGU (Swiss Society for Prehistory)! We ought to double our membership from 350 to 700 in order to be able to draw increased subsidies.

With best greetings

Most devotedly yours, O. Tschumi.
Vättis, 2 June 1922

Dear Mr. Bächler!

I come today with a request. As you know, this summer — in July — I have to give the lecture at the Sargans district conference, which is taking place in Vättis, and the subject of the lecture is naturally the Drachenloch. I have already written the lecture last year — see above — and when I brought it out recently and read through it, I came to reworking it in part. I have added a chapter on the primitive culture of Neanderthal man, since that must certainly be of interest to educators.— For Nigg it was established that Neanderthal man was responsible for the remains at the Drachenloch, and he writes in his lecture (cf. pp. 343 f.!) p. 28: " But if a lucky chance has preserved for us in the Drachenloch the remains of one of its early-glacial inhabitants, these would without doubt establish the belonging to the Neanderthal race ..."(!) —

Particularly what is to be said about the first traces of religion and cult seems to me important. Since traces of a hunter's cult exist in the Drachenloch, I would be very grateful to you if you would lend me for approximately 8 days the book by Soergel (W. Soergel: Loesses, Ice Ages, and Palaeolithic Cultures. Jena 1919). — I am currently working on the relevant chapters.—

The teachers' conference has thus truly got round to putting a visit to the cave on its programme. I'll believe it when I see the gentlemen up there.— A Dr. Göldi from Glarisegg has written to me about a visit to the cave over Whitsun. I have replied that//the cave is still closed — but that I will provide him with a man with the keys; and I made it clearly understood to him that absolutely nothing may be done to the sections. I shall in any case impress this upon Abraham or Hermann (one of them will accompany the visitors) particularly.

I shall myself ascend in the near future to see how things have kept up there over winter — and shall report to you if anything noteworthy occurred.

In the meantime I remain with warmest greetings from house to house

Your devoted Th. Nigg.
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 22 June 1922

Mr. Teacher T h e o p h i l  N i g g  in  V ä t t i s.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

Your kind letter found me deep in bed. On 30 May I fell so awkwardly on the great museum staircase that my right ankle was completely done for, and I was thereby put out of action for 3–4 weeks — with partly extremely painful days. The machine — which fortunately is not broken, according to the X-rays — shows all the consequences of an impertinent tendon-bruising that still does not allow me to walk today.—

Thus I only come today to send you the S o e r g e l — which, however, only discusses the hunting methods, not the hunting cult. The literature on the latter is enormously dispersed and I actually only possess those references that I listed in the little book, p. 109. I still have to obtain a great deal of literature first for my smaller work on hunting cult. I want, however, to still send you Keller: Animals of Classical Antiquity.—

Regarding this year's excavations, Mr. President G s e l l is of the view that despite larger economies in the museum budget we should still do some work. I would propose to you shifting these works to August or September — for approximately 4 weeks. In return I am glad to hear your authoritative dispositions. We should see to it that next year we still undertake the main assault on the rearmost sections of the cave. // I could not possibly make the tour to the Drachenloch now, while my foot is still in such poor shape.— Perhaps it also suits you to live properly for once this summer with your agricultural work. I myself must also absolutely allow myself proper holidays for once — since up to now I always had to use the free time for long-standing arrears and never came to any rest.— I gladly hear your view on this too.—

It is very probable that many tourists this summer will want to go to the Drachenloch. I think this may not be very agreeable to you, and regard it as right that the rear sections remain closed in any case when not under your supervision or that of one of our workers. For guided tours you must in all circumstances charge guide fees. For one must not be a "dogsbody" for the awkward ones.—

I wish you the best success with your lecture. Should you need lantern slides, I will gladly make them available for your use. You can simply write to me.—

Have you already been up there and have you perhaps encountered traces of two-legged martens?

I am glad to hear good reports from you and greet you and your dear family most warmly from my wife and me.

Your faithful Emil Bächler

P.S.:What is happening with the "mine" in Vättis? Have a few thousand tons of uranium pitchblende already been lifted? I don't quite believe in this fuss yet.— cf. "P. S." below, dated 4 July!
Vättis, 4 July 1922

Dear Mr. Bächler!

I must ask your pardon for replying only today. I had just intended to submit my work to you before the conference — and now it has been set for next Monday and I am still not entirely finished. I thank you warmly for your kind letter and the generous lending of Soergel, which I herewith return to you. At the same time I take the liberty of sending you the enclosed 7 erratic rocks for identification — and ask you to return them to me in the course of the week, since I wish to present them to the conference. Later you may simply take the stones to the museum. I shall moreover continue to search our mountains for further ones — in order to compile as complete a collection as possible. If you could send me images of prehistoric fauna, that would be extraordinarily welcome to me — since I describe the characteristic animals of tundra, steppe, and forest during the ice age in the lecture. Other things — tables, sketches etc. — I have made myself.—

As regards this year's excavations, I am entirely in agreement with you to wait until towards mid-August (i.e. after the mountain hay-harvest). // I have also spoken with both workers about it and they are content. We can then also work more quietly up there — since Vättis will by then soon be ending its season. If awkward visitors want to go up before then, we can accompany them — provided the gentlemen are willing to compensate the effort. I have always hitherto demanded that our workers receive their remuneration when they go along. Up above we reset the door last autumn — fitted a strong staple for the lock (with bolts running clear through) and on the inside braced it left and right with large stones in such a way that someone would have to force the door with violence to get in. This year there will certainly be no pilfering! I was up there in the second half of June and found the section in III intact — exactly as if we had only just left it.

I was quite sorry to hear of your accident. I hope recovery has since set in, so that the ascent to our club hut in August will not be too arduous for you.

Your "Drachenloch" has found good sales here. I am through with the 20 copies and hope that after the conference the teachers too will make enquiries.—

In the meantime I remain with heartfelt thanks and best greetings to you and your dear household

Your devoted Th. Nigg.

P.S.:Of the uranium pitchblende I have heard little more since the first fuss. I cannot judge what and how much truth there is in the story.

That Colonel Beichel is a quite fabulous fellow, though. I had occasion to observe him at work. Item — if nothing else remains from the ore, the Vättis people will at least be left with the "pitch."
St. Gallen, 6 July 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for your kind letter — which interested me greatly. I am very glad if we can begin work this year only later — since my foot is not yet properly sorted.

The erratica I have identified for you and you will find the nomenclature enclosed. The stricter separation of the Verrucano-like rocks has not yet been carried out. Splendid is the Puntaiglas!

It is very sorry that I cannot send you the pictures from the museum depicting the ice-age animals — since they are framed under glass and the panes easily break if pressed even slightly. But I still want to check at home what pictures I have.— I can still send you something by Monday.—

Your communication regarding uranium ore-pitch has amused me. District forester Jäger also interrogated me — but I was peptic in my answer. His enquiry about holidays in his house I declined; apparently there are already enquiries again. // For your lecture I wish you the best success. Let the "Köbis"[yokels]learn through you what researching and creating means. Just hang the little Drachenloch book around their necks.

It is very meritorious if you search for erratica. You will always mark the locations precisely on the map.

With warmest greetings from house to house, yours

E. Bächler
St. Gallen, 14 July 1922

Mr. Teacher Theophil N i g g in V ä t t i s.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for the kind dispatch of your manuscript — which I have already read through in great haste and over which I am very pleased. You have there given your colleagues a quite splendid introduction to prehistory — serving just right as preparation for the study of my work on the Drachenloch. I have a quite similar chapter in my still unprinted Wildkirchli.—

While making you my heartfelt compliment on your lively work, I am likewise entirely in favour of it being made accessible to wider circles through printing in one of the Oberland newspapers and then in a fine number of offprints. The costs for this could surely be borne by the conference — since they will not be expensive once the typesetting is done. It could also be put on sale for the Oberland public.—

I want to read the work through again at leisure and return it to you soon. Shall I also communicate my judgement on it to the president of the conference?

On quick reading I was pleased to see that you cite Obermaier.— Hugo Obermaier, Primitive Man, 1912. — Obermaier was in his time a leading prehistorian in Europe; Bächler had been friends with him since Obermaier's visit to the Wildkirchli excavations, as the surviving correspondence attests (archive, box 31). — You always have a support there against possible attacks. You know, after all, that there are people who fear the church will collapse if one speaks of 20,000 years and more and depicts man as "evolved."— Dr H. Obermaier was a Catholic priest; as a prehistorian he had a professorship at Fribourg in Switzerland! —

In depicting Neanderthal man I would moderate the expressions from//Klaatsch (H. Klaatsch–Heilborn, The Evolution of Humanity and the Origins of Culture, 1920)"bestial" etc. somewhat. Likewise I would not attach such great weight to cannibalism in prehistory — because Krapina is not unambiguously cannibalistic, and we otherwise have precious few reliable prehistoric evidences. Not all primitive peoples are cannibals, and the cannibal conditions of present-day natural peoples cannot be directly applied to primeval man.— You perhaps do well — for the sake of "criticism" — not to cite Klaatsch–Heilborn too much; various things have slipped in that border on tendentiousness. In a lecture one can certainly say it. Printed it always looks somewhat different.

Say what is true and absolutely certain without fear of what is to come. You know perhaps how Dr. Schneider, Catholic vicar in Altstätten, watches to ensure that prehistory does not come into conflict with the Church. I have always been very careful there — not out of weakness or excessive tolerance, but because we simply have no written, inviolable documents on the life and doings of primeval man.—

It is pleasing that at least some of the teachers were up in the Drachenloch. The others will presumably also still follow.— Your urgings toward local research are extremely welcome and I believe that you have sown on fertile soil. Beginnings are always small and one must give a good idea time to break through.

You have with great skill constructed a fine field of work for yourself — which will still bring you many satisfactions and pleasures.—

With pleasure I shall make further literature available to you, and do enjoy the writings you have still retained at your leisure.

With warmest greetings I am your faithful

Emil Bächler

P.S.:I shall gladly send you the pictures again.

Theophil Nigg's lecture appeared likewise in 1922 at the Ragaz printing house — 35 pages — under the title"Ice Age and First Traces of Human Culture in the Sarganserland. A Contribution to Local Prehistory. By Theophil Nigg." This publication by Theophil Nigg — against the background of his excavations in the Drachenloch — has received far too little attention alongside the known publications of Emil Bächler; after all he was the "chief" excavator on site, was with few exceptions always at the "front" of the discoveries, and was by no means an unindependent thinker dependent on the analyses and interpretations of his friend who directed the excavations from St. Gallen. His account deserves the necessary weight in the evaluation of the Drachenloch excavations and their findings; for him there was never any doubt that Palaeolithic man — specifically Neanderthal man (cf. above, p. 339) — was responsible for the remains in the cave, for the quantity and distribution of the cave bear bones. He writes, among other things, on p. 19 (op. cit.): " From the nature, distribution, and deposition of the bone finds it emerges with absolute certainty that the cave served the cave bear and his companions not at all as a dwelling cave — but that the skeletal remains in the cave debris derive from the hunting prey that the Palaeolithic man dragged in there. Were the Drachenloch a proper 'bear cave' in which the cave bear had lived for generations, remains of old animals that had died there would obviously have to be found as more or less complete skeletons. In fact, however, a quite different picture shows itself in the find layers! From the rich find material raised since 1917, Dr. Bächler was able to establish by counting individual characteristic skeleton bones a number of over 600 individuals. All were throughout either very young or still younger animals. To this day not a single old specimen has been demonstrated — of which it might be assumed that it had laid down in the cave for its last sleep. How should the remains of young animals have reached the cave in such enormous quantities, other than through the primeval hunter? — But also the manner of deposition of the bone remains in the various cave sections speaks compellingly for this assumption. The actual find layers are located only in the inner, dry cave spaces — best suited to man as a (= sojourn) place. Here the bone remains lie either heaped along the walls — especially massively on both sides of the prehistoric hearths — or else in places in obviously deliberately made pits framed with stone blocks and covered with stone slabs. But here as there lay" // (20) " always skeletal parts together that did not belong together — indeed mostly derived from different individuals." And on p. 27 (op. cit.) Nigg writes: " Extraordinarily interesting were the find conditions at the entrance to cave III and in the cave itself. Here the deposition of the bones was an entirely different one. Instead of the heaps deposited along the walls, there were found here more frequently bone pits framed with stones in the middle of the cave floor and covered with stone slabs — in which skulls and other skeletal parts always lay embedded with visible care. In one such pit was, for example, a cave bear skull through whose left zygomatic arch a thigh bone looked out. It had been pushed in between skull and zygomatic arch in such a way that it could not be pulled out without rotating about its axis. In the vicinity of these bone pits there was found a remarkable hearth. Whereas at the beginning of cave II there was an open campfire — here there was a proper hearth — a fire pit surrounded by Seewerkalk pieces and likewise, like the bone pits, bearing a cover slab. In the pit were ash, charcoal — including the since-dated charcoal pieces! — and charred bones — especially foot bones of the cave bear ..."

St. Gallen, 14 August 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for your last communications — which interested me greatly.— The first two issues of "Freie Rätier" I had already read and was pleased that the rotten rascal "Neumann" got one on the nose from my friend Prof. Tarnuzzer in Chur. The riposte from "Neumann," however, was unknown to me. Now the scoundrel has revealed himself nicely. This is naturally directed against you and me — and for that we will give him what he deserves. I have immediately handed the newspapers to the secretary of the Education Department, and "Neum." has received at least once the "note"[warning](from the department) that he is publishing erroneous things. If the bastard continues, a few robust ones will come after him. For the time being we will not honour him by scrapping with him — he would feel far too honoured to measure himself against us. In the next few days Dr. Manz will have a go at him in the Tagblatt (as editor Steinmann just tells me) on account of his Uranium pitchblende prognosis — see above. One sees that "Neum." is passionately occupied with pitch — and in that we shall not soil ourselves. If he continues in this way, I shall direct the authorities more sharply against him. For the time being we will despise him as all do — to whom his dirty disposition has now been revealed. Let him just make sentiment against our work — the rogue — who himself still wrote in the Tagblatt: "Vättis will now become famous once more through the uranium pitchblende, the 'merry-go-round,' and the hot springs." A scribbler he is in any case — publishing Beichel's results ahead of him, before the expert opinions have gone to the state. The rascal and backbiter. It will therefore be well if we keep watch on what he further // undertakes — so that we are armed. For the time being we remain quite calm — we gain more by it. If it becomes earnest, we shall not stand alone.

I would gladly have reported to you earlier. But I had again become incapacitated. On Gymnastics Festival Monday I was within a hair of being run over by a tram as I was making my way to the funeral of photographer S c h m i d t here. I barely escaped having my legs cut off — received such unholy blows from the vehicle that my right shoulder still hurts dreadfully today and I cannot sleep at night. Then one in the kidneys — fortunately better again — abrasions and contusions over my whole body. The whole fault lay with the conductor who had me get off at the festival hut but then drove on further toward the Feldli[cemetery]. — I can say that it was the highest of luck and I decidedly had a guardian angel over me — who told me to bring my legs to safety.—

The doctor has forbidden me to go to the Drachenloch before the beginning of September — since my head too received a dreadful blow that still gives me skull-throbbing.— I looked like a butchered beast and am today still peeling off scab after scab.—

The acetylene lamp manufacturer has not answered two letters from me. The lamp is still here and I must see who here can do what is necessary to it. In the crate I found no outer boiler. Is it perhaps still in Vättis or up in the Gelbberg? Please report quickly on this so that I can hurry with the apparatus. Are the burners no longer serviceable?

Enclosed I am also returning your lively work — which I have read through once more. I have made pencil notes in a few places. As I already wrote to you, I would leave out the various animal references to man and the cannibals — since that could bring you hostility — notably from the side of the known muck-spreader. // No means is too petty for him to befoul and besmirch others. He could also set the clergy against you — and a Dr. Schneider, curate in Altstätten, could easily stir sentiment against you; and no one would rejoice more at that than " Neumann."You know how the winds blow today and that science is killed in a snap by such people.

I am very pleased, however, that your splendid introduction to my work will definitely be printed. There "Neum." fortunately cannot follow you. I am enclosing at the same time the pictures you presented at the conference. I do not need them for a long time yet — and you can probably circulate them. — You are doing some offprints, aren't you — since I have my eye on one of them.—

When you now continue at the Drachenloch, it will probably be well to first remove the awkward blocks in III — but do take great care that no one is crushed. "Neumann" would be delighted if something happened.—

Please accept, dear Mr. Nigg, along with all your dear ones, the warmest greetings from

Your faithful Emil Bächler.

RECORD NIGG

D V/6 6, 1–17: 19 August – 17 October 1922.


Saturday, 19 August 1922

Hermann: 1 day to the Gelbberg — mowing of loft-hay (with board). (Shepherd brings in the hay.)


Friday, 25 August 1922

I with Hermann: preparing laths in the Krächeli; transport of same to the cave; setting up the water trough.


Saturday, 26 August 1922

Hermann alone. Blanket transport.


Monday, 28 August 1922

Hermann alone. Blanket and material transport. //


Tuesday, 29 August 1922

I and Hermann. Ascent with material and provisions to the hut. Afternoon with material to the cave. Repair of table and cooking stove — both smashed up.

Weather: fine in the morning but Foehn; strong Foehn storm in the night.


Wednesday, 30 August 1922

Start of excavations in H III, section 7. On the uppermost layer there still lies material from the 1919 test trench — piled up in the cave at the time; in places lying up to 10 cm high. It is first cleared from the full width of the section and searched through. The I./uppermost layer (together with the calcite)//has few finds. During work in the section, the overall impression is that the calcite layer is empty of finds. Bones it contains always either project into it from the surface layer above, or protrude upward from the II. layer lying below. The situation is not absolutely clear, however. Strikingly numerous bone splinters.

Weather: Foehn storm; toward evening somewhat abating; cloudy in the morning; then foggy; rain showers.— On the morning ascent to the cave in the slabs above the hut (approximately 2,150 m): a stoat observed — still brown.


Thursday, 31 August 1922

Abraham arrives from Vättis.

H III, section 7, layer 2 (reddish, crumbly earth), 1st m left:
In m 1 l a massive broken slab — sloping to the right toward the cave axis — reaches almost to the surface of this//layer.— see cross-section, Fig. 160, p. 332.

m 2 and 3 (incomplete) left:
In m 2 l at the boundary a somewhat smaller collapse block. Close beside it bones more frequent. Strikingly many ribs — and especially many small bone splinters 2–5 cm long, in part worn down.

m 1 right:
The broken slab reaches only to the axis — no longer into this part of the section. Numerous finds — in part again under flat slabs. Border framing, however, only indistinctly present. In this bone deposit there lie together, among other things: skull roof of a quite young bear; almost complete zygomatic bone; large jaw; etc.These are collected separately. Striking: worn bone pieces — such as some suspicious hand-sized Seewerkalk pieces.

Weather: fine in the morning; weak Foehn that during the day again grows to a storm and abates somewhat in the evening. Overcast in the evening; rain. //


Friday, 1 September 1922

During the night snowfall set in. By 8 o'clock in the morning 30 cm of fresh snow already lies before the hut — and it is still snowing. The temperature is, however, fairly mild: 1.8° C. Since there is no prospect of being able to make the ascent to the cave, we descend to Vättis.— The excavation is not continued until 28 September! —


Thursday, 7 September 1922 (Hermann to the cave to close up.)

St. Gallen, 2 September 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

In two separate postal consignments I am sending you: I. the small acetylene hand lamp from last year — II. a new lamp — III. the old acetylene lamp — refurbished, but with different burners and spare burners. These burners must not be cleaned with the needle but blown out for cleaning with the b i c y c l e  p u m p.The light of the new burners should be bright — as I have seen myself at the repair-man's. From the Lucerne manufacturer one can no longer get what is wanted.

As a precaution I have bought the new lamp here.—

The woollen blankets you will have received from the armoury.

Likewise Mr. President G s e l l has sent you 5 0 0.— Fr. as the 1st payment toward this year's works.—

The small bags the caretaker also added to the last consignment. Little crates, small boxes will follow — as will the account book. Today you are also receiving your r e c o r d.—

Before 15 September I probably cannot come to Vättis — since an appalling heap of work lies upon me.

If we come to an agreement in the wild animal park commission, we will release 5 ibex into the D r e h e r near Vasön — 4 older ones and a younger one that we must move on from here. What do you say to that? Dürr — our member — was in Vasön the day before yesterday with Vogler and Pfiffner.— That will give some life.

"N e u m a n n" wrote to me that he will not engage with my letter. The fellow is thus continuing in his obscurantism — until his hour strikes.

With warm greetings

Your faithful E. Bächler
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 9 September 1922

My dear Mr. N i g g!

What a wet week! You have surely not been able to work in the Drachenloch up above! I am very glad that you are satisfied with the new lights. I myself have seen the old lamp burning and the light pleased me greatly.— You can also use both lights — the completely new one alongside the old one.— The small crates will be sent to you on Monday. You would presumably be able to get cigar boxes in Vättis for the first emergency.
With the ibex into the Calfeisen valley there will be nothing for the time being. Yesterday evening we had a meeting of the wild animal park commission: 4 against 7. Father Mader and I were outvoted — despite a fierce attack on the weaklings who feared the animals would perish over winter. The Dreher must still be looked at a bit further and I hope that in the spring we will have another go. Mader is sacredly exasperated at the so-called "majority" that still wants the animals in the park. So we wait. The press wrote too early again. Father Mader I have shown your reservations about the Dreher — he and others in Pfäfers are not pessimistic.

I still do not know when I can come to Vättis. There is so much pending on me in all manner of commissions and in the school council and on the Altenrhein publication (Emil Bächler, Views of the Old Rhine. With 12 pen drawings by Hugo Pfendsack. 138 p. Rorschach 1922) that I can barely breathe and have to work until 1 o'clock at night.— On top of that my wife wants to go to Munich with her sister for 10 days in a week. But I must get away — if only for a short time. Should something quite extraordinary appear, simply leave it and send me a telegram in the most critical case.—

With warmest greetings to you, your dear ones, and the two stout fellows I am

Your faithful Emil Bächler

RECORD NIGG

Thursday, 28 September 1922 (D V/6 6, 5)

Morning ascent from Vättis with Hermann. Midday to the cave. Continued work in H III, section 7.
1st m right / 3rd layer:
Earth moist — sticks to the tool.Finds still numerous. Bone //artefacts! Especially many finds (mostly unfortunately poorly preserved) toward the right wall and under it. Skull fragments; a toe bone pushed into the hole of a large atlas. In this layer much coarse rubble — mostly slabs larger than a fist.A rolled stone! (is taken with the finds) — From material foreign to the site? A pebble? Nigg unfortunately does not specify — but evidently regards this stone as a foreign body in the cave, carried from outside into the interior by prehistoric man (= "manuport"). —
In the left — toward the cave axis — part of the 1st m right, beside the large slab sloping to the right here (see section — Fig. 160, p. 332) numerous splinters of larger and smaller size lie — frequently showing more or less clear traces of use. Did this slab serve as a worktable? The situation in the section points to it — all the more compelling since the same picture also shows itself in the find layers // to the left beside the slab.(See remarks above on m 2 and 3 left.)

(Evening, shortly before the end of work: a bat flutters about in H III. It is resolved to catch it on Saturday. After we have gone out of H III into H I at the close of work, however, the bat also departs and vanishes up in the dome.)

Weather: Foehn all day; overcast; toward evening rather clearing.


Friday, 29 September 1922 (I and Hermann)

H III, section 7 / 1st m right / 4th and lowest layer:
On the left half of this metre — toward the large (hollow-lying) broken slab — the earth is somewhat drier and crumblier; toward the right, however, rapidly becoming very moist — balled — almost plaster-like. No boundary // can be drawn here between the 4th and lowest layer and both layers are therefore excavated together. Finds sparser: very few to the left; somewhat more toward the right — notably toward the niche under the right cave wall (which was for the greater part emptied with section 6 last year). The remainder of the finds from the niche are packed separately.—
The slab in the middle of the section (see section 7) now proves to be a proper ceiling-fall slab that rests on the cave floor — as far as can be judged up to now — // partly hollow on the loam layer. As it still extends into section 8, the situation can only be reliably assessed later.—

All finds from the lowest layers are very crumbly and fall apart easily — notably also those from the subsidiary niche, which also show mouse-gnawing. Individual exceptional finds are collected separately.—

Weather: fog in the valley in the morning; above too by midday; cooler in the afternoon; drizzling from the fog. Foehn stands still.

Observation (evening): a flock of finch-like birds roaming about before the cave — flying up and down to the ground again. White bands on the wings (outside) and in flight rear part of the back and tail also shimmering white. (Snow finches? Weather sign?) I also think I noticed the wallcreeper on the rocks beside the cave in the evening — but am not certain it was that.— Marmots are still awake.— //


Saturday, 30 September 1922

After a cold, stormy night, a light snow lies again in the morning down to the Schröter and the fallen forest. Temperature before the hut at quarter to seven in the morning: "−4.7°"in a momentary calm. The light snow below has frozen to an ice crust. An ascent to the cave is out of the question and we descend with material to Vättis in the morning.


Thursday, 5 October 1922

Morning ascent from Vättis with Abraham and Hermann. Midday to the cave.

H III, section 7 / 2nd and fragment of 3rd m left (toward cave wall)// — Fig. 162, p. 358.
The layer is very heavily interspersed with stones and larger blocks. Between these: soft, crumbly earth with many bones and very numerous splinters — in part undoubtedly worked pieces — as indeed everywhere in this section. The layer sequence between 3 and 4 is somewhat unclear — the earth only gradually becomes darker downward and if anything drier. Since in layers 4 and 5 large rubble stones again lie — below which the light loam layer always follows — and the difference between layers 4 and 5 is completely blurred between the blocks, these two layers are taken together. In the uppermost // part of layer 4 — perhaps still belonging to layer 3 — in 2nd m left toward section 8: a very fine, worked rib with unambiguous traces of use.— A comparable piece was found by Nigg in section 9 on 30 July 1923 — see below with figure! — In places between the stones in layers 4 and 5the earth is almost dust-dry; but the finds at depth are very strongly decomposed. The extraordinarily frequent occurrence of bone splinters in this section — many of which show clear traces of use — may well be interpreted as a sign that a workshop was here. The large broken slabs offered more or less smooth and level surfaces that were admirably suited as worktables for the production of bone tools. Natural lighting was of course absent here — but the primitive working of the material (splitting the large tubular bones; producing the flute-beak fracture; smoothing the fracture edges) could quite well have been carried out by the light of the campfire too.Perhaps the following sections will bring clarity.

Fig. 162, Nigg's sketch 1922, page 11, for the 2nd / remainder of the 3rd metre left of the axis, section 7.
Fig. 162, Nigg's sketch 1922, page 11, for the 2nd / remainder of the 3rd metre left of the axis, section 7.

Weather: Foehn all day; mild; calm in the evening; slightly overcast.


Friday, 6 October 1922 (!)

The night brought unexpected rain and the morning again snowfall. Since no improvement sets in by midday, the planned ascent to close up the cave cannot be undertaken. With the constantly miserable weather, continued work is out of the question. It shows once more that the altitude of the cave and the local conditions permit undisturbed work usually only until the end of August — at most//mid-September! — We descend to Vättis at half past eleven.—


Tuesday, 17 October 1922

Morning ascent to the hut with Abraham and Hermann. Midday to the cave: drawing of section 8— see Fig. 161, p. 357. — Closing of the cave; descent to the hut with lamps, cooking equipment etc. To the valley with blankets and the large carbide lamp. In cave I: water flow (snowmelt). Ice formation on the cave walls. Behind the portal: the western cave wall in places covered with ice (icicles up to 1 m long, 5 cm thick).

Fig. 161, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III of section 8, 17 October 1922. D V/6 sketchbook II, 7.
Fig. 161, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III of section 8, 17 October 1922. D V/6 sketchbook II, 7.

(End of the 1922 excavation campaign.)

St. Gallen, 11 November 1922

Mr. Teacher T h. N i g g in Vättis.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

I have not quite died yet — as you would have full right to assume, given that I have left you so unconscionably long without a reply.— You must excuse me when you know how much I have been quietly suffering somewhat since my last accident and have been indisposed one time after another — at one time with skull-throbbing (from the fall), at another with lumbago and general apathy from the years-long drudgery without ever getting proper breaks.— I could genuinely not have gone to the Drachenloch without risk — and so I have actually been very glad that there could not be much going on up there owing to the miserable summer and autumn weather.— All the more I hope that next summer I shall be completely restored and we can then go at it stoutly.

During my convalescence I wrote a little book of 136 pages about the Altenrhein — its fauna and flora and the nature reserve — which is just now going to definitive print and which you must have too,— cf. Bächler's letter of 9 September. — The thing was — as with me always — very much pressed by the publisher, since I should have completed it last year already.—

The day before yesterday I heard in Oberuzwil — where I gave a lecture on "Glimpses into Human Prehistory" (pictures from Wildkirchli and Drachenloch) at the Untertoggenburg district conference — that your lecture has now appeared printed in the Oberland newspaper. I am very pleased about it and congratulate you that the thing was realised.— Please tell the printer to send me the pages too — cash on delivery. Your name triggered general pleasure at the conference — and even a little "schoolmaster's envy." (You know it as well as I do!) For that very reason: briskly forward! — What is worth nothing, as is well known, has no enviers.

Some time ago I encountered in St. Gallen Dr. med. Haslibacher (Ragaz — now Zurich). He has rendered a thoroughly devastating judgement on the dowsing of Colonel Beichel. All that — said he — is swindle, what the man maintains. Of course he is furious that he has been completely bypassed in the matter. But this I firmly believe him: that it is absolutely impossible to prognosticate such precise data — with depths and temperatures — as Beichel has done.— //

The three crates of finds have thus duly arrived here — though I have not yet found the time to open them. Many thanks in advance.—

The woollen blankets — after my request to the secretary of the Military Department — may remain in Vättis over winter. But please do kindly treat them with naphthalene so that the insects do not get to them! —

Enclosed you are also receiving the account book — into which you will now enter this year's income and expenditure. If a remainder from the 500 Fr. is still left, retain it as a debit balance — but you must still note down what you have to your credit.—

Next year we must draw up the exact plans of the cave — so that we can begin step by step with the elaboration of the scientific monograph of the Drachenloch, for which you are, as is known, also engaged according to our agreement.— The "Drachenloch" monograph with co-author Theophil Nigg will — as said — not come about! — Only Toni (Anton) Nigg — Theophil's son, drawing teacher at the Cantonal School in Chur — will produce a valid floor plan of the cave — using his father's precise cross-section drawings — and specifically after the recent surface floor as his father had encountered it before the excavation! (see Fig. 33, p. 60.) This floor plan also serves as the basis for the floor plans in the appendix of this book! — Under all circumstances we start earlier next year.—"Neumann" will naturally never manage to trip us up. I have spoken on this matter with persons of authority.—

The larger lighting apparatus must in any case be altered again according to your information — it should perform its service perfectly.

And now I wish you, dear Mr. Nigg, and your dear ones a very good winter — the best health and cheerful spirits for the future. I remain with the warmest greetings in old faithfulness

Your Emil Bächler.

Best greetings to Abraham and Hermann!

Enclosure: account book.
St. Gallen, 19 December 1922

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Most heartfelt thanks for your solemn greeting from the Tamina valley — which will receive a special acknowledgement tomorrow! Just these days I received from Dr. Oberholzer in Glarus the geological map of the St. Gallen Oberland. As a small Christmas greeting I am sending you the copy already given to me earlier by Prof. Albert Heim — which now passes permanently into your hands as a duplicate. The explanatory volume with sections will probably still let itself be waited for a while. I would gladly have sent you my Altenrhein work — but it has not appeared for Christmas on account of the printers' strike, despite my pressing! It is still to come! — My plan of coming yet to Vättis has thus fallen into the water — but I have on the other hand fully recovered from my two accidents — though I am stuck — as always — in a chaos of work. Until spring I am now firmly declining things and have already made a good start.

The secretary of the Military Department has ordered me//to insure the woollen blankets (20) from the Gelbberg against fire — at 25 Fr. Are these in the Gelbberg or in Vättis? — since I must give the insurance the location. I would gladly have submitted the 1922 Drachenloch accounts to Mr. President in the course of January — so that you too come to what is owed you. You have received the account book, have you not? —"Neumann" has become quiet again — the "Tagblatt" has sent his tapeworm-like reply back to him as a manuscript. When this autumn I encountered Dr. med. Haslibacher (Ragaz) before his departure to Zurich, he described the whole Beichel dowsing business as a serious fraud! He — the dowser himself! Have you heard anything further?

"Neum." I have put a stop to here.— Is your work on local topics from the Tamina valley finished in print? I have not yet received a single issue. The whole thing is appearing separately, isn't it?

Today I received from Huber & Co., Frauenfeld, the 4th volume of the regional guide to the valley of my late friend Samuel Walt (History and Prehistory). The little book is quite lively for teachers. That is what you should create for the Tamina valley! Get it sent to you from Fehr for inspection.—

And now please accept, along with your dear ones, the most heartfelt greetings and wishes for a merry Christmas and New Year from

Your faithful Emil Bächler.

In 1922 an attractive article appeared — "The Drachenloch above Vättis — A High-Alpine Find Site from the Old Stone Age" by F. Saxer — in the journal"Nature and Technology" (Vol. IV — 1922, No. 3, pp. 69–75), based on Bächler's February publication.

* * *

1923

St. Gallen, 11 January 1923

Mr. Teacher T h e o p h i l  N i g g in Vättis near Ragaz.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

In all haste (!) I thank you most warmly for your kind consignment — especially for your dear letter (not preserved!) and for your splendid work on "Ice Age and First Traces in the Sarganserland." I am genuinely delighted that you have tackled the subject so freshly and clearly, and that the work has now also been published separately as your own opus. It certainly forms a most welcome introduction to "the Drachenloch" — in which I naturally could only treat the general matter briefly, on account of the available space. Now a fine whole exists, and let the gentlemen teachers take note that even someone "from quite at the back" can also achieve something. You ought to send Editor Steinmann of the "Tagblatt" a copy for review as well.—

The 85 Fr. I handed over to Dr. Rehsteiner yesterday evening and you are thereby discharged of that. The three gift copies have been settled. Many thanks.— Likewise for the balanced account book. From the balance (Fr. 205.20) you now take 12 days at Fr. 12.— = 144 Fr. as your work share. I shall note this in the final account. The remaining Fr. 61.20 we carry forward as the balance for 1923 for the time being.—

I am at the moment not entirely certain whether the c a r b i d e bill has come here — I believe so (the account book is presently at the cashier's office). Should one arrive to you, send it to me for settlement from here.

If you receive further orders for the "Drachenloch," refer the people to Dr. Rehsteiner — so that you do not have to burden yourself with these things. It is tedious — I know that already. The gentlemen of the commission unfortunately no longer make any publicity — and so there are still over 400 copies remaining. I make no fuss for any of my books. I am, however, very grateful to you for your reference to it in your work (p. 1).—

Tomorrow I must lecture in Zurich to the SAC section "Uto" about the ibex. I still have to arrange the pictures and ask you to make do with today's letter. But I always remain your

Emil Bächler,
greeting you and your dear ones most warmly and persisting in friendship.

A selected letter of thanks to Nigg for his dispatch of his little book:

Chur, 22 January 1923

Most esteemed Mr. Teacher.

I read the brochure you were kind enough to send me straight through in one sitting upon its arrival — and drew rich benefit from it. With this publication you have made an essential contribution to the popularisation and dissemination of the scientific investigations. For this we want to be sincerely grateful to you. It must not be forgotten that Bächler's excellent book — which you were kind enough to give me — is not very widely distributed; that one cannot expect our "average person" to work through these not easily comprehensible, exact researches. If one genuinely wants to carry such material out into the country, the food must already be prepared — not to say "pre-chewed."

This missionary work you have carried out excellently in your fine treatise — and in many households and families people will certainly be grateful to you for it. When I find some free hours, I shall draw attention to your publication in the "Freier Rätier."

In the meantime I remain with friendly greetings yours

Dr. F. Jecklin (City Archivist in Chur)
Natural History Museum
St. Gallen

St. Gallen, 16 July 1923

Mr. Teacher Th. Nigg in Vättis.

My dear Mr. N i g g!

My 4-week severe bronchitis and the illness of my whole family from the same ugly complaint — for 3 weeks everyone lay in bed — is this time responsible for the late reply. Then came — as you may perhaps have heard — a new discovery of an eminent Palaeolithic station à la Wildkirchli and Drachenloch in the Wildenmannlisloch on the Selun (Churfirsten) at 1,600 metres altitude — where I had wanted to make the first test excavations in October, since it had long been on my heart.— The third cave treated by Bächler in his monograph of 1940! —

Along comes a Theodor Schweizer — telegraph employee from Olten, one of our most resourceful prehistory laymen, who beats 97% of all scholars in the field; at the same time a charming fellow — goes to the Wildenmannlisloch, immediately starts digging in cave II after your pattern, finds in a few days crates full of the finest bone tools of the most indisputable kind, teeth, bones, skulls of the genuine Ursus spelaeus — masses, masses — in accumulation.— The police telephone at Unterwasser reports to me that someone is digging up there. Immediately the community mayor, cantonal police, and Landammann of the canton placed on alert — the constable goes up to the Selun, halts the excavations, confiscates the finds for the community mayor's office etc. Then — as at the Drachenloch — everything nailed shut and forbidden! In September — second half — first excavation etc.— Schweizer was with me the day before yesterday. The Baslers had sent him — to pinch the cave bears from the St. Galleners at another mountain site. Reckoned without the host! "You have a tricky order in the canton of St. Gallen — one can barely dig a couple of shovels and there's the constable on your back. I'll tell those gentlemen in Basel."—

But now — the Drachenloch! Only this morning Mr. President G s e l l returned from his holidays. I had already previously submitted the application for continuation. Tomorrow the Council will resolve to give approximately 1,500 Fr. for the Drachenloch for the 1923 campaign. 500 Fr. will be sent to you directly from the cashier's office as the first instalment. When you have no more, simply write to Mr. President G s e l l.—

The doctor has deported me and my whole family to Inner-Arosa to recover from the bronchitis. We travel the day after tomorrow morning and will stay there 4 weeks (address: Chalet Sonnenberg, Mr. Wiesendanger, Inner-Arosa). //

Now you will simply begin — carry on freshly — profile diligently, take notes etc. — as is familiar to you. You will not get me until after mid-August — since the doctor seriously forbids me all exertion. I am today paying for the sins of 20 years of overwork. But do not tell that to anyone — mankind is a rotten apple after all. It is certain that I am now properly resting for once and living only for myself. Should, however, such a confounded Neanderthal man peep out of the Drachenloch — well, that would make a trip from Inner-Arosa up there worthwhile.— Any further possible stone chests please sketch precisely — also the small walls along the walls — and keep the stones, as I would like to set up an original display in the Drachenloch room.— The plan for the Drachenloch room — despite further stone chest discoveries in 1923 (see below) — unfortunately did not come to fruition; the all-too-strenuous and dangerous transport of the heavy cover slabs down the nearly vertical descent into the valley may have been the main obstacle! — As regards possible skull and other Neanderthal bone finds: in those Drachenloch excavation years, the famous French discoveries between 1908 and 1912 at Le Moustier, La Chapelle-aux-Saints, and at La Ferrassie were still very much present! It is remarkable that Bächler and Nigg had always connected the prehistoric remains with the culture of Neanderthal man; certainty, however, only emerged through the C-14 dating in Groningen — see Prologue! —

Now you ought to see how the Drachenloch finds flourish in the regional museum — I opened the collection shortly before.— Maps, plans, sections (cf. Fig. 123, p. 260!), photos in quite a quantity. It presents itself splendidly — the people are delighted and gape.—"Neumann" can now still say it is all buried in boxes and crates!

I am still sending you the account book. Should I forget it in the bustle of packing for Arosa tomorrow — just write the figures down separately.—

To all my faithful ones in Vättis — warmest greetings and wishes for continued good success in the work!

Your faithful Emil Bächler
St. Gallen, 17 July 1923

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Enclosed I am sending you the account book. I shall also register you and the two faithful ones again with the insurance agency Guggenbühl, General Agency, here — for the time being. It would suit me if you would notify Mr. G. of when (on which day) you begin work, so that the start date can be fixed.

How many woollen carpets — i.e. blankets — do we have from the war commissariat up above? They should be // insured against fire according to the instruction of the secretariat of the Military Department. Could you perhaps see to that quickly in Ragaz? At 40 Fr. per piece.—

With the most heartfelt good luck! and best greetings to you, your dear ones, and the two men Abraham and Hermann!

Your faithful Emil Bächler
(In "German script") Vättis, 19 July 1923

Mr. Dr. E. Bächler, currently Chalet Sonnenberg — Inner-Arosa.

Dear Mr. Bächler!

I have received your letters and the account book correctly — my best thanks for them! With warm regret I hear the news of the misfortune that has befallen you and your dear household. I hope and wish most earnestly now that the good Graubünden mountain air will bring you and your dear ones the expected strengthening.

With the greatest interest I hear your news from the Wildenmannlisloch in the Churfirsten — and frankly, also with a touch of mild "vexation" that another has entered our garden. Ever since you told me at the time about the existence of this cave and your suspicion, I have always had the secret wish to go "exploring" there once. Even this spring I spoke with my wife of how I would like to look in there sometime — though not without obtaining your agreement first. Anything else I would have considered dishonest and underhanded. So another has now slipped in — and I was delightfully amused at how promptly you turned the nose of him and the Basel gentlemen. The main thing now is that the site does not become lost to the canton. // Your museum will presumably become famous and envied beyond the borders of our country for its unique prehistoric collection. I look forward greatly to being allowed to visit the site with you sometime — it is after all not so very far from here to the Churfirsten.

In the meantime your account book has arrived, and also notification from the Administrative Council that 500 Fr. will be sent for the Drachenloch to begin with. I shall now carry on up there with all care according to your instructions and report to you in Arosa every week on how things stand. Today and yesterday we began with the material transport to the hut and with the repair of the path — in such a way that the repairs are carried out each time on the descent. In recent days I was again on an exploratory excursion on the Graubünden side of the Calanda to Tril Alp Salaz as far as the club hut, and in doing so established and noted the occurrence of various small caves (empty!) — and tomorrow I shall still seek out one very suspicious object; it would be a great delight if I could make our dear neighbours across the Calanda a gift of the prehistoric kind in the course of your stay in Graubünden! In any case I shall keep you // informed of the success or failure of my excursion.

The military carpets — i.e. blankets (20 pieces at 40 Fr.) — I shall have insured against fire today; likewise I shall notify Guggenbühl today.

I look forward greatly to being permitted to welcome you here again after a break of more than a year — and I also hope in the meantime to be able to give you quite pleasing reports from our dear high lookout up there — and I wish you and your dear ones a fine holiday and good recovery up there in the beautiful Rhaetian mountain valley. My whole household joins me wholeheartedly in these wishes.

With best greetings

Your devoted Theophil Nigg.

Just now a letter has arrived from Secondary Teacher Wirth — which I enclose. Shall I respond or not? I shall only do so if I can thereby render you a service — and will only give Wirth an answer once I have heard from you.— see Bächler's letter below of 17 August!

RECORD NIGG D V/6 7, 1–54: 18 July – 28 August 1923.


Wednesday, 18 July 1923

Abraham's and Hermann's first material transport to the hut (blankets and large lamp). On the return clearing and repairing of the path.


Thursday, 19 July 1923

Abraham and Hermann: material transport (crates etc.). On the return clearing and repairing of the path. //


Monday, 23 July 1923

(All three) morning ascent to the hut; midday to the cave. Start of excavations at section 8, H III: in this section there is a stone slab partly uncovered last year — and close behind it, lying higher, a second large stone slab protrudes from the cave floor and extends into the next and the one after.

On the slab at m 1 l I begin the excavations. On the uppermost layer there still lies a little excavated material from the earlier test trench — removed along with the material of the uppermost//layer. Already here quite numerous finds — among them notably small splintered material and stone splinters. In the 2nd and (partly) 3rd layer I now dig down to the slab in the section, and toward the rear up to the face of the slab projecting from the floor. Numerous splinter material — notably small skull fragments, stone splinters, charcoal traces. Something seems to be going on here again (perhaps under the slab?) or a workshop? — cf. Figs. 165 and 166, pp. 360 f.

Fig. 165, Seewerkalk artefact on stone slab, H III, section 8, 1st m left, layers 2/3. Length 52 mm.
Fig. 165, Seewerkalk artefact on stone slab, H III, section 8, 1st m left, layers 2/3. Length 52 mm.
Fig. 166 a, Seewerkalk artefact on stone slab, see below — length 79 mm, front.
Fig. 166 a, Seewerkalk artefact on stone slab, see below — length 79 mm, front.
Fig. 166 b, The same — reverse. H III, section 8, 1st m left, layers 2/3.
Fig. 166 b, The same — reverse. H III, section 8, 1st m left, layers 2/3.

2nd m (and remainders of 3rd m) left:
Here there is still quite a lot of excavated material from the test trench on the surface. I remove it separately and collect the finds extra. //Surface layer: dark, almost dry earth — very heavily interspersed with bird droppings; also calcite (few finds). 2nd layer: moist, reddish, loamy — more finds — notably toward the slabs — also artefacts. The large broken slab (rear) does not extend down below this layer. 3rd and following layer:toward and under the stone slab: numerous bones and a skull (not identified — for the situation cf. Nigg's following sketch, Fig. 164, p. 359!), which threatens to fall apart along all the joints. Around the skull: bones and splinters of every kind — collected separately (see finds). Here around these slabs the finds seem to increase and//concentrate. (In the find layers a larger piece of Gault — evidently carried in by man!)

Fig. 164, Drawing by Nigg 1923, page 6, showing the position of skulls I and II in the 2nd metre left, section 8. — To the right: 'large covering stone slab'; below it 'block'; beside it on three staggered 'flat-lying stone slabs' 'skull I'; behind it on the ceiling and under a slab which in turn rests on the 'large stone slab', 'skull II'.
Fig. 164, Drawing by Nigg 1923, page 6, showing the position of skulls I and II in the 2nd metre left, section 8. — To the right: 'large covering stone slab'; below it 'block'; beside it on three staggered 'flat-lying stone slabs' 'skull I'; behind it on the ceiling and under a slab which in turn rests on the 'large stone slab', 'skull II'.


Tuesday, 24 July 1923

On account of a funeral I have to go down to Vättis on Monday evening. Abraham and Hermann prepare wood for the hut on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon: ascent to the hut.


Wednesday, 25 July 1923

All three: morning ascent to the cave. Continued work in H III, section 8. Situation of skull I — see following page (6 — Fig. 164, p. 359). //Above skull I — uncovered on the 23rd — approximately 10 cm further back, approximately 20 cm higher, in the angle between the front and rear slab — a second skull rests on the skull roof; it can be lifted undamaged.(likewise not identified!) Below and above it everything full of bones — femurs, elbows, toe bones — all in a jumble. Since the entire niche between the slabs is full of bones reaching from layer 2 down to the loam layer, everything must be lifted in context (not only layer by layer) — notably also in order to understand the situation at the skulls. This is therefore a proper bone depot. The flat-lying stone slabs around skull I are not absent either. Directly//under this skull there is no slab — it rests on earth — but round and on the front side of the niche stone slabs had been placed that were not, however, piled up into a wall.— i.e. no proper "complete" stone chest with stone slabs piled to walls! — This skull I was in poor condition and could not be lifted whole — the right part of the skull roof was moreover absent.

Immediately behind skull I — a little higher, in front of and below skull II — I come upon skull roof III, lying ridge-down in the earth. The niche between the 2 heavy collapse blocks (each measuring 1½–2 m square and up to ½ m thick) is stuffed full//of bones.— Here on p. 9 above follows a small sketch of the position of skull III, Fig. 163, p. 358. — Immediately at this skull roof (below it): 1 atlas and most of the knuckle-bones of a paw — these in natural sequence beside one another. Behind them: fragments of a further skull. Left beside the rear broken slab, toward m 3, the finds diminish somewhat — here ibex bones — a further prey animal besides the cave bear! — a little above the lowest, find-empty layer. Under the large (rear) collapse block//bones have been pushed in laterally wherever possible. The blocks presumably already lay there when the Palaeolithic man was here.Whether this is so will only show itself when the blocks are removed — i.e. as soon as it can be established whether there are still finds under the blocks or not.— As already became apparent in section 6 left of the axis on 17 September 1921, the "Palaeolithic man" deposited the bones also under existing broken slabs and blocks — by removing the earth at the edge and so creating a pit for the bones! For such conditions at this spot it also argues that the bones reach from the 2nd layer down to the loam layer — see above — and that Nigg, as emerges from the following, is not able to distinguish proper layers! — The layering is indistinct between the blocks — but the finds seem to concentrate in layers II and III — although they are not absent in the very depths either — merely sparser and extraordinarily crumbly.

Fig. 163, Nigg's situation sketch with skulls I–III, 2nd m left, section 8; cf. Fig. 164!
Fig. 163, Nigg's situation sketch with skulls I–III, 2nd m left, section 8; cf. Fig. 164!

1st m right, surface layer: few finds; rubble section but not very thick. Earth//darker; moist toward the right cave wall.
2nd layer: loamy, reddish earth. Finds numerous — strikingly many splinters — shattered jaws — skull fragments — much that is suspicious — individual pieces undoubtedly artefacts. Was there again a workshop here? The favourable table-like, almost horizontally lying broken slabs would have been well suited as worktables. Toward the right cave wall the earth is very moist.— In the 2nd layer close to the 3rd: skull cap of a young cave bear — beside it a skull fragment of an older specimen.


Thursday, 26 July 1923

3rd layer: earth moister — balled — sticks to bones and tools. Notably along the walls very moist. //Finds somewhat less abundant. Numerous fragments — among them much that is suspicious. Stone tools as always difficult to identify — pieces that could by form and size be artefacts are present in masses — but the edges are always blunted and weathered. Individual conspicuous forms are preserved — notably when they lie at particularly remarkable spots (bone magazines, skull pits etc.). In this section a series of 4 vertebrae appears — epistropheus and 3 following. (Atlas nowhere present!)

Here it seems that in the depths a somewhat drier, find-bearing layer again presents itself. //Whether it is only a purely local phenomenon? In general, however, all layers along the right cave wall are moist — the moister the closer the wall. The finds are accordingly not always well preserved. But everywhere it shows that man was behind it — since even in bone accumulations everything lies pell-mell.— a pell-mell of bones always from different individuals! — Suspicious splinters numerous.

Recording of section 9.— Fig. 168, p. 362. —

Fig. 168, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III of section 9, 26 July 1923. D V/6 sketchbook II, 8.
Fig. 168, Nigg's cross-section drawing in H III of section 9, 26 July 1923. D V/6 sketchbook II, 8.

Clearing of the large collapse blocks of sections 7–9.


Friday, 27 July 1923

Continued work removing the large blocks. Behind a block in section 9 at the left//cave wall (½ m to the right of it) — lying on the cave floor (i.e. surface): skull of a young goat — or ibex? (Historical? Recent?)

The lifting of the uppermost massive collapse block — approximately ½ × 1 m and more than ½ m thick — causes much work; but we succeed in removing it without damaging the finds lying beneath (by splitting with chisels, crowbars, and pickaxes). It lies somewhat hollow — resting on the block lying before it.— //As we lift the lowest slab (which remains after the upper layers have been split off) it shows that the earth beneath is densely strewn with snail shells and rodent and bird remains. But cave bear remains and suspicious pieces also protrude already into the here extremely thin surface layer. This block therefore fell onto the find layers after the "habitation" of the cave.— It covered the layers of sections 8 and 9, 1st to 2nd m left approximately as follows:— Here on p. 15 below, as already on p. 14 below, Nigg adds a small sketch, Fig. 167, p. 361. — The subsequent arrival of this block through a ceiling fall occurring after the time of the Neanderthal hunters — otherwise demonstrable nowhere — is extremely questionable and hardly corresponds to the true events; especially since the present-day ceiling above the 8th–10th section metres in H III shows absolutely no negative traces of this block described by Nigg with the dimensions ½ × 1 × ½ m. The ceiling today is regular — slightly vaulted — traversed by grooves and furrows — and more or less smoothly patinated by tens of thousands of years of erosion; see Figs. 151 and 152, pp. 321 f. — In protocol book 1923, p. 15 — Fig. 167 right side, p. 361 — Nigg sketches how this collapse block in section 9 rested on the block lying in section 8 and evidently thereby formed a proper hollow space — as Nigg wrote, "lying hollow"! The not the only possible but the most probable scenario will now be that the snails — Helicigona (Arianta) arbustorum alpicola, Fig. 171, p. 369 — crept in from outside into the cave — including to this moister spot in section 9 of H III — and massed there also under the collapse block. And as an occasional visitor — in contrast to the (snow) mouse repeatedly observed by the excavators, a permanent inhabitant of the cave floor — a "small predator" with mice and alpine jackdaws on its menu, for example the stoat, may have sought out this hollow space here or perhaps the niche H III sections 6/7 and left its food remains behind! —

Fig. 167, Nigg's sketches, 1923 — pages 14/15, on the collapse block in section 9, H III.
Fig. 167, Nigg's sketches, 1923 — pages 14/15, on the collapse block in section 9, H III.

I now take together all the surface material lying under the block (both from m 1 and m 2). At the left cave wall it is now possible again — after the blocks have been removed — to recognise as before the black-brown lowest layer that lies directly on the loam and is full of rotted bone substance (hence the colour). Nothing complete is found here any more — except for a fragment lying at the boundary to the next higher layer and therefore possibly also belonging to it. On the loam layer the beginnings of stalactite formation — of which I lift a piece.//

2nd and 3rd m left (of the 2nd only a remainder beside the broken slab), surface layer:
Somewhat stronger toward the wall — otherwise only very weakly developed (1–2 cm) — directly below it the light-reddish 2nd layer. Therefore cave bear bones already frequently protruding through into the uppermost layer. Here a typical Mousterian wedge of Seewerkalk.— Fig. 169, pp. 363 f.May be chance — but could equally well be an artefact — as it lies beside cave bear bones.
2nd layer: reddish earth — moderately moist — numerous finds — but not particularly well preserved. Again thrown together in a heap without order — on and under broken slabs — but without recognisable pit construction.

Fig. 169 a, 'Typical Mousterian wedge of Seewerkalk', Nigg — 1923, page 17. Front — max. length approximately 160 mm. (With precise inscription for provenance and find date!)
Fig. 169 a, 'Typical Mousterian wedge of Seewerkalk', Nigg — 1923, page 17. Front — max. length approximately 160 mm. (With precise inscription for provenance and find date!)
Fig. 169 b, The same — reverse.
Fig. 169 b, The same — reverse.

Along the wall — where the earth is very loose — rodent bones also in this layer// — likewise, as always where there are hollows, numerous snails. Since these snails lay also under the heavy collapse block in hollow spaces — in places so densely that shell lay against shell — since they occur in almost every layer, at least up to the third, wherever hollow spaces are present — the possibility of dragging in by mice must be considered. Remarkable is also the occurrence of bird bones under the large collapse block. Either the cave floor surface was originally strewn with rodent and bird remains beside the blocks too — which were then trodden in by entering people and animals and preserved only in the protected spots — or else the snail shells and rodent remains occurring in masses under the stones and along the walls were dragged in by some animals.— cf. "scenario" above! —


Saturday, 28 July 1923

Section 9, 2nd and 3rd m left, 2nd layer:

Earth in part hard calcited — but numerous finds. At the boundary with the 3rd layer poorly preserved (crumbly). Along the wall still rodent bones and other material — packed separately. Individual suspicious pieces.

1st m left, 2nd layer: skull (not identified!) under stone slabs — in the right zygomatic arch: incisor tooth// +forearm bone. Above and around it: various bone splinters, jaw fragments etc. Within the right zygomatic arch under the jaw slab: a stone artefact — also snail shells.— Nigg sketches the position of the skull between the slabs here; see Fig. 170, p. 369. — Under the jaw: small stone platelets lying horizontally — on these (crosswise under the skull): a right lower jaw. Inside the skull: numerous snail shells. Left beside the skull: a suspicious Seewerkalk piece (artefact?). The skull rests on a floor of horizontally placed small stone platelets laid side by side. Immediately behind the skull — at the same height as the platelet floor — a fragment of a shoulder blade. Left beside the middle of the skull: once more a suspicious Seewerkalk piece (heavily weathered). Jaw under the skull very crumbly (crumbles). Immediately before the jaw — thus under the muzzle of the skull — a toe bone. Behind the skull also charcoal traces.// — A second sketch follows of the "situation of the skull site after removal of the finds" (+ the skull), Fig. 172, p. 370 left side with legend. — //I now continue removing layer 2 in 1st m left. Everything crumbly — few finds.

Fig. 170, Nigg's situation sketch for H III, section 9, 1st m left, layer 2, D V/6 7, 20.
Fig. 170, Nigg's situation sketch for H III, section 9, 1st m left, layer 2, D V/6 7, 20.
Fig. 172, Nigg's protocol notebook 1923, pages 22 and 23. — Page 22: supplementary sketch (alongside the sketch in Fig. 170) of the 'situation of the skull location after removal of the finds' in H III, section 9, 1st m left, layer 2. Legend: (arrow) 'horizontal floor of slabs on which the skull had been placed. Depth of the skull below the recent cave floor approximately 30 cm'; sketch below: deposit directly to the left of the axis! — Page 23: sketch of the 'interesting situation' of a further skull deposit in the same metre and layer. Legend: (above) 'larger fall slab, horizontal'; (left) 'a — small slabs placed against the skull'.
Fig. 172, Nigg's protocol notebook 1923, pages 22 and 23. — Page 22: supplementary sketch (alongside the sketch in Fig. 170) of the 'situation of the skull location after removal of the finds' in H III, section 9, 1st m left, layer 2. Legend: (arrow) 'horizontal floor of slabs on which the skull had been placed. Depth of the skull below the recent cave floor approximately 30 cm'; sketch below: deposit directly to the left of the axis! — Page 23: sketch of the 'interesting situation' of a further skull deposit in the same metre and layer. Legend: (above) 'larger fall slab, horizontal'; (left) 'a — small slabs placed against the skull'.

1st m left: Here I come upon yet another skull (disintegrated on lifting) in an extraordinarily interesting situation:— Nigg sketches; see Fig. 172, p. 370 right side! — The skull had been pushed tight against the lower edge of the larger broken slab and set round on all sides up to the front of the muzzle with closely placed, over-hand-sized platelets that followed exactly the form of the skull.//To the right of the skull under the broken slab a somewhat larger slab had been placed upright — leaning against the skull — in such a way that it was held in position by 2 stones pushed underneath — so that the skull did not have to bear its weight. When the skull was removed, it remained quietly in its original position — but when the stones pushed underneath were removed, it fell to the spot where the skull had been before. — Unfortunately the skull was extraordinarily crumbly — so that at the slightest shift from its position it disintegrated. As always there lay in the immediate surroundings of the skull numerous other bones — which, however, partly//crumbled completely when they were lifted. Suspicious stone sherds were not absent either. Everything — including the framing platelets — was salvag ed. Position: in the middle of m 1 left, 40 cm below the surface, at the boundary between layers 2 and 3.Here it seems  t h e r e  i s  a  h a r d l y  t o  b e  m i s t a k e n  s i g n  o f  a  c e r t a i n  c u l t  t h a t  t h e  P a l a e o l i t h i c  m a n  p r a c t i s e d  w i t h  t h e  s k u l l s .  T h i s  u n m i s t a k a b l y  d e l i b e r a t e  " b u r i a l  r i t e "  c a n  s c a r c e l y  b e  i n t e r p r e t e d  a s  c h i l d r e n ' s  p l a y.  — As becomes evident from his last written sentence, Nigg is moved most intensely from within by this material manifestation of religiously ritual primeval human behaviour. — (Eyewitness to the situation: Abraham Bonderer — Nigg leaves a gap in his record for a written confirmation by the named party, which the latter later fills in with the words:"Seen thus in situ in the section, Saturday 28 July 1923, likewise: Abraham Bonderer.")


Monday, 30 July 1923

H III, section 9, 2nd and 3rd m left, 4th (lowest) layer: many collapse//slabs — brownish-red, crumbly earth — few finds — crumbly.

1st m left, 3rd layer:Under the skulls: many large to very large broken slabs — between which everything was stuffed full of bones. But almost nothing is preserved — almost everything crumbles under the hands.

1st and 2nd m right (2nd m incomplete): surface layer very weakly developed. Bones protrude through everywhere from the 2nd layer. Toward the wall very moist (water flow at the right cave wall). In this section (section 9, m 1 right, front half toward section 8) in the 2nd layer — resting on the 3rd layer — a skull.(not identified!) Bones above and around it — elbow bone, shoulder blade etc. — collected separately//. It lies again under a stone slab — covered by it only partly — on a floor of stone platelets — which is, however, less complete than at both previous skulls of this section. Of a stone framing too there is nothing here to note. The customary bone accompaniments are not absent, however. Noteworthy is that in the right zygomatic arch there is an atlas — which, however, does not belong to this skull. Not far from the skull, at the same height: a shoulder blade and a very suspicious rib piece.— Fig. 173, pp. 371 f. — Everything collected separately. Depth of the skull (base) below the recent surface of the cave floor: 40 cm.All finds//crowd increasingly upward and the thickness of the section seems to diminish more and more. In the 3rd layer somewhat to the right of the skull: once more a number of bones deposited together. Here there is also a right lower jaw that might perhaps belong to the skull.

Fig. 173 a, Nigg's 'suspicious rib piece' from 'H III, section 9, 1st metre right' (inscription), 'front half toward section 8, in layer 2, lying on layer 3', as one of the accompanying bones to the skull deposited there. — Outer surface. Length: 89 mm. The object shows below a horizontal fracture and above a smoothly polished flute-beak fracture at the edge, and on the surface numerous working, i.e. scratch marks.
Fig. 173 a, Nigg's 'suspicious rib piece' from 'H III, section 9, 1st metre right' (inscription), 'front half toward section 8, in layer 2, lying on layer 3', as one of the accompanying bones to the skull deposited there. — Outer surface. Length: 89 mm. The object shows below a horizontal fracture and above a smoothly polished flute-beak fracture at the edge, and on the surface numerous working, i.e. scratch marks.
Fig. 173 b, The smoothly polished flute-beak fracture end with scratch marks; cf. (a)!
Fig. 173 b, The smoothly polished flute-beak fracture end with scratch marks; cf. (a)!
Fig. 173 c, The inner surface of (a), with a better view of the fracture ends!
Fig. 173 c, The inner surface of (a), with a better view of the fracture ends!


Tuesday, 31 July 1923

Section 9, 1st m right: lowest layer (front half toward section 8): almost everything crumbly. The few finds are added to those of the 3rd layer.

Section 9, 1st m right, 2nd layer (rear//half toward section 10):
As always immediately many finds — also recent material (marmot skull and goat skull — ?), both close to the right cave wall. Earth very moist loam — clinging hard to the bones. Despite great moisture (at the cave wall the loam almost dissolves), the bones are quite well preserved. Here too again suspicious pieces. This section contains here too — right of the axis in a small space — very many finds that protrude everywhere above into the thin surface layer — while conversely surface finds rest in the uppermost part of the loamy 2nd layer. Among the finds — beside several jaws — a//massive sacrum worth mentioning. On the whole the dimensions of the bones lying here point to larger animals (at least in part).

3rd layer: cannot be sharply separated from the 2nd. It likewise still contains many finds; near the cave wall a skull appears again.— not identified! — It is bedded compactly in very moist loam and very well preserved. Here again — as is customary — stone slabs are partly set upright and partly laid round the skull. Under the skull two larger tubular bones have been placed — and round it bones lie in great number — all collected.//In the left zygomatic arch: a vertebra. In the right zygomatic arch crosswise: a rib. Round the skull — in masses as accompaniments — snail shells; it gives the impression as if the skull had been showered with them. Could the snail shells not have been deliberately placed by man and therefore had some significance in his cult? (Hoernes — "Prehistory of the Visual Arts" / 1925 — mentions snail shells as fetishes and as ornament. Vol. II, p. 342.) — Whoever knows the thin-walled fragility of the shell of the "Drachenloch snails" (Helicigona – Arianta – arbustorum alpicola — Fig. 171, p. 369) will for that reason alone almost entirely exclude them as collected goods and ornament of Neanderthal man — even if their symbolism is obvious and the assumption of their use within the "Drachenloch rite" by Neanderthal man seems ever so plausible and tempting to the observer! — For the question of the origin — especially in the same 9th section metre — of snail shells occurring in masses in hollow spaces of the cave floor, cf. what is said above, p. 366! —

Fig. 171, Helicigona (Arianta) arbustorum alpicola from the Drachenloch, 16–18 mm length.
Fig. 171, Helicigona (Arianta) arbustorum alpicola from the Drachenloch, 16–18 mm length.

It seems altogether that H III was the  c u l t  s i t e   of the Drachenloch hunter — while H II with its open campfires and its dry cave floor can rather be interpreted as a living space — short-term sojourn! — In H III the space was so severely confined by the many collapse blocks//that this cave chamber was for that reason — especially in its rear half — less suited as a living space — all the less so as the cave floor here is already considerably moister. Here, on the great collapse blocks, the sacrificial acts may well have taken place — of which the skull finds bear such eloquent testimony.— In fact the bone and skull deposits laid on, covered, and framed with stone slabs and platelets concentrate on the exit/entrance of H II/H III and on H III in particular. H III can be regarded as t h e cave section of the Drachenloch i n w h i c h proper burial rituals for the bones and skulls of the killed cave bears took place. — As regards the question of sacrificial acts in the Drachenloch by Neanderthal man, see the comment in the Prologue, pp. 14 f.! —

Addendum: Striking is that with the skulls in most cases the incisor teeth are absent — and evidently were already absent when the skull was deposited. For had they fallen out only after the deposition, they would have to be found under the skull — which is, however, mostly not the case. If, however, the Palaeolithic man removed the//teeth from the skull before consigning it to the earth, the question arises: for what purpose did he do this and for what did he use the teeth? As ornament hardly — since perforated teeth have not so far been found.— Perforated animal teeth were in fact found at other Neanderthal man sites; that one did not find such ornament and other everyday objects in the Drachenloch may be connected with the fact that this cave was probably visited exclusively for the depositing of cave bear bones and skulls — i.e. only short-term — and was never a proper dwelling and sleeping place of Neanderthal man! —

(Since Dr. Hug — glacial geologist — and 2 other gentlemen, spa guests, were present when the skull — see p. 368 — was lifted and made an attempt to photograph the situation with flashlight, I omitted the sketching. I permitted the photographic recording on the condition that it may not be published and that the plates be made available to us in any event for enlargement purposes.— The photograph has not surfaced anywhere — cf. letter from Heinz Bächler to Toni Nigg of 19 August 1958, copy preserved in the Vättis local museum! —

Evening: descent to Vättis with the skulls and other material — since//crates and bags must be emptied on account of shortage of packing material.)


Wednesday, 1 August 1923

Abraham and Hermann ascend to the hut to bring down further find material.


Thursday, 2 August 1923

All three: morning ascent to the hut; midday to the cave.

Section 9, H III, 1st and 2nd m right, lowest layer: very moist, balled loam — clings tenaciously to tools and bones. Finds not numerous — poorly preserved.
Between the broken slabs//under the cave axis: bone remains in the hollow spaces that could not possibly have been brought in after the slabs were in their present position. It gives the impression as if the slabs had been intentionally stacked on top of one another.

Recording of section — of section 10, Fig. 174, p. 375 — After this is done, the topmost broken slabs are partly lifted, partly (the topmost, largest one) split off.As the slabs lying partly before, partly under this block are lifted, bones become visible in a small hollow space under the large uppermost block,//1 jaw — several vertebrae — fibula etc. Everything very crumbly (poor air exclusion). The assumption that the slabs came to the spot only subsequently seems to be supported by this observation.

Fig. 174, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 2 August 1923 for section 10 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 10.
Fig. 174, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 2 August 1923 for section 10 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 10.

In order to be able to split off this collapse block, work is now first carried deeper in section 10, 1st m left. Surface layer: in part hard calcited — already cave bear bones — mixed with recent material.

2nd layer: magnificent, crumbly dark-red earth layer. Numerous bones — but not particularly well preserved. Nothing particularly conspicuous. //


Friday, 3 August 1923

Section 10, 1st and 2nd (fragment) m right:
The cave bear remains protrude from the cave floor everywhere here — as does the reddish — here moist — loam layer which is visible everywhere on the surface — baked together with the very weakly developed surface layer (which cannot be established at all apart from at the walls) into a trodden-firm, tenacious loam floor.

Here the "recent" visitor to the cave actually walked on cave bear bones — without them, cemented firm in the loam, sustaining any damage. So there was found here a very well-preserved massive shin bone immediately at the surface — but firmly cemented in the hard-trodden loam.The finds from m 1 and 2 (fragment) are taken together and the surface layer is no longer separated from layer 2. The 3rd layer likewise can no longer be reliably separated. It seems here increasingly to be a question of a uniform find layer embedded between the massive collapse blocks. The thickness of this layer moreover seems to decrease further and further toward the rear.

Skull in m 2 right at the boundary toward section 11 — skull approximately 25 cm below the surface.— Fig. 176, pp. 376 f. — The skull has again//numerous bones given as accompaniments — deposited in its surroundings — suspicious pieces not absent either (artefacts). In the left zygomatic arch — of which only a stump remains — are stuck a joint head, a stone artefact (?), 1 toe bone, and 1 splinter. — Also in the right zygomatic arch — which is preserved — are various stones and bone splinters — all packed separately. Immediately beside the right zygomatic arch: the occipital crest of a further skull — lying on its left side — extending into section 11.— cf. section 11, Fig. 177, p. 378.

Fig. 175, Nigg's sketch of 'D 10' on an ascending slab in section 10, 2nd m right, 1923, page 40.
Fig. 175, Nigg's sketch of 'D 10' on an ascending slab in section 10, 2nd m right, 1923, page 40.

Fig. 176 a, 'D 10', skull from the two-skull deposit with accompanying bones on an ascending stone slab, according to the attached slip from 'H III, section 10, 2nd m right — 3 August 1923'. Nigg — 1923, page 40 — adds: 'skull cap 25 cm below the surface', and — 1923, page 39: 'at the boundary toward section 11' and 'in the left zygomatic arch, of which only a stump remains' — see figure and cf. skull sketch in Fig. 175! — Left side. — 397 mm profile length; according to Heinz Bächler, loc. cit., aged 1½–2 years!
Fig. 176 a, 'D 10', skull from the two-skull deposit with accompanying bones on an ascending stone slab, according to the attached slip from 'H III, section 10, 2nd m right — 3 August 1923'. Nigg — 1923, page 40 — adds: 'skull cap 25 cm below the surface', and — 1923, page 39: 'at the boundary toward section 11' and 'in the left zygomatic arch, of which only a stump remains' — see figure and cf. skull sketch in Fig. 175! — Left side. — 397 mm profile length; according to Heinz Bächler, loc. cit., aged 1½–2 years!
Fig. 176 b, 'D 10' — right side with 'right zygomatic arch, which is preserved'.
Fig. 176 b, 'D 10' — right side with 'right zygomatic arch, which is preserved'.
Fig. 177, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 4 August 1923 for section 11 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 11.
Fig. 177, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 4 August 1923 for section 11 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 11.

The skull in section 10 is set on an ascending slab//so that the muzzle faces upward.— Nigg sketches; see Fig. 175, p. 375. — The skull roof is approximately 25 cm below the present surface. Also laterally and behind the skull: individual horizontally lying and also obliquely upright-standing slabs. The deliberate positioning of it is beyond doubt.

To the right of it — hard under the cave wall — on the lowest layer (loam): the rear part of a massive skull roof. Here too//in the vicinity: numerous other bones and suspicious pieces.— see record "4 August"! — It was here in this tangle of blocks and stones beyond doubt the place where the cave people brought offerings to their gods and spirits — we stand in H III before a Palaeolithic cult site.— Here it becomes clear how intimately Nigg — through these skull and bone depots built with stone slabs and platelets placed below, above, and beside them — experienced across the span of tens of thousands of years the presence of Neanderthal man and his action — which was, however, devoted to the renewal of the slain bear life and was not yet a sacrificial act (cf. Prologue, pp. 14 f.)! —


Saturday, 4 August 1923

Section 10 / 2nd m left beside collapse block: narrow cleft. Here the surface layer — well developed — descends steeply and contains quite a lot of recent material (skull fragment — wolf or brown bear? — not ascertainable anymore!) — otherwise little of Ursus spelaeus.

Recording of section — of section 11, Fig. 177, p. 378. — Rubble section. In the middle//massive collapse slab that already appeared in the depth in section 9 and extends into section 11.

Section 11 / 2nd m left:
After a collapse slab lying on the surface (under the cave axis) in section 11 is cleared away, I proceed to lift the already mentioned skull (skull roof) in 2nd m right:— Figs. 178/9, pp. 378 f.

Fig. 178, Nigg's situation sketch — page 44 — of the skull cap, section 11, 2nd m right, 4 August 1923.
Fig. 178, Nigg's situation sketch — page 44 — of the skull cap, section 11, 2nd m right, 4 August 1923.
Fig. 179, Partial reconstruction of the skull cap deposit, section 11, 2nd m right. Local museum, Vättis.
Fig. 179, Partial reconstruction of the skull cap deposit, section 11, 2nd m right. Local museum, Vättis.

Here again the picture of deliberate positioning on underlying stone platelets — more or less distinct surrounding by stone blocks and platelets — conspicuous positioning of the accompanying bones. Numerous suspicious rock and bone pieces that//show the appearance of artefacts — partly pronounced, partly less distinctly. Individual pieces are noteworthy especially on account of their conspicuous positioning and shall be mentioned in particular: when clearing the earth above the skull a disc-like upright-standing limestone piece came to light — stuck into a gaping hole in the forehead of the skull. Further rock sherds lying immediately at the skull and suspicious by their form are likewise collected.//Situation of skull H III, section 11 / m 2 right.— Nigg (p. 44) sketches; see Fig. 178, p. 378 — and numbers the drawn objects N° 1–N° 5:N° 1 — femur, N° 2 — stone artefact, N° 3 — horizontally placed underlying slab, N° 4 — wedge stuck in the forehead, N° 5 — tubular bone fragment.— In the following he describes further accompaniments (N° 6–N° 9) that he has not drawn:Hard above the left zygomatic arch: a molar tooth (N° 6). Under the femur (N° 1) — deposited in the same direction — bone splinter (N° 7). Above the left zygomatic arch (rear): an artefact (N° 8). In front, directly under the skull//stone artefact? (N° 9).(wrapped in correspondingly numbered papers)

1st m right:
Full of collapse blocks. Under the already mentioned large collapse slab that lay on the surface and was cleared away at the very beginning — there follows first an approximately 10 cm thick loam layer — here a surface layer; cf. above, p. 373! — (with individual crumbly finds). Below it: an approximately 10 cm thick layer of dark-brown earth with cave bear remains — and below that: the loam again (lowest layer).— From here onward to the end of H III: bone depots everywhere between and partly under stone blocks — Nigg designates them "bone nests"! — The large collapse slab mentioned here, lying on the surface, must according to Nigg's drawn cross-sections 10 and 11 have itself been resting partly on a block. — Evening: descent to Vättis.//

(Monday 6 to Thursday 9 August 1923: haymaking on Vättnerberg.)


Friday/Saturday, 10/11 August 1923

Abraham and Hermann: bone transport from hut to Vättis.


Monday, 13 August 1923

Morning ascent to the hut; midday to the cave.

Section 11 / full width (rear part toward section 12): almost completely filled with blocks and broken slabs — few finds.


Tuesday, 14 August 1923

Recording of section — section 12, Fig. 180, p. 379.

Fig. 180, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 14 August 1923 for section 12 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 12.
Fig. 180, Nigg's cross-section drawing of 14 August 1923 for section 12 in H III, D V/6 S 2, 12.

Section 12, left of the axis: find layer increasingly thin.Finds mostly immediately//below the surface — between the (many) large blocks also deeper. Much suspicious material. Layers can no longer be distinguished. The not-very-thick find layer lies directly on the loam.

Right of the axis:Section almost entirely filled by a massive collapse slab. At its left edge: numerous bones together — but no skulls. Here under the slab: charcoals.— Evening: descent to Vättis with find material.


Thursday, 16 August 1923

Afternoon: ascent to the hut. //


Friday, 17 August 1923

Section 13: In the tangle of blocks the bones lie only in quite isolated nests between the blocks.— Fig. 181, p. 380. — Here — and in the space toward the left cave wall — the reddish-brown earth still shows. At the cave wall left: very few finds — bone fragments. One bone depot lies, however, between collapse blocks in sections 12 and 13 under the cave axis. Here a very conspicuous bone fragment that stands out both by its general form and by its remarkable bend.It is packed separately. For the rest the finds from this section are taken together and section recording is foregone. Work is nonetheless continued by metres left and right of the cave axis — insofar as the collapse blocks permit. Particularly noteworthy finds shall as before be precisely determined according to their position. Also right of the cave axis: bone nests again between collapse blocks — charcoal traces — strikingly many ribs — but the finds are very crumbly and lie (especially near the right cave wall) in hard-trodden, sticky, tenaciously cohesive loam earth. — Immediately under the cave axis: numerous bones wedged into a narrow gap between collapse blocks — also fragments//of a skull.

Fig. 181, 'Tangle of blocks' at the end of H III in section metres 11 to 16! — The massive block appearing on the left at the lower edge is sketched by Nigg on his cross-section drawing of section metre 11 — cf. above, Fig. 177 ('collapse block')!
Fig. 181, 'Tangle of blocks' at the end of H III in section metres 11 to 16! — The massive block appearing on the left at the lower edge is sketched by Nigg on his cross-section drawing of section metre 11 — cf. above, Fig. 177 ('collapse block')!


Saturday, 18 August 1923

Sections 14 and 15 (rear of the cave — see Fig. 181, p. 380!)

The finds concentrate around the large collapse slab in the middle of the cave — in small nests. Among the finds noteworthy only: a well-preserved shoulder blade and individual hand-root and toe bones lying together. The grey loam rises here almost everywhere to the surface. The numerous large collapse blocks lie in part hollow — so that hollow spaces open up here and there beneath them when//excavation proceeds between them.Under the blocks, however, the grey loam is visible throughout. Only where bone remains are present has red-brown, crumbly earth developed — which is, however, no longer strongly developed in breadth or depth.— End of work in H III! —

In H I along the left cave wall before the passage to H II, approximately 2 m have been left standing from earlier — which we now tackle. Already after brief work it shows that here the rubble section characteristic of cave I gives way to less rubble-bearing layers that stand out distinctly from one another. Today the//excavated material has not yet been examined — since few bone traces showed — but precise reading on the sorting table is to begin as soon as finds appear.— Evening: descent to Vättis.


Monday, 20 August 1923

Abraham and Hermann: transport of find material from hut to Vättis.


Tuesday, 21 August 1923

Afternoon: ascent to the hut with Dr. Bächler (cf. letter below of 17 August). //


Wednesday, 22 August 1923

H I. Rear part of the left cave wall toward the passage to H II. Working down the left-standing section. — Scatter finds.


Thursday, 23 August 1923

H I. Continued work left before the passage under receding cave wall. — Scatter finds.— End of the excavations!


Friday/Saturday, Monday/Tuesday, 24/25 and 27/28 August 1923

Material transport — tools etc. — by Abraham and Hermann from the cave.— End of the records!

(St. Gallen) Inner-Arosa, 17 August 1923

My dear Mr. Nigg!

Your dear letter has given me heartfelt pleasure! The strict observance of the doctor's orders has let me suppress all correspondence. Y o u will at least understand that. In return I have now found at least four weeks of lively — if not complete — recovery. — My family — now entirely restored — is staying here another 7 days and will travel home next Friday the 24th. — I myself shall arrive in Vättis this coming Monday evening the 20th. Tuesday to Friday//Drachenloch — on the latter day meeting with my family in Ragaz and journey home — in order to appear again at the Drachenloch soon after.— I am most heartily looking forward to seeing you and your dear family again after a longer interruption. Your report on the Drachenloch is most pleasing!

Give my warmest greetings to your dear ones and also to the two faithful squires in the Drachenloch. You yourself receive the assurance of constant faithfulness!

Your Emil Bächler

BÄCHLER'S NOTEBOOK 1923

Alongside repeated indications of a "typical layering" in H I at the southern wall immediately before the passage to H II on the occasion of the remaining work on 22 August — cf. Nigg above — Bächler summarises on 6 written pages the most essential points from RECORD NIGGs for the 1923 campaign and also takes over 3 of his sketches!

In the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Natural History Society, 59th volume, 1923, pp. 81/2, Bächler thanks the "Drachenloch" excavation team — above all Theophil Nigg:

"Excellent thanks are owed to those who stood up there on high — in the highest alpine cave — and with eager, joyful work raised the prehistoric treasures from their many-thousand-year grave: Mr. Teacher T h e o p h i l  N i g g of Vättis — who as discoverer of the cave bears in the Drachenloch (July 1917) was my exemplarily faithful and conscientious collaborator — who rapidly and surely mastered the methodology of prehistoric cave research and to whom I was able calmly to entrust the leadership of the whole even in my absence — A b r a h a m  B o n d e r e r   and   H e r m a n n  K r e s s i g  — both of Vättis — the eager helpers in the heavy work in the cave and in searching through the find layers — to whom//no load of provisions and equipment up the steep ascent and no burden of finds down to the valley was too heavy — who were aware of the purpose of their work and held faithfully to the cause."

* * * *

Notes on the Illustrations

Front cover: Gelbberg alp with the old hut and in the background the ring of cliffs with the entrance to the Drachenloch cave. Photo F. W. Sprecher, before 1917.

Back cover: View out through the cave portal — height approximately 7 m. Photo Walter Mittelholzer.

Fig. 1, p. 5: The entrance to the Drachenloch cave at 2,427 m above sea level, seen from the valley at Vättis (943 m above sea level).

Fig. 2, p. 6: In the foreground the Gelbberg; in the background the ring of cliffs with the cave entrance of the Drachenloch in the centre. This ring of cliffs lies in front of the actual Drachenberg (2,605 m above sea level)!

Fig. 3, p. 17: Side view of the 35 mm figurine embodying the tradition of depicting female fertility; discovered in 1981 by Naama Goren-Inbar on the Israeli Golan Heights at Berekhat Ram and dated between 233,000 and 800,000 BP (years before today). Cf. Alexander Marshack, "The Berekhat Ram figurine: a late Acheulian carving from the Middle East," in:Antiquity, 71, 1997, pp. 327–37. (Photo Alexander Marshack.)

Fig. 4, p. 17:"Venus of Willendorf" (replica) — approximately 26,000 years old (Cohen).

Fig. 5, p. 18: The "mask" of La Roche-Cotard. (Photo from Lorblanchet, La naissance de l'art, p. 144.) On the "mask" cf. Jean-Claude Marquet, "A Neanderthal face? The protofigurine from La Roche-Cotard," in:Antiquity, 77 (2003), pp. 661–670.

Fig. 6, p. 18: Position of the enclosed hearth (H) discovered by Bächler on 23 August 1920 before the entrance to cave III at the base of layer III and on the surface of layer IV, and of the open hearth (F) discovered by Nigg on 21 July 1917 at the entrance to cave II. The sketch with the floor plan and elevation of the Drachenloch cave is taken from Bächler (1940), plate XII, Fig. 22.

Fig. 7, p. 19: Bächler (1940), plate XXIII, Fig. 40.

Fig. 8 (= 120), p. 19: Schematic floor-plan sketch of the 8 bone pits and the hearth — according to the excavation records of Nigg and Bächler — in metres 4 and 5 at the end of the 2nd cave section (H II) and the beginning of the third (H III).

Fig. 9, p. 20: Detail of the coloured cross-section that Theophil Nigg drew on 2 September 1920 after his pencil sketch in his diary: bone pit IV, covered with a Seewerkalk slab. In the pit beneath the slab there were found, among other things, 3 cave bear skulls (Sch). The smallest division of the paper corresponds to one centimetre (square).

Fig. 10, p. 20: Longitudinal section of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints cave with the burial pit containing the skeleton of a Neanderthal man (drawn in black), drawn by the discoverer J. Bouyssonie in 1908.

Fig. 11, p. 21: Longitudinal section and elevation of the stone settings in layer 4 lying side by side above the Neanderthal grave ("sépulture humaine") and the skeleton of a brown bear ("inhumation d'ours") at the excavation site Regourdou — taken from: Eugène Bonifay et al., La Sépulture néandertalienne du Regourdou (Montignac sur Vézère, Dordogne), C.E. R. L. A. T., Mémoire n° 4, 2007, p. 7.

Fig. 12, p. 21: Cut marks on skull "D 17" from pit 6; cf. Fig. 8. (Depository: St. Gallen, Kirchhofer house, Drachenloch room.)

Fig. 13, p. 22: Cut marks on skull "D 25" from pit 8; cf. Fig. 8. (Depository: St. Gallen, Kirchhofer house, Drachenloch room.)

Fig. 14, p. 22: Cut marks on the metatarsal bone (metatarsal 3) of a cave bear from the Drachenloch. (Vättis local museum.)

Fig. 15, p. 23: 4 charred and carbonised foot/hand bones and 1 further carbonised bone fragment of the cave bear from F 1 of the Drachenloch (Drachenloch room, Kirchhofer house, St. Gallen); the scapholunatum bears three circular small depressions arranged in a triangle — in this geometric arrangement almost certainly not bite marks, but placed by man as a symbolic sign with ritual significance.

Fig. 16, p. 23: Ring of cliffs with the entrance to the Drachenloch cave in the centre. Height of the cave portal approximately 7 m.

Fig. 17 a, p. 24: Simple, abstracting figure of a (seated) woman giving birth — from Seewerkalk; found in 2004 in the area of the workplace (see plan, p. 413); maximum dimension of the stone: 193 mm. Front: the figure shows reddish (today almost faded) traces of pigment at the centre! — Cf. Prologue, pp. 15/16.

Fig. 17 b, p. 25: Back — the right flank of the triangular figure throws the head, back, and buttock line of the parturient woman into even clearer relief than the front (17 a). The head also shows a marking of the eye on the back side!

Fig. 17 c, p. 25: Head of the figure with a well-rounded, human occiput (left edge) and — adjoining to the right — a bear's head in profile in and above a human head that reaches with mouth and chin downward under the muzzle of the bear's head; the bear's head is set off by an apparently partly natural, partly artificially produced caesura in the stone! (Cf. also Fig. 17 a!)

Fig. 17 d, p. 26: Base of the figure with a rectangular slot approximately 20 × 5 mm, chiselled out of the pale Seewerkalk upper layer (visual symbol of the female womb).

Fig. 18, p. 26: She-bear in an upright, human posture, from Geissenklösterle (southern Germany), after 40,000 BP (left figure, no. 2, replica).

Fig. 19 a, p. 27: Portrait of Theophil Nigg (1880–1957). Vättis local museum.

Fig. 19 b, p. 28: Theophil Nigg on a circular tour, c. 1910.

Fig. 19 c, p. 28: Theophil Nigg on Monday 8 August 1921, before the Gelbberg hut — photographed by the painter Früh, who visited the excavation that day. See Nigg.

Fig. 20, p. 27: Portrait of Dr. h.c. Emil Bächler (1868–1950). Vättis local museum.

Fig. 21 a, p. 29: Flat Seewerkalk artefact found in 2004 near the figurine (Fig. 17); maximum dimension 174 mm. "All-rounder": edges — including point and 2 "encoches" (notches) — sharpened all round and in part retouched! — Vättis local museum. — Fig. 21 b, p. 30: Retouched edge of the above artefact. — Fig. 21 c, p. 30: (of the same) Clearly visible retouches!

Fig. 22, p. 45: Bächler's sketch of the floor plan of the Drachenloch cave with notes, enclosed with the letter of 20 July 1917 to Th. Nigg.

Fig. 23, p. 46: Entrance hall of the Drachenloch with junction: right toward the dome structure; left: "narrow passage" to cave sections II and III. (Cf. Figs. 31/32.)

Fig. 24, p. 46: View from cave section III into cave section II and toward the exit to daylight.

Fig. 25, p. 47: Longitudinal section and floor plan of the Drachenloch cave from the dome structure onward at the end of the entrance hall; the spot of Nigg's first finds is marked in red. Vättis local museum (Drachenloch Museum), drawing by Toni Nigg, Theophil's son.

Fig. 26, p. 47: Cave section behind the "narrow passage" with a marking line in red oil paint on the right cave wall at the level of the surface floor before the excavation.

Fig. 27, p. 48: The "new" hut on the Gelbberg at 2,040 m above sea level; in the background the ring of cliffs with the entrance to the Drachenloch cave at 2,427 m above sea level. (Photo Walter Mittelholzer, 18 September 1918.) — The winding dotted line shows the route of the shorter, more direct path to the cave.

Fig. 28, p. 49: Nigg's sketch of H II after the 2nd measurement of 3 August 1917 — floor plan. (D V/6 S III, 1.)

Fig. 29, p. 50: Nigg's sketch after the 2nd measurement of 3 August 1917 of the passage and H II — longitudinal section. (D V/6 S III, 2.)

Fig. 30, p. 50: Nigg's sketch after the 2nd measurement of 3 August 1917 — cross-section at the 2nd metre of the longitudinal axis, north of point B, H II. (D V/6 S III, 3.)

Fig. 31, p. 59: Entrance hall (H I) of the Drachenloch; right toward the dome structure; approximately in the middle the narrow passage to cave sections H II and III — before the start of the 1917 excavations. Photo F. W. Sprecher, Vättis.

Fig. 32, p. 59: Same — drawn by Toni Nigg after the photograph.

Fig. 33, p. 60: Complete plan (floor plan and elevation) of the Drachenloch by Toni Nigg — son of the discoverer and excavator Theophil Nigg — divided into metres and square metres (the excavation grid used by the father), with indication of the excavation phases between 1917 and 1923. The space in H II with the higher-lying ceiling he designated as living space (in the sense of working and sojourn area; in this area was the covered hearth!); the moister, rear space with less floor fill and increasingly larger rock fragments as a possible cult space. (Here there were various cave bear skull depots! — see below.)

Fig. 34, p. 61: Longitudinal sections in H II and H III, compiled by Toni Nigg from his father's cross-sections; notable is how the third layer — which in H II contained the bone pits together with the covered hearth — gradually rises to the surface in H III. In fact, cave bear bones were already found there almost at the surface on 9 August 1917 — see Nigg's diary!

Fig. 35, p. 61: Anton (Toni) Nigg — in the 1990 s over 85 years of age — standing before a picture of his father in the permanent Drachenloch exhibition opened in 1987 in the Vättis local museum, which he himself designed. Toni Nigg was drawing teacher at the Cantonal School in Chur; he created, among other things, outstanding osteological drawings of the cave bear.

Fig. 36, p. 62: Abraham Bonderer (1884–1964) as a sixty-year-old beside his wife Luise and his great-granddaughter; as a forest and casual worker and smallholder he was one of the two assistants of Theophil Nigg at the Drachenloch excavations — responsible also for the transport of find material from the cave down to the valley (see next figure) and for the restoration of the transport routes in spring. Nomen est omen: a great reverence for God, nature, and life in general is transmitted of him. He is said to have been deeply kind and very devout — blessing, for example, every animal he had to slaughter with a brief prayer: "God hath given it, God hath taken it, God bless it!"

Fig. 37 a, p. 62: Transport of the find material from the Gelbberg alp down to the valley — an enormous physical exertion for Nigg's assistants Abraham Bonderer (right) and Hermann Kressig (left; see below)!

Fig. 37 b, p. 63: Summer 1919: midday rest on the Drachenloch "Bödäli"; in the foreground lying left: Theophil Nigg; right: Hermann Kressig (1880–1965). The latter replaced Abraham Bonderer in 1919 and remained — after Bonderer rejoined — until 1923. His grandson Klaus Kressig of Vättis describes him as follows: "The 'Herma,' as he was called in the village, was generally regarded as a reliable worker who could be deployed anywhere — whether as alpine herdsman, woodcutter, or road worker etc. He always did thorough work. So too as long-serving community beadle and as faithful assistant to cave researcher Theophil Nigg during the find-lifting in the Drachenloch in the summer months of 1917–1923. Alongside helping with the excavations and the 'transport' of the finds, Hermann Kressig was responsible for the catering of the research team, and Theophil Nigg always praised him as a good cook."

Fig. 38, p. 63: Cross- and longitudinal-section sketch by Nigg on 16 August 1917 (D V/6 1, 8–9) at point 0 from the 1st metre in section AB. (Cf. Fig. 33, p. 60.)

Fig. 39, p. 64: Small cross-section sketches by Theophil Nigg, D V/6 1, 19 and 24, of the hearth at the passage to H II — combined and redrawn by Toni Nigg. (St. Gallen City Archive — Vadiana, "Emil Bächler," box 8.)

Fig. 40, p. 64:"People around the open hearth (F 1) at the passage" — drawing by Toni Nigg.

Fig. 41, p. 81: Charcoal from hearth F 1 behind the passage (H I/H II) in an open cardboard box in a display case of the Drachenloch room in the Kirchhofer house, St. Gallen.

Figs. 42 a–d, pp. 81–83: "D 11" — (a) left side with inscription "AB 2–3 / 2. m l – 50 –"; the skull comes from the collapsed section — see Nigg — in the 2nd m left, approximately 50 cm below the surface. — This skull is fitted on the underside (c) with the adhered label "D 11" (= Drachenloch no. 11); 45 skulls and skull halves from the Drachenloch are marked in this way. Heinz Bächler described them on 35 handwritten pages according to "age," "habitus," and "defects." (These notes are preserved in box 8 of the Bächler Archive in the St. Gallen City Archive — Vadiana.) — More or less completely preserved (if almost without exception lacking a lower jaw) were 25 skulls from the Drachenloch; these (D 1–D 25) were tabulated in 1940, p. 191, likewise by Heinz Bächler, in order of size and with the specification of 18 different linear measurements on the skull in millimetres. — Of these 25 skulls, 22 are today deposited in the Drachenloch room of the closed Kirchhofer house; D 7, D 9, and D 12 appear to be missing. Two of them could be identical with the two complete but unsigned skulls in the Vättis local museum (SG); there too are 2 skull halves "D 33" and "D 36." Of the 20 skull halves or larger skull parts bearing the corresponding label (D 26–D 45), only 8 can still be found in the Drachenloch room: D 26, D 27, D 35, D 37, D 38, D 39, D 40, and D 43 — together with D 33 and D 36 from the Vättis local museum: a total still of 10! — Nigg and Bächler recorded ±79 skulls/skull halves/skull fragments — cf. plan, p. 412. As the excavator Nigg himself recorded, many of the skulls broke into individual fragments on lifting — so that ultimately only the mentioned 45 could be registered, described, and labelled! (Heinz Bächler — see below — found in the depot even 161 upper jaws, i.e. skulls or skull fragments, bearing the large right molar M 2!)

(b) Incomplete muzzle and forehead with 2 holes; for these traces of destruction — both zygomatic arches are likewise absent — prehistoric man is presumably responsible. (c) Palate side with both M 1 and right M 2; all three molars show a slight trace of wear.

Heinz Bächler examined the large rear molar — M (olar) 2 left and right — in the upper jaws of all complete or fragmented cave bear skulls from the Drachenloch and was able — 1957, p. 142 — to tabulate the following figures regarding age classes and the assignment of the examined material to them. (In the following, the two tables in the 1957 publication, p. 142, are summarised and the distribution of the cave bear skulls D + number illustrated in this book is taken from Heinz Bächler's table in the 1941 publication, p. 192):

Not yet reproductively mature young bears
Age class Age Count % Skulls
1 (1 a + 1 b) ¾–1½ years 51 × 17.2% incl. D 20, 23, 24, 25, 26
2 a 1½–2 years 88 × 29.85% incl. D 4 (?), 11 (here), 17, 18
2 b 2–4 years 100 × 33.55%  
      = 80.60%!!!  

Reproductively mature bears
Age class Age Count % Skulls
2 c 5–10 years 27 × 9.15% D 13
2 d 10–15 years 16 × 5.55% D 2
3 15–20 years 12 × 4.10%  
4 20–35 years 1 × 0.30%  
5 35–50 years 1 × 0.30%  
      +19.40%  
      100.00%  

Around 80% — including D 11 — belong to not yet reproductively mature young bears! — Quite evidently Neanderthal man preferred to hunt these still young animals, which could be killed more easily and with less danger to his own life! — (All age specifications in the book are based on this table!) — (d) Cut marks on skull D 11, stemming from the defleshing!

Fig. 43, p. 83: H II behind the passage; approximately at the centre of the photograph (intersection of the diagonals) was situated roughly the open hearth (F 1) — immediately behind the "narrow passage" from H I to H II.

Fig. 44, p. 84: Fibula (calf bone) fragment with a typical oblique fracture edge (so-called flute-beak fracture). The piece in this form with the sharp fracture edge is usable as a tool.

Fig. 45, p. 84: Cave plan sketch showing the detail of H II behind the passage, where hearth F 1 and the bone deposit were situated.

Fig. 46, p. 85: Cross-section sketches AB 3, Nigg. (D V/6 1, 28–29.)

Fig. 47, p. 85: Cross-section sketches AB 4, Nigg. (D V/6 1, 36–37.)

Figs. 48–53, 55–56: Bear bones "disposed of" by Neanderthal man in section metres AB 2 to 5 — along, or on the left-hand side under, the receding rock walls — partly dismembered or smashed, with traces of working, frequently with clear scratch and cut marks stemming from the defleshing!

Figs. 48 a–d, pp. 86 f.: Femur (thigh bone) from AB 3–4, 1st + 2nd m left, 3rd layer. (a) "Front side." (b) "Back side." (c) and (d) Details with clear cut marks on the shaft.

Figs. 49 a–c, pp. 88 f.: (a) Rib fragment with polished flute-beak fracture from AB 4, 2nd m left, 3rd layer; max. dimension 119 mm. (b) Polished fracture end of the flute-beak fracture. (c) Same from a different angle.

Figs. 50 a–d, pp. 89 ff.: (a) and (b): Rib fragment (a = outer surface; b = inner surface) with abraded fracture edges — from AB 4, 3rd layer; max. dimension 95 mm. — (c) and (d): Rib fragment with flute-beak fracture and abraded fracture end (d) — from AB 5, m 1 right, 3rd layer; max. dimension 97 mm.

Fig. 51, p. 92: Flat Seewerkalk piece from AB 4, 1st m right, 3rd layer — with a fluted groove (Nigg: "1 notched bone?"). Max. dimension 47 mm.

Figs. 52 a–d, pp. 93 f.:"Worn ribs" — a characteristic category of Drachenloch artefacts particularly noted by Nigg (cf. his letter of 28 February 1922 in the Chronicle): rib fragments with polished ends produced by abrasion. (a) and (b): worn rib, 79 mm long. (c) and (d): worn rib, 49 mm long.

Figs. 53 a–c, pp. 95 f.:"Bone points" of three different types from the Drachenloch — all from the 3rd layer in AB 4/5. (a) Pointed rib fragment, max. dimension 90 mm — fracture end polished. (b) Pointed rib fragment with polished fracture end and scratch marks, max. dimension 64 mm. (c) Pointed long-bone fragment, max. dimension 53 mm.

Figs. 55 a–d, pp. 98 ff.: Vertebrae and claw bones from section metres AB 2–5; some show traces of defleshing.

Figs. 56 a–d, pp. 101 ff.: Lower jaw fragments from the Drachenloch with broken-off rear end (condyle) — a characteristic fracture type repeatedly mentioned by Bächler and Nigg in the records.

Fig. 57, p. 105: Bächler's notebook 1917, p. 1 — the first page of notes on the Drachenloch.

Figs. 58 a–e, pp. 107 f.: The 11 cave bear vertebrae from AB 3–4, 2nd m right, 3rd layer — found in "natural" anatomical sequence on 21 August 1917 by Nigg. The vertebrae have clear cut marks on their surfaces from defleshing.

Fig. 59, p. 108: Bächler's notebook 1917, p. 7 — with notes from 21 August 1917 and the sketch of the 11 vertebrae in their find position.

Fig. 60, p. 109: Bächler's notebook 1917, pp. 8/9 — with notes on the vertebrae and a sketch of the find situation.

Fig. 61, p. 113: Bächler's notebook 1917, p. 11 — notes from late August 1917; the page includes his earliest formulation of the bone-cult hypothesis.

Fig. 62, p. 122: Bächler's notebook 1917, p. 18 — with the entry from 1 September 1917 describing the bone artefacts found near the open hearth.

Fig. 63, p. 123: Nigg's cross-section sketch of AB, 3rd–4th metre, to the left. D V/6 1, 21.

Fig. 64, p. 133: Nigg's notebook entry, 11 September 1917, with the note on the 5 ibex bones found together with cave bear bones.

Figs. 65 a–c, pp. 134 f.: Three claw bones (phalanges) of a cave bear from the Drachenloch; (a) shows the typical "flute-beak" fracture; (b) and (c) show cut marks.

Fig. 66, p. 141: Bächler's notebook 1917, p. 27 — closing entries for the 1917 season.

Fig. 67, p. 149: Nigg's cross-section sketch AB 8 (D V/6 2, 1) — from the 1918 season.

Fig. 68, p. 153: Nigg's cross-section sketch AB 9 (D V/6 2, 4) — 12 August 1918.

Fig. 69, p. 155: Bächler's notebook 1918, p. 2 — first notes of the 1918 season.

Figs. 70 a–c, pp. 156 f.: Fibula fragment with polished flute-beak fracture from H II, AB 9, 1st m right, 3rd layer, found 16 August 1918. Max. dimension 74 mm.

Fig. 71, p. 160: Bächler's notebook 1918, p. 7 — notes from mid-August 1918 on the find distribution in section AB 9.

Fig. 72, p. 162: Cross-section sketch by Nigg (D V/6 2, 15) — Section AB 10, from 1918.

Fig. 73, p. 163: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 10/11 — including discussion of the nature of the bone tools.

Figs. 74 a/b, p. 166: Rib fragment with polished flute-beak fracture from AB 10, 2nd m left, 3rd layer. (a) Outer surface. (b) Inner surface. Max. dimension 113 mm.

Fig. 75, p. 167: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 14/15 — including notes on the "enclosed hearth" first encountered in H II.

Figs. 76 a–d, pp. 169 ff.: Four fibula fragments with the characteristic flute-beak fracture from various locations in H II (1918 season).

Fig. 77, p. 171: Nigg's cross-section sketch, Section AB 11, from 1918. (D V/6 2, 20.)

Figs. 78 a–c, p. 172: Rib fragment with "worn" (polished) end from AB 11, 2nd m right. Max. dimension 62 mm. (a) Outer surface with scratch marks. (b) Inner surface. (c) Detail of the polished fracture end.

Fig. 79, p. 174: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 18/19 — on the find situation in section AB 11 and a first sketch of the cave plan.

Fig. 80, p. 175: Nigg's cross-section sketch, Section AB 12, from 1918. (D V/6 2, 25.)

Fig. 81, p. 177: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 22/23.

Figs. 82 a–d, pp. 178 f.: Skull "D 37" — half of a skull roof, i.e. the rear half of the skull cap. The adhered label reads "D 37"; from Heinz Bächler's notes it comes from "H II AB 12, 3rd layer." The preserved upper jaw shows a medium degree of wear on the molars, placing this skull in age class 2 d (10–15 years) — somewhat above the average age of the animals hunted at the Drachenloch. (a) Top view. (b) Left side. (c) Right side. (d) Front view with the conspicuous, almost artificially regular fracture edge along the middle of the skull.

Fig. 83, p. 180: Nigg's cross-section sketch, Section AB 13, from 1918. (D V/6 2, 30.)

Fig. 84, p. 181: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 26/27.

Fig. 85, p. 182: Nigg's cross-section sketch, Section AB 14, from 1918. (D V/6 2, 34.)

Fig. 86, p. 182: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 28/29.

Fig. 87, p. 183: The complete floor plan of the 1918 H II excavation from Bächler's notebook 1918, p. 32.

Figs. 88 a–e, pp. 183 f.: Skull "D 38" — incomplete skull cap from the rear right; adhered label "D 38." From Heinz Bächler's notes the provenance is "H II AB 14, 3rd layer." Age class 2 c (5–10 years) according to Heinz Bächler. (a)–(e) Various views showing clear cut marks on the outer surface.

Figs. 89 a–d, p. 183: Skull "D 37" — see Fig. 82. Additional views showing cut marks.

Fig. 90, p. 184: Bächler's notebook 1918, pp. 32/33 — closing entries for 1918 including general observations on the cave bear bone depositions.

Fig. 91, p. 185: Jaw fragment of a large feline (panther?) with large canine tooth, found in H II in 1918. — As Heinz Bächler, son of Emil Bächler, informed Toni Nigg — see D V/6 4, 67! — the panther jaw fragment with canine tooth was lost during the move into the renovated exhibition rooms of the St. Gallen regional museum in the Kirchhofer house!

Fig. 92, p. 186: Nigg's cross-section pencil sketch in his notebook (D V/6 4, 41) of 11 September 1919 at point 0 at the portal of H I.

Fig. 93, p. 186: Nigg's cross-section sketch of 27 September 1919 from m 2 in H I. (Toni Nigg's redrawing of the sketch in D V/6 4, 63 used!)

Fig. 94, p. 187: Bächler's cross-section sketch — notebook 1919, 1 October — from m 4 in H I.

Fig. 95, p. 187: Nigg's cross-section sketch in H I m 7, 7 October 1919. (D V/6 4, 75.)

Fig. 96, p. 188: View from the dome space into cave section I. — To the right is the narrow passage to H II (not visible).

Fig. 97, p. 189: The southern cavern at the rear wall of the dome space — dimensions given by Bächler in 1919 as 2 × 1.3 × 2 m.

Fig. 98, p. 189: The scour hollows mentioned by Bächler in 1919 on the northern wall of the dome space.

Fig. 99, p. 190: Portal of the Drachenloch cave — height approximately 7 m!

Figs. 100 a/b, p. 209: Rectangular bone platelet with a taper at one of the broad sides; maximum dimension 40 mm. (Tubular bone fragment?) — The piece has been brought into this form by man; handy and usable as an awl or burin! On the outer surface (a) it shows numerous fine scratch marks. (b) Inner surface. No details of find site or find date.

Figs. 101 a–c, pp. 210 f.: Tubular bone fragment, one end of which has a broad — polished from rubbing/scraping — rounded point. The "feet of the two legs" at the other end are still pointed (b!) and razor-sharp.

(a) Outer surface with numerous working — i.e. scratch and cut — marks.

(b) Side view, likewise with cut marks.

(c) Inner surface. Maximum dimension 49 mm. No details of find site or find date.

Fig. 102, p. 211: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 12 and 13. — Cf. the drawing on p. 12 above (fig. 1) with Fig. 105 a, p. 213! Bächler recognises in the Seewerkalk pieces drawn here and on p. 14 (Fig. 103) tools with accommodation backs and opposing cutting edges — i.e. scrapers!

Fig. 103, p. 212: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 14 and 15.

Fig. 104, p. 212: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 16 and 17. In fig. 12 Bächler draws an example from the "number of smaller bone splinters with a taper" and titles it "bone point."

Figs. 105 a/b, p. 213: Seewerkalk scraper that Bächler drew in 1920, p. 12, fig. 1. No details of find site or find date. (a) The reverse of Bächler's drawn front. (b) Cutting edge.

Figs. 106 a/b, p. 214: Seewerkalk scraper from H I section 15, 1st m left, 3rd layer; the day and month of the date "22/VIII/20" are certainly wrong. Bächler did not draw this piece. It likewise shows — as do the others — both accommodation back (a) and cutting edge (b).

Fig. 107, p. 221: Nigg's cross-section sketch of section metre 16 in H I, 1st and 2nd m left, of 31 July 1920. (D V/6 sketchbook IV, p. 1.)

Fig. 108, p. 221: Nigg's cross-section sketch of section metre 17, 1st m left, of 10 August 1920. (D V/6 — notebook — 4, 117.)

Fig. 109, p. 222: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 40/41; he draws 3 views of the "finest, absolutely certainly worked bone point from H I, section 18, 1st m left — 10/VIII/1920" with a maximum length of 90 mm and describes the piece in detail — see Chronicle and Fig. 113, p. 224!

Fig. 110, p. 222: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 42/43; on p. 43 Bächler describes and draws a canine tooth fragment that comes from the same spot as the rib fragment. Regarding working by man he is uncertain — especially since he overlooks the finest traces — see Fig. 114, pp. 225 f. + notes below. The same bears no inscription!

Fig. 111, p. 223: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 44/45; here Bächler draws outer and — together with edges: smoothly polished — inner surface of a canine tooth lamella that — as he does not particularly emphasise — can only be the work of man.

Bächler's legend, p. 44 (top to bottom):Outer surface — root end — a: bone part (tooth root), light brown — b: broken-out surfaces, dark brown. P. 45:Inner surface: a: smooth, polished-looking edges — c: inner concave groove (dental pulp): the entire pulp cavity very smooth, shiny — root end.— Cf. also Figs. 115 a–i, pp. 227 ff. and notes below!

Fig. 112, p. 223: Bächler's notebook 1920, pp. 46/47; on p. 47 Bächler draws two stone artefacts: the upper one — likewise from H I section 18, 1st m left, 2nd layer, found 10 August 1920 — identified in the Kirchhofer house, see Fig. 116, p. 230; the lower one — which he describes as a "very characteristic piece" — from H II section 3, 1st m left, found 13 August 1920 — unfortunately not identified in the Kirchhofer house!

Figs. 113 a/b, p. 224: Bächler's "finest absolutely certainly worked bone point," which he draws and describes in his notebook 1920, p. 41 — see Fig. 109! (a) Outer surface. (b) Inner surface.

Figs. 114 a–d, pp. 225 f.: Canine tooth fragment, the inner surface of which Bächler draws in 1920, p. 43 (Fig. 110, p. 222); this piece shows on the outer surface — (a) and (b, tip) — clearly visible scratch and working marks. — Nigg (p. 219) thinks in connection with these canine tooth fragments from H I section 18, 1st m left, 2nd layer, found 10 August 1920, of "awls" (awl- or burin-like tools). — (c) and (d, tip) Inner surface; on the narrow, pale longitudinal face — which Bächler designates as surface a — there are innumerable parallel-arranged grinding strokes that he strangely overlooked. The piece bears no inscription and could be identified only through Bächler's drawing of the inner surface, 1920, p. 43!

Figs. 115 a–i, pp. 227–231: Canine tooth lamella that Bächler draws and describes in 1920, pp. 44/45 (Fig. 111, p. 223). — (a) Outer surface = Bächler's drawing, p. 44. Length of the lamella: 73 mm. As find date Bächler gives on p. 45 — as with the other objects preceding it — 10 August 1920; on the lamella itself, however, the date has evidently become illegible through a correction (20/20?!/VIII/1920). The details of find site on the lamella and in Bächler's notebook p. 45 agree: H I / section 15 / 2nd m left / 2nd layer. — (b) Inner surface = Bächler p. 45. — (c) Artificially pointed lamella end with "spine" — outer surface. — (d) Same — inner surface. — (e) At the root end the lamella smoothly polished — outer surface. — (f) Same — inner surface. — (g) The polished-looking edges of the inner surface with clearly visible, mostly parallel-arranged grinding strokes (the pulp cavity clearly recognisable). — (h) The transition from the pale brown bone part of the tooth root to the broken-out dark brown surface on the outer surface of the lamella; this transition has the silhouette of a bear's head. That this bear-head silhouette was consciously shaped by the craftsman of the lamella is made visible especially by his various small cuts left almost along the entire edge of the silhouette — visible clearly on the photograph at the nose tip and muzzle. — (i) Lamella, outer surface, approximately 2:1.

Figs. 116 a–c, pp. 231 f.: (a) Upper side of the Seewerkalk artefact drawn by Bächler in 1920, p. 47 (left). (b) Back of the same (p. 47, right) with the partly faded inscription "H I / section 18 / 1st m left / 2nd layer — 10 (20)/VIII/1920." As commentary Bächler writes correctly on p. 46:usable as a scraper with 2 cutting edges — a and b, see Bächler's drawing p. 47.The back is furnished with small leaching holes.— (c) Cutting edge b!

Fig. 117, p. 239: Inner side of a left fragmented lower jaw half with various cut and working marks — visible in the illustration only below at the fracture site — presumably from the vicinity of the 11 vertebrae lying at the boundary between sections 3 and 4, 2nd m right, 55 cm below the surface, based on the note in the display case of the Kirchhofer Drachenloch room.

Figs. 118 a–d, pp. 240 ff.: (a) The left side — with temple and forehead caved in — of skull "D 24" found and recorded by Bächler in 1920, p. 50, in the left corner before the entrance from H I to H II; these holes at the temple and forehead do not stem from human working — they may, however, still have come about indirectly through man, since Bächler writes: "The whole gives the complete impression that everything here was deliberately thrown against the wall and literally pressed against it" — in the course of "disposing of," i.e. depositing, the cave bear bones and skulls at this spot near the entrance to H II. Presumably man wished to keep the narrow passage to H II as open as possible and for that reason pressed the bones against the wall! — (b) The right, complete side — though evidently, as the glue traces show, this side too had to be mended. (c) Underside of the skull with three preserved molars showing absolutely no traces of wear; as the length of the skull also shows — profile length 346 mm, Bächler 1940, p. 191 — it must be a very young animal of ¾ to 1½ years, the calibre that the Drachenloch bear hunters preferred to hunt and take! — (d) On the surface of the skull — which during deposition became rough and grey from calcareous sinter — clear cut marks have nevertheless been preserved, stemming from the defleshing!

Figs. 119 a–d, pp. 243 ff.: A typical treatment of Drachenloch cave bear skulls by the Neanderthal bear hunter: a skull roof with forehead portion — without muzzle, underpart, or rear. — Cf. also "D 37" above, Fig. 89, p. 183, or e.g. the parts of skulls in H II section 4 / 1st m left recorded by Bächler in 1920, pp. 75/81/85, pp. 249 ff.! — This "rear skull portion" was recorded by Bächler in 1920, p. 55, on 19 August 1920 in the left corner at the passage from H I to H II in the third layer. Today it is designated "D 36" and exhibited in a display case of the Vättis local museum. (a) From above. (b) From the right front. (c) From the lower left. (d) From the rear (above).

Fig. 120, p. 255: Floor plan of section metre 4, of the half section metre 5 in H II, and of the half at the beginning of H III — on the base of the third layer (approximately 60 cm below the surface) and the fourth layer (80–90 cm and more) — with the situation of the 2nd hearth and all 8 bone pits — some covered with a slab, some uncovered — reconstructed according to the recorded specifications of the excavators. Regarding the 2nd bone pit — covered with a slab 30 × 40 cm — Bächler 1920, p. 86, omits any indication of its position. In his reconstruction sketch — see Fig. 124 — he draws to the right of the axis on the base of the third layer two stone blocks: under the left one 2 limb bones, under the right one a skull! With the latter he presumably wishes to indicate the position of the third bone pit with the "magnificent skull" (= D 4, Fig. 122!); with the first block to the right of the axis possibly the position of the second pit.

Fig. 121, p. 256: Bächler's situation sketch, 1920, p. 86, with bones "peeping out" from under a stone slab 30 × 40 cm. No details of position within the fourth section metre. (= 2nd bone pit.)

Figs. 122 a–d, pp. 256–259: Bächler's "magnificent skull" — covered with a stone slab 40 × 50 cm — from the third bone pit! Bächler's descriptions of the skull in 1920, pp. 91 and 93, agree with "D 4" in every detail; Heinz Bächler's notes on "D 4" — cf. notes on Fig. 42, p. 388 — point in the same direction with precise details of provenance and find date: boundary section metre 5, layers III to IV, 1st m right of the axis, 24 August 1920. This skull had very probably been exhibited in a display case in the Kirchhofer house (St. Gallen) at Bächler's instigation since the establishment of a Drachenloch exhibition there (today in the Wildkirchli room) — but in a manner not corresponding to the original context in which it was found in the 3rd bone pit: namely resting on two shin bones (tibiae) and with a thigh bone (femur) in the right zygomatic arch. According to his records, Bächler only encountered such a situation — or at least one comparable — in 1921 in the first metres of H II — see below!

(a) Left side: the "rear connecting arch (meaning of the complete left zygomatic arch) is absent," as Bächler 1920, p. 91, records!

(b) D 4 from the upper right; the "right zygomatic arch has been peculiarly gnawed by snow mice," records Bächler (loc. cit.) The "magnificent find," as Bächler wrote, has at 446 millimetres the third-greatest profile length of all Drachenloch cave bear skulls — cf. Bächler 1940, p. 191, table! — The skull — which according to Bächler's statements "was pressed into the section" — shows numerous small cracks on its surface; cut marks, if they were originally present on it, can no longer be identified — but the other identified skulls from the half section metre 5 (see below) do bear them!

(c) Detail of the right front half with the "high, vaulted forehead," a detail of the "gnawed right zygomatic arch," and the right laterally complete set of teeth!

(d) Underside of the skull with label "D 4"; the set of teeth corresponds — except for the absence of the first right incisor in the centre — to Bächler's description 1920, p. 93, and likewise their condition, loc. cit., p. 91: "The animal has completely unworn molars; the canines are derobated at the tip (p. 251)." He regards it as "a still younger specimen — approximately 10 years old" — but Heinz Bächler, his son, assigns "D 4" to an earlier age class than his father: namely 2 a, i.e. 1½–2 years!

Fig. 123, p. 260: Bächler's drawing of 1923 of the 4th section metre — excavated by him predominantly left of the axis — which still hangs today (2008) on the wall of the exhibition room of the Drachenloch excavation in the Kirchhofer house, closed to the public for some years! — His drawn "situation picture" (1920, p. 94) does not correspond exactly to his or Nigg’s protocol notes:

  1. Bones hard against the left rock wall lay, according to RECORD NIGG (31 August 1920), "in gaps and angles between a projecting block and the wall" — not, as Bächler draws them, behind a small wall built up from stone slabs; moreover Nigg does not record any skulls among the bones, as Bächler draws them!

  2. The "coal hearth" (= 2nd hearth) has only one cover slab — cf. the record!

  3. Its positioning within layers 3 and 4 likewise does not correspond to the record; the same applies to the "stone chest" beside it! Bächler 1920, p. 75, writes: "It is situated... at the base of layer 3 and on the surface of layer 4," and further below, p. 83: "Position of the coal hearth approximately 55 cm below the surface, at the base of the red crumbly layer" — i.e. layer 3, where evidently the two cover slabs and the first stone courses of the enclosed hearth appeared!!

  4. The same applies to the depth of the stone chest: the 90 × 60 cm cover slab of the first bone pit lay 60 cm at the front and 50 cm at the rear below the surface — Bächler 1920, p. 85! At what distance the stone chest lay beside the hearth, Bächler does not state — nor whether it lay more toward section metre 5 or section metre 3; cf. the reconstruction attempt in Fig. 120.

  5. Coal hearth and stone chest lie according to the metre scale at the left edge of the drawing considerably too deep!

  6. The drawn picture of the "stone chest" is surprising:

    1. As contents of the chest — certainly here representative of the totality of cave bear bones stored within it — three complete skulls are drawn; Bächler 1920, p. 85, records only: "skull part, rear half + frontale" and on p. 84 writes — evidently as a repetition and clarification — "individual skull occipita," i.e. precisely rear halves — like "D 36," Fig. 119!

    2. The drawn stone courses on which the cover slab rests and which form the sides of the chest are not recorded by Bächler, loc. cit.! — They are mentioned only in connection with the hearth! —

      Still more surprising are the drawing that Bächler will publish in 1940 — see Fig. 7, p. 19; for this cf. pp. 12 ff. — with the same stone chest beside the covered hearth — but now containing 6 (according to the accompanying description: 7!) skulls with their muzzles toward the exit — and the corresponding section in the chapter "The Sacrificial Cult in the Drachenloch...," p. 153, where the discovery and lifting of the chest is described! The same anecdote also appears in Bächler's handwritten "Memories from my Research Life," notebook II, 1940, pp. 1–27 (Drachenloch), pp. 18 ff. (St. Gallen City Archive, Bächler Archive, box 16).

      One must assume that the large bone deposit with dimensions 80 (40) × 60 × 25/30 cm — covered with a stone slab of dimensions 90 × 60 × 5/8 cm — would have been crushed and pulverised by the weight of that slab alone, and all the more so by the additional weight of Neanderthal men stepping over it!

      There are two conceivable measures by Neanderthal man that prevented this here and at other "burial sites": either the bones were deposited above the then-existing floor surface, surrounded by stone courses — as Bächler draws but does not record — or a hole was dug into the floor surface, the bones laid into this pit ("bone pit" — Nigg's term used in the records) and covered with a stone slab or possibly with earth alone. Both burial methods are attested for the culture of Neanderthal man — cf. the situation sketches in the caves of "La Chapelle-aux-Saints" and "Regourdou" in Figs. 10 and 11, pp. 20 and 21!

  7. Alongside the evidently largest bone deposit (stone chest), Bächler fails to draw the two other stone-slab-covered bone deposits — bone pit 2 (with two parallel-lying thigh bones) and bone pit 3 (with the "magnificent skull") — that he records on pp. 86 and 91; see the notes above on Fig. 120 and below on Fig. 124.

    On the collapse block to the right of centre, see Bächler 1920, p. 84: "Also beside this slab (the stone chest) once more an upright block toward the right wall in m 2"! — The stone slabs indicated at the right wall were recorded by Nigg on 21 August 1920.

Fig. 124, p. 260: The present drawing by Bächler corresponds largely to the one discussed in Fig. 123. It presumably served as the model for that drawing, and with certainty as the model for figure 15, p. 80, in the 1920/21 publication in the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Natural History Society. Today it is found glued to the inside of the rear cover of RECORD NIGG book for the 1923 excavation year — D V/6 7! As Bächler informs Nigg in a letter of 12 May 1921 — see above, p. 290 — he had sent part of the manuscript for the 1921 publication to Nigg for review; he may have dedicated the present sketch to him after the publication. — The large collapse block is absent to the right of centre; both the stone chest and the coal hearth each show a stone slab at the base — which Nigg records at the beginning of 31 August 1920 for the coal hearth alone! — and as the contents of the stone chest Bächler draws only two, not three, skulls! —

The two other stone-slab-covered bone deposits (bone pit 2 — with two parallel-lying thigh bones — and pit 3 — with the "magnificent skull") are at least indicated — see the notes above on Fig. 120 — and Bächler still refrains from drawing a small wall built up from stone slabs against the left wall, and likewise from drawing skulls as constituents of the bone deposit alongside bones — see point a) in the notes on Fig. 123! — He draws the bone deposit on the rock ledge; the bones were evidently stored in a gap (Nigg) between rock block and wall — see Fig. 126, p. 263!

Fig. 125, p. 263: Rock formation of the Conturines with the entrance to the cave of the same name (arrow) at its foot, at 2,800 m altitude in the Dolomites (San Cassiano, South Tyrol — Italy); below it a steep scree slope without any vegetation. The cave bears whose bones have been excavated in this cave will certainly have encountered a different environment.

Fig. 126, p. 263: Nigg's "projecting block of the left cave wall" (H II section 4/5 — 3rd/4th layer — D V/6 5, 11: "All dry, loose grey earth, which in the gaps and angles between wall and block remains the same down to the depth. Bones are numerous here...") — the rock ledge in the cross-section sketches and drawings by Bächler (Fig. 124) and Nigg (Figs. 128 and 131) for section metres 4 and 5 in H II! — The red line marks the present level of the floor surface before the excavations!

Fig. 127, p. 264: H II with the entrance to H III; on the left-hand wall immediately before the entrance to H II the mentioned "rock ledge." From this area come the densest traces both of the cave bear — in particular the greatest number of cave bear skulls, namely at least 22 complete, half, or fragmented skulls — and of Neanderthal man: around a covered hearth, 8 bone pits — 3 of them covered with a stone slab!

Fig. 128, p. 264: Nigg's cross-section pencil sketch of H II section metre 5 (D V/6 sketchbook 4, p. 13), drawn on 2 September 1920 — the model for his large coloured cross-section drawing of the same section metre drawn at 1:10 scale (Fig. 133). The ceiling silhouette of the entrance to H III corresponds to that of the photograph above it (Fig. 127)!

Fig. 129, p. 265: View from the opening 3rd cave section (H III) into the 2nd cave section (H II) — which is bounded at beginning and end by two rock projections of the northern ("right") cave wall — and finally into the "passage" preceding H II.

Fig. 130, p. 266: Nigg's precise situation sketch on p. 14 of the 1920 excavation year (D V/6 5, 14) for the 4th bone pit: with cover slab, support block and support slab, and the 3 skulls (designated by him as no. III — the preceding bone pits were excavated under Bächler's leadership; the 2nd pit — described most briefly by Bächler — was evidently not registered by Nigg!).

Fig. 131, p. 267: The left half of the coloured cross-section drawing by Nigg of H II section metre 5 — drawn in colour at 1:10 scale on millimetre paper, with the sketch in Fig. 128 as model — of 2 September 1920. (The drawing is preserved as a folded sheet in an orange folder in box 8 of the private archive "Bächler" in the St. Gallen City Archive!)

The heading "Cave II (m 5–6) (entrance H III)"requires explanation: the last section metre in H II, section metre 5, is only a half metre (47 cm — cf. Fig. 28, p. 49); the large collapse block in the background right of the axis — see Figs. 132/133 — will certainly project beyond this 47 cm boundary; behind it H III begins. Nigg writes — somewhat confusingly — "m 6" (of H II!) instead, which in essence does not exist.

Nigg's coloured cross-section drawing provides us — together with his situation sketch in the notebook (Fig. 130) — with the most precise details of the stone construction around the 4th of the 8 bone pits. The 4th bone pit belongs to the burial type (cf. above, notes on Fig. 123!) "bones at the (original) surface surrounded by stone courses." — The bone deposit was covered with a stone slab weighing well over 100 kg measuring 100 × 60 (30) × 10 cm, which was supported against the left cave wall on the "projecting block" (the "rock ledge") and toward the axis on a "rounded block" with a diameter of 40 cm — the latter evidently also indicating the height of the deposit! — In front of this construction — at a lateral distance of 30 cm toward the axis — stood an "upright slab." Between them likewise "numerous bones"! — On the three skulls see the legend of the illustration, p. 266! (One of the skulls lay, according to Nigg's statement — 5, 14 — not under the slab.)

The 4th bone pit from the drawing as a detail in Fig. 9, p. 20!

Nigg distinguishes layers a–f: uppermost layer — calcite layer — first layer with Ursus fauna (III) — main find layer (IV) — lowest find layer (V) — loam layer. — The first metre left of the axis extends exactly to the rock ledge; the same measures in turn somewhat under one metre (90 cm, Fig. 128) to the southern cave wall left of the axis.

Fig. 132, p. 267: The 2 metres right of the axis of Nigg's coloured cross-section drawing at the exit of H II — on it he draws a further 7 cave bear skulls (Sch): one surrounded by bones (5th bone pit), a group of three (6th bone pit), and one isolated but near a pair (8th bone pit!) —

Discovered and lifted by Nigg on 1 and 2 September 1920. Behind the large stone block Nigg also worked on 1 September in the initial area of the third cave section (H III) — cf. his sketch in Fig. 136! — There he came upon a further skull surrounded by bones: the 7th bone pit — cf. Fig. 120, p. 255!

Bone pits 5–8 without cover slabs (D)!

He also sketches the position of the 3 skulls in the 8th bone pit in his record book 5, 20 — see Fig. 137, p. 278.

What Nigg means by "Abr" (abbreviation for "Ausbruch" = breakout?) between the two blocks right of the axis is unclear; in his pencil model (Fig. 128, p. 264) he writes "Loch" (hole) instead (!?). The "hole" could have come from the removal ("breakout") of Bächler's "barricade block" between H II and H III! — Cf. p. 194.

Fig. 133, p. 268: Nigg's complete coloured cross-section of the exit of H II and entrance of H III ("H II m 5–6") — 2 September 1920, complete! — Details from it in Fig. 9, p. 20 and Figs. 131 and 132, p. 267.

Figs. 134 a–e, pp. 271 ff.: The skull here illustrated — "D 17" — without zygomatic arches on both sides and with a fragmented muzzle (measured profile length of the surviving portion: 373 mm) — was provided in its depot (cabinet drawer, Drachenloch room) in the St. Gallen Kirchhofer house with precise provenance details on a slip of paper: "H II section 5, 1st m right, 4th layer, 60 cm below the surface, 1 September 1920." — It therefore certainly comes from the 6th bone pit and was one of the three skulls stored there!

Based on the juvenile molars showing barely any traces of wear — see (d) — Heinz Bächler assigns it to age class II a, i.e. 1½ to 2 years old, and describes it in his "Cave bear skull notes" (loc. cit., box 8) as "quite young" — this skull, which moreover bears traces of human activity — see (b), (e), and Fig. 12, p. 21 — belongs to that age class that the Drachenloch hunter most frequently hunted and took! (Cf. table above, p. 388!)

(a) Left side. (b) Detail with a deep notch mark. (c) Right side. (d) Underside with fragmented upper jaw and on both sides well-preserved large molars (M 1, M 2). (e) Unambiguous cut marks in the area of the forehead vault — from the stone knife of the hunter. (A different detail in Fig. 12, p. 21!)

Figs. 135 a–e, pp. 274 ff.: This skull was provided in its St. Gallen depot only with the label "D 20," without further details; the accompanying slip of paper may have been lost — however Heinz Bächler's "cave bear skull notes" — loc. cit., box 8 — come to our aid: he writes as the provenance of "D 20": "H II, section 5, layer IV, 1 Sept." In the fourth layer of section metre 5, Nigg excavated a total of 4 skulls from two different depots on 1 September 1920 — the 5th and 6th bone pits. Since Nigg (p. 269) attests at least the presence of the right zygomatic arch in the skull from the 5th bone pit — but "D 20" is missing this (as is the left!) — "D 20" accordingly comes from the 6th bone pit and belongs together with "D 17" to the group of three skulls there!

"D 20" shows large openings in the temple region on both sides throughout, and above them on the right side of the skull roof a smaller hole of approximately 3 cm in diameter; the zygomatic arches are absent; otherwise "D 20" is somewhat more complete than "D 17" — the upper jaw has, alongside 4½ molars, the left canine — though peculiarly mutilated — and bears the same traces of human activity as "D 17"! — Profile length: 380 mm.

(a) Muzzle with forehead from the upper left, with the mutilated canine. (b) Left side. (c) Underside — upper jaw: Heinz Bächler assigns D 20 — according to the preserved molars — to age class I b: "no trace of wear" — thus classing the animal as slightly younger than that of D 17: ¾ to 1½ years! — D 20 like D 17 also a young animal — of a size most frequently hunted by the Neanderthal bear hunters of the Drachenloch.

(d) Right side with hole in the skull roof. (e) Unambiguous cut marks.

Fig. 136, p. 278: Situation sketch by Nigg (D V/6 5, 17) in the "6th" section metre of H II, 2nd m right; Nigg excavates only the diagonal half of the square metre facing the axis; in it he comes upon a skull and accompanying bones — the 7th bone pit (p. 270)!

Fig. 137, p. 278: Nigg's sketch of the position of the 3 skulls in the 8th bone pit (D V/6 5, 20): left an "upright-standing block" under which no. 3 (a "larger skull"); beside it a "rounded block" under which no. 2 (a further "larger skull"); under no. 2 was in turn no. 3 — a "small skull" — identical with "D 25," Fig. 138!!

For Nigg it is "pit III"; he presumably counts the three pits excavated last that lie closest together around the large stone block — see Fig. 120, p. 255; he already designates the pit covered with a large stone slab — section metre 5, 1st m left — as "bone pit III" — see Fig. 130, p. 266!

Figs. 138 a–e, pp. 279 ff.: The skull bearing the label "D 25" had in the Drachenloch find depot a slip of paper with precise provenance details: "H II section 5, 2nd m right, 4th layer, 2 September 1920 — small skull from pit III, see cave book." (On the sheet "D 25" of the mentioned "cave bear skull note sheets" by Heinz Bächler, loc. cit., the indication: "H 2, section 5, 4th layer, pit III, 2. 9. 1920.") —

The skull bearing the label "D 25" is therefore certainly identical with no. 1 in Nigg's sketch, Fig. 137, and comes from the 8th bone pit designated by Nigg as "pit III" — see notes on Fig. 137!

Heinz Bächler describes it on the cited sheet as a "very juvenile and very small skull" and assigns it to the very first age class I a: "molars without any trace of wear," ¾ to 1½ years old. (For palaeontologists: "sutura parieto-occipitalis still traceable above the sagittal crest — the suture between the skull parts above the crown!") — Its profile length he measures as 318 mm. (Bächler 1940, pp. 191 f.)

(a) Right side. (b) Left side. (c) Underside with all molars in the upper jaw preserved on both sides without defect. (d) Large left molar without any trace of wear (!). (e) "D 25" likewise bears — like "D 17 and 20" — unambiguous cut marks from the stone knife of the deflesher! (Cut marks from the same area of the skull roof also in Fig. 13, p. 22.)

Fig. 139, p. 291: The upper half of p. 120 of Bächler's manuscript for his Drachenloch publication in the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Natural History Society 1920/21 (see bibliography).

The handwritten text begins with the word "Durchlöcherung" (perforation), which in the publication appears on p. 107 in the second line above the second section beginning with the word "geradezu." It ends with the red-underlined word "Anzahl" (number), which in the publication appears on p. 108 in the sixth line.

This manuscript page is archived in the St. Gallen City Archive (Vadiana), private archive "Emil Bächler," box 1 — together with 4 further pages (118–122)!

Fig. 140, p. 292: The lower half of p. 120 corresponding to the upper half in Fig. 139; the text continues at the indicated spot on p. 108 and ends on p. 108 with the clause "admits of no other interpretation than" (the only one that speaks for m a n...) in the seventh line before the section. (Depository: see above, Fig. 139.)

Fig. 141, p. 303: Nigg begins the 1921 work in Bächler's absence first in the dome structure, right of the passage H I / H II; "result = 0" he writes! His floor-plan sketch of 3 August — D V/6 sketchbook (S) I, p. 1.

Fig. 142, p. 303: The quartzite piece found in the first section metre of H III toward the left wall in the 4th layer — undoubtedly brought there from outside the cave by man as a foreign body ("manuport"!).

Fig. 143, p. 304: Bächler sketched on 10 August 1921 on a single sheet the situation at the left zygomatic arch with the thigh bone (femur) drawn through it — on the skull from H III metre 0–1, 2nd m left, 3rd/4th layer (= "D 7," cf. p. 301). The end of the femur shows a (artificial) fracture; under the stone slab there were various bone accompaniments: beside ulna and vertebra, two humeri lying slightly offset and parallel above one another — cf. pp. 305 f.!

St. Gallen City Archive (Vadiana), private archive "Emil Bächler," box 8 (orange folder!).

Fig. 144, p. 304: The situation of the "skull with bone accompaniments" from H III metre 0–1, 2nd m left, 3rd/4th layer — reconstructed in simplified and non-detailed form! Instead of the lost — possibly disintegrated on account of its fragility — "D 7," "D 4" (see Fig. 122 + notes!) with a complete (inaccurate!) femur in the right (instead of left!) zygomatic arch; below it, as a selection, 1 bone accompaniment (tibia) — cf. pp. 305 f.!

Fig. 145, p. 311: The first cross-section drawing preserved from H III and the second executed in this cave section — carried out on 22 August 1921 by Nigg, D V/6 sketchbook (S) I, p. 2. The section is recorded 2 m inward in H III at the beginning of the third section metre!

Fig. 146, p. 311: The sketch of the "skull situation" in H III section metre 3, 1st m left and right of the axis — transferred by Nigg from the record book 1921 (5), p. 40, into sketchbook (S) I, p. 3: under a cover slab, a larger skull I complete with the lower jaw, whose occipital crest lies above the muzzle of a second, smaller skull II (= D 13, Fig. 147, pp. 312 ff.).

Figs. 147 a–f, pp. 312–315: In the Drachenloch find depot there is a skull with the inscription on the left parietal: "H III section 3" (and beneath it the find date:) "24/VIII/21" — and the adhered label "D 13." This skull "D 13" is identical with the second, smaller skull in the covered skull depot H III section metre 3. Its profile length measures 394 mm; Heinz Bächler gives 2 c as the age class — "middle age," 5 to 10 years — somewhat above the average age of the hunted cave bears of the Drachenloch, with beginning wear on the molars!

(a) Right side. (b) Underside. (c) Left side with inscription. (d)–(f) Cut marks on "D 13" in the area of the forehead vault — unambiguous traces from the defleshing hand of the Drachenloch bear hunter!

Figs. 148 a–c, pp. 316 f.: In H III in the third section metre, 1st m right, in the third layer, "there is a curious bone fragment — perforated," as Nigg writes in 1921 (5), p. 41. He cannot place this fragment within the existing inventory of cave bear bones and bone fragments found — and tentatively ascribes it to another animal, the ibex! —

Two reasons presumably prompted Nigg's striking formulation "curious bone fragment" and his uncertainty "ibex?": The bone fragment could not be readily assigned — by its form and size — to the species practically exclusively represented in the Drachenloch, "Ursus spelaeus" (= cave bear), and moreover it was "perforated." Nigg wrote "perforated" and not "it had a hole" because he immediately thought of the activity of man! —

In fact, in the Drachenloch bone depots in the St. Gallen Kirchhofer house there is such a bone fragment — conspicuous by its smallness and its perforation — which in all probability is a piece of the brain case, i.e. from the wall of the skull roof of the cave bear. Its maximum dimension is only 38 mm! As regards the origin of the 6–7 mm hole, every reason speaks for the artificial — wrought by the activity of man! The hole is neither corroded by "the steady drip" nor bitten through by the smooth (small) predator tooth; rather the hole shows on both sides — but predominantly at the inner edge — see Fig. 148 b! — small irregularities all around, stemming from the activity of boring; moreover on the inner side beside the hole from the outer side there appears an inner, larger hole-edge on the bone fragment that can only be traced back to the human activity of drilling; presumably the drilling proceeded — according to the present picture of hole-enlargement on the inner side — from the inside outward! — A further, likewise decisive indication of the human origin of the hole is the fact that for physical reasons the hole can only have originated after the fragmentation of the skull — otherwise the hole would have "attracted" the fracture! Given the smallness of the fragment, neither the canine tooth of a fox afterwards — the fragment would have broken — nor "the steady drip" from the cave ceiling — the position of the fragment was through its smallness too unstable, or the drop would have had to aim very precisely and permanently — can account for the hole; only and solely man!

The significance of this human activity lies in the further context of the rite practised by the Neanderthal bear hunters of the Drachenloch — already discussed in the Prologue! — Perforated objects appear at settlements of this people also elsewhere relatively often; a ritual background of the perforation of objects is beyond question: through the hole — through the act of boring — this man, more than 53,000 years ago, opens the boundary between the two worlds: the visible, material world and the invisible, immaterial, spiritual world — in order in this way, through a symbolic act, to provide for a return (in our context) of the killed cave bear!

Like the hole, the outer form of the fragment likewise comes from the hand of man — cf. the fine scratch marks on the outer surface, Fig. 148 c! The conspicuous small protrusions on the lower longitudinal side — in (a) and (b) — combined with the simple, almost rectangular-shaped outline of the fragment, are reminiscent of the trunk and the corresponding limbs of an animal and evidently — according to context — represent a cave bear! — Rounded head profile of the same in the lower corner of the left broad side, with the slightly projecting ear approximately in the middle of the same! — Fig. 148 a.

(a) Outer surface. (b) Inner surface. (c) Outer surface enlarged with scratch marks.

Fig. 149, p. 318: Nigg's cross-section drawing of 26 August 1921 of section 4 at 3 metres in H III — D V/6 sketchbook (S) II, p. 4!

Figs. 150 a–d, pp. 318 ff.: The skull here also — "D 23" — connects through its inscription on the left parietal to RECORD NIGG: "H III section 4, 2nd layer, 2nd m left, 28 (instead of 27!)/VIII/21." It is identical with the "small bear skull" (its profile length is only 363 mm) whose "nasal opening and front part are full of white, soft calcite" and who is missing "the zygomatic arches and (almost all) the teeth" — cf. (a) and (b)! — The still-present two large molars (M 2) show no trace of wear; the suture on the sagittal crest has already closed — i.e.: the skull of the animal belongs to age class "I b," i.e. ¾ to 1½ years old, and has according to Heinz Bächler's account (1940, p. 192) just reached its definitive size — more or less, we add — for the profile length is as stated only 363 mm and lies on the table (loc. cit., p. 191) almost at the very bottom! This animal too fell victim to the bear hunters of the Drachenloch, as cut marks on the skull unambiguously indicate — see (c) and (d)!

(a) View from upper left with "traces of white calcite in the nasal opening." (b) View from the left of the underside with the adhered label "D 23." (c) and (d) Cut marks in the area of the right forehead vault!

Fig. 151, p. 321: Ceiling and left cave wall of H III; on the floor — increasingly toward the rear — conspicuously many broken slabs. According to Bächler's statement, many of them appeared during the excavation already at the recent surface!

Fig. 152, p. 322: Cave section III and II photographed from the very rear; in the foreground a heap of broken slabs and in the right corner the end of a 2–2½ m long collapse block!

Fig. 153, p. 323: View into the very rear of H III at the hole leading to cave sections IV–VI. Above it the cave wall that Bächler describes in 1921, p. 53, as "enormously bent, undulating, split into narrow layer-plates — so that this crumpling and bending created caves III and IV (–VI)"!

Fig. 154, p. 323: In his notebook 1921, on p. 58, Bächler sketches after his excursion there (!) the floor plan of cave extensions IV to VI, which he also describes individually on the facing p. 57 — see pp. 326 f.!

Fig. 155, p. 324: Nigg's half cross-section drawing left of the axis from the 6th section metre (after 5 longitudinal-axis metres) of 15 September 1921 — sketchbook II, p. 5! His crossed-out "note: section 6 cannot be recorded — already-lifted test trench from earlier" is confusing; he leaves the right half of the axis blank and writes "situation unclear." — Nigg will hardly have drawn a cross-section of section 5 on 15 September — after the complete removal of the remainder of the 1919 test trench of H III section 5 on 8 September (see p. 325) — even if it was only the left half of the axis! — Rather, what is here is section 6 left of the axis; the 1919 test trench will still have touched the following section metre 6 on the right side of the axis — which is why Nigg had to write "situation unclear"! — Accordingly the indication "section 5" above the drawing — which moreover, judging from the erasure marks, had been corrected — is wrong!

Fig. 156, p. 324: Bächler's sketches of floor plan and elevation of the cave sections together with cross-sections — published as the 10th illustration in the 57th volume of the Yearbook of the St. Gallen Natural History Society for the association years 1920/21 — drawn according to the signature below on 15 December 1921 and recorded in a first, no-longer-preserved sketch on 13 September 1921 — cf. Bächler 1921, p. 60.

Figs. 157 a–c, pp. 329 f.: Repaired "smashed bear skull" from the receding right cave wall (= niche) in section metre 6 of H III — found on 16 September 1921 and forming — together with 10 further skulls — a larger skull depot — cf. plan and p. 412! — This skull belongs to a very young, not yet fully grown animal (completed profile length approximately 250 mm!); the preserved molars show as yet no traces of wear whatsoever: age class 1 a — over ¾ years! — a young victim of the Drachenloch hunters! — Moisture — perhaps even dripping water — has left visible traces: the bone was softened and broke at a later point into its individual parts; the skull seems before its smashing to have been lying on its left side — the right shows innumerable corrosion holes! — Under these circumstances the working or cut marks of the prehistoric hunter stemming from the defleshing that were originally probably present on the surface — as are customarily present on the Drachenloch cave bear skulls — are unfortunately no longer demonstrable on this skull! — The skull lies in the depot, bears the label "D 26," and is provided with a slip of paper: "H III section 6 skull from the niche of the right cave wall. 17. (correct: 16.) Sept. 1921."

(a) Right side. (b) Left side. (c) From above.

Fig. 158, p. 331: Nigg's simple situation sketch for the position of the skull and the bone deposit under a heavy, over 2 m long broken slab — 17 September 1921 — D V/6 5, 53.

Fig. 159, p. 331: Right cave wall in section metres 5–7 of H III! — The niche indicated in the cross-section drawing (following figure) — which contained a large bone and skull deposit — has today disappeared behind the excavation rubble — see illustration!

Fig. 160, p. 332: Nigg's cross-section drawing of the 7th section metre in H III at the point where the 6th longitudinal-axis metre ends and the 7th begins — recorded on 20 September 1921. At the right wall the mentioned niche with the large skull and bone deposit — whose depth inward toward the wall Nigg gives as 1 m 20. — In the middle — largely to the left of the axis, partly to the right — two heavy and 2–2½ m long broken slabs lying one above the other and oblique to the cross-sections, under and over one of which — still in the 6th section metre — Nigg found a skull and bone deposit — see above and plan, p. 413! — D V/6 sketchbook II, p. 6.

Fig. 161, p. 357: Nigg's cross-section drawing of section 8 in H III (at the point where the 7th longitudinal-axis metre ends and the 8th begins) of 17 October 1922 — D V/6 sketchbook II, p. 7. Left of the axis — in the niche between (and under) the large collapse block and smaller slabs — a large bone depot — see plan, p. 413!

Fig. 162, p. 358: Small sketch by Nigg, 1922 — p. 11 above — of the position of block and slab in the 7th section metre and 2nd m left of the axis, 3rd layer.

Fig. 163, p. 358: Detail sketch by Nigg, 1923 — p. 9, relating to the drawing p. 6 (see Fig. 164) — with the position of skulls I, II, and III in the 8th section metre and 2nd m left of the axis, within the mentioned niche with bone depot!

Fig. 164, p. 359: Drawing by Nigg, 1923 — p. 6 — of the exact position of skulls I and II within the niche formed by blocks and slabs in the 8th section metre and 2nd m left of the axis. — The "large covering stone slab" to the right — with the "block" beneath it — has also been drawn by Nigg in cross-section 8 (Fig. 161)!

Figs. 165 and 166 a/b, pp. 360 f.: In a drawer of the east wall cabinet in the Drachenloch room of the Kirchhofer house there lie in a wooden cigar box Seewerkalk pieces — among them the artefacts illustrated here — and a slip of paper giving their provenance: "H III section 9, 1st m left, 2nd/3rd layer — suspicious material on stone slab, 23 July 1923." These details accord with RECORD NIGG of 23 July 1923, see p. 356: " In the 2nd and (partly) 3rd layer — m 1 left — I dig down to the slab in section 8 and toward the rear to the face of the slab projecting from the floor" — i.e. into section 9, since the "face" of the second-named slab — resting slightly on the first — lies there. The former slab is the one resting on a block and situated at axis height and in the 1st m left of it in section 8 — projecting still partly into section 9 — cf. sections 8 and 9, Figs. 161 and 168, pp. 357 and 362! — Even though the writer of the slip uses only the phrase "suspicious material" — Nigg's characteristic (over-) cautious formulation of his first impression, which recurs again and again in his records! — the artefact character of both objects illustrated here is beyond question: Fig. 165 — handy, simple chopper with 1 worked cutting edge bearing a slight notch in the middle; Fig. 166 a/b — front and back of a handy, typical Mousterian wedge (of Neanderthal culture) with point, cutting edge, and back! (On the smoothly polished base — Fig. 166 a, lower left, p. 360 — innumerable fine scratch marks running in all directions, which in this conspicuous form can only come from the hand of man!)

Fig. 167, p. 361: Nigg's simple sketches — 1923, pp. 14/15 — of the collapse block in section 9 of H III that lay "hollow" on the slab in section 8!

Fig. 168, p. 362: Nigg's cross-section drawing of section 9 in H III (at the point where the 8th longitudinal-axis metre ends and the 9th begins) of 26 July 1923 — D V/6 sketchbook II, p. 8. The block drawn in the foreground at axis height and slightly to the left of it appears already — larger — in the section 8 drawing; behind it, lying somewhat higher, a further, thicker block situated mainly in section 9 and still touching section 10. Both blocks together with further slabs in the 8th and partly 9th section metres formed the niche — see Fig. 164!

Figs. 169 a/b, pp. 363 f.: In the same east wall cabinet but in a different drawer from the cigar box with the objects of Figs. 165 and 166, there is in a brown cardboard box this "typical Mousterian wedge of Seewerkalk" — illustrated here with front (a) and back (b) — discovered and recorded by Nigg on 27 July 1923 in the 9th section metre at the surface immediately at the left cave wall in the 3rd remainder-metre. The inscription on the front "Drachenloch H 3 section 9 3 m l wall 27/VII/1923 surface" — confirms the identity with this object recorded by Nigg, whose artefact character — even though Nigg writes further down in the record in the customary (over-) cautious manner: " Can be chance — could equally well, since lying beside cave bear bones, also be an artefact" — is clear and indisputable: the cutting edge — clearly visible on the back, Fig. 169 b, right edge! — is still sharp today, as is the point. — The object shows on the front in the lower left corner — clearly visible — parallel arranged, engraved, straight-running grooves that can only derive from human activity! — Particularly noteworthy here is also the fact that the object lay in H III in section metre 9 at the surface — i.e. that at this spot, after the abandonment of the cave by the prehistoric man of Mousterian culture, no soil formation occurred over the object during the subsequent tens of thousands of years!

Figs. 170, p. 369: On p. 20 of RECORD NIGG book 1923 — sketch of the first of two skull depots in H III section metre 9, 1st m left of the axis, in the 2nd layer, 30 cm below the surface. D V/6 7, 20.

Fig. 171, p. 369: 2 snail shells with diameters of 16 and 18 mm — the larger photographed on both sides — from the Drachenloch, of the species"Helicigona vel Arianta arbustorum alpicola": the snail species that appeared in masses during the excavations in the Drachenloch.

Fig. 172, p. 370: RECORD NIGG book 1923 with a sketch on p. 22 — relating once more and somewhat more precisely — this time without the skull — to the position of the slabs around the skull in depot I, H III section metre 9, 1st m left of the axis, 2nd layer; a further, smaller sketch below it on the same page relating to the position of this depot; and a sketch on p. 23 of the situation of the second skull depot in the 1st m left of the axis, section metre 9 of H III, 40 cm below the surface — at the boundary between layers 2 and 3. — In the second depot Nigg sketches clearly the lateral framing of the skull by platelets — an archaeological find that in the most unambiguous and never refutable manner documents the artificialness — doubted by too many researchers — of the "skull placements" in the Drachenloch!

Figs. 173 a–c, pp. 371 f.: 89 mm long rib fragment with polished flute-beak fracture at one of the two fracture sites, numerous fine scratch marks on the outer surface from working, and the inscription "H III section 9, 1 m right." — This inscription is partially somewhat faded — notably the "r" — visible only upon closer inspection — not "l"! — of "right" (of the axis). For this stated location Nigg records in 1923, p. 27, as accompaniment of a third skull depot in the 9th section metre of H III, 1st m right of the axis, in the 2nd layer resting immediately on the 3rd layer: "a suspicious rib piece"! We can be almost certain that the photographed piece is this "suspicious rib piece"! — (a) Outer surface. (b) Outer surface of the polished flute-beak fracture end. (c) Inner surface.

Fig. 174, p. 375: Nigg's cross-section drawing of the 10th section metre (after 9 longitudinal-axis metres!) in cave section 3 (H III) of 2 August 1923 — D V/6 sketchbook II, p. 10.

Fig. 175, p. 375: Nigg's sketch, 1923, p. 40, of the skull depot "D 10 on ascending stone slab" from the 2nd m right in the 10th section metre of H III. The skull roof lay 25 cm below the surface — the skull at the boundary to the 11th section metre. Immediately beside its right zygomatic arch there appeared a second (unidentified) skull! The left zygomatic arch of the first skull had only a stump — as Nigg weakly indicates in his sketch here.

Figs. 176 a/b, pp. 376 f.: The skull on the ascending slab sketched by Nigg from the 2nd m right of the 10th section metre is identical with "D 10" in the find depot! Not only does the accompanying slip of paper confirm the identity — with the details "H III section 10, 2nd m right — 3 August 1923" (see 176 a) — but also the left zygomatic arch stump recorded by Nigg and present in "D 10"! The latter is in this case decisive for identification, since during the inspection in the find depot a second slip was discovered in the nasal opening of the skull containing different details of provenance and find date: "H III section 9, m 1 left, 2nd layer, 28 July 1923"! — Nigg describes in the 10th section metre and 1st and 2nd m right "a hard-trodden, tenacious loam floor baked together with the very weakly developed surface layer" and described the shin bone found there as "firmly cemented in the hard-trodden loam." These floor conditions are quite evidently also reflected on the surface of our skull "D 10" — where a thin, greyish coating sticks fast like a cementing compound and thus unfortunately also covers all probably originally present cut marks! — Heinz Bächler assigns it to age class 2 a: 1½ to 2 years. The measured profile length of 397 mm accords with this.

(a) Left side. (b) Right side.

Fig. 177, p. 378: Nigg's cross-section drawing of the 11th section metre (after 10 longitudinal-axis metres) in the 3rd cave section H III of 4 August 1923; in the 2nd m right he enters the "ascending stone slab" — also belonging to the 10th section metre — on which "D 10" had been deposited (at the boundary to section 11!) — and "a further skull (with the occiput) immediately beside the right zygomatic arch (of 'D 10'), lying on its left side" (with its muzzle toward the rear), which Nigg draws here as lying solely on the slab! — D V/6 sketchbook II, p. 11.

Fig. 178, p. 378: Nigg's situation sketch of the skull-roof depot in the 2nd m right, section metre 11, 1923 — p. 44 above. On it he sketches beside the skull roof from the rear 5 further objects — numbering and describing them — cf. Chronicle, p. 381; to these he adds a further 4that he only records, no longer drawing them!

Fig. 179, p. 379: In a display case of the Vättis local museum — whose exhibition Theophil Nigg's son Toni (Anton) Nigg himself designed — this skull depot with bone and Seewerkalk artefact accompaniments is reconstructed — notably including this Seewerkalk wedge stuck in the forehead of the skull roof! — (The originals of the depot were not used!)

Fig. 180, p. 379: Nigg's last cross-section drawing of the 12th section metre (after 11 longitudinal-axis metres) in the 3rd cave section H III of 14 August 1923; here — as in the preceding sections already — given the tangle of blocks appearing ever more at the surface toward the rear of the 3rd cave section, it was hardly or no longer possible for him to indicate a layering of the floor!

Fig. 181, p. 380: View of the end of the 3rd cave section with section metres 11–16; from the 12th section metre onward the "tangle of blocks" at the surface was such that Nigg could no longer write of an actual find layer: the bones had been deposited there "nest-by-nest" between the blocks!

* * *

Plan legend, Floor plan of the Drachenloch cave (after the recent floor surface before the start of the excavations) with cave sections H I (end with dome structure) — H II and H III — in which the find sites of all 79 skulls, skull halves, skull roofs, and skull parts (several together) found and recorded by the excavators are marked. The skulls illustrated in the book bearing a D-designation (between D 1–D 45; cf. p. 388!) are highlighted specifically!
Plan legend, Floor plan of the Drachenloch cave (after the recent floor surface before the start of the excavations) with cave sections H I (end with dome structure) — H II and H III — in which the find sites of all 79 skulls, skull halves, skull roofs, and skull parts (several together) found and recorded by the excavators are marked. The skulls illustrated in the book bearing a D-designation (between D 1–D 45; cf. p. 388!) are highlighted specifically!
Plan legend, Larger deposits of cave bear bones created by Neanderthal man and recorded by the excavators Nigg and Bächler — and special depots of cave bear skulls with bone accompaniments — entered schematically in orange in the same cave floor plan as p. 412. — Alongside these, in black hatching, the "<i> Bsetzi-Boden</i>"(see Chronicle); encircled with dashed orange lines: 2 sites with high bone-splinter concentrations; in black: the round hearth F 1 and the rectangular F 2; and in schematic outline: larger broken slabs and collapse blocks. For H 2 / H 3 cf. the plan in Fig. 120, p. 255!
Plan legend, Larger deposits of cave bear bones created by Neanderthal man and recorded by the excavators Nigg and Bächler — and special depots of cave bear skulls with bone accompaniments — entered schematically in orange in the same cave floor plan as p. 412. — Alongside these, in black hatching, the " Bsetzi-Boden"(see Chronicle); encircled with dashed orange lines: 2 sites with high bone-splinter concentrations; in black: the round hearth F 1 and the rectangular F 2; and in schematic outline: larger broken slabs and collapse blocks. For H 2 / H 3 cf. the plan in Fig. 120, p. 255!

Appendix

In 1956 — one year before his death on the Vättnerberg in August 1957 — Theophil Nigg set down the following note on the theory of " charriage à sec (par l'ours des cavernes)"(dry dragging by the cave bear) championed by F.-Ed. Koby (source: son Toni Nigg):

"The situations as recorded in the records of 28 July and 3 August 1923 are by now of such a kind that they compellingly point to the existence of a cult space of primeval times in this cave section — H III! — if one does not wish to see in the phenomena signs of children's play — which is a priori improbable. — Against the explanation attempted by Dr. Koby in Basel — still during Bächler's lifetime — through his assertion of a 'charriage à sec par l'ours des cavernes' that had occurred, the entire find situation in the Drachenloch can equally be cited as counter-evidence. The finds of the Drachenloch show that the bones suited to tools are always reground in the same way into suitable tools — occurring in series. An absolutely random origin through 'charriage à sec' by the cave bears rummaging through the bone masses — like pigs — is practically inconceivable. Such an assumption testifies to an incredible capacity for imagining practical work processes. How, moreover, if a 'charriage à sec par l'ours des cavernes' actually existed, could the apparent intactness of the preserved various skull depots in cave III be explained?" (See the records cited above.)

"We find it genuinely difficult to be convinced that a 'charriage à sec' ever existed anywhere at any time!" — Theophil Nigg.

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