La Tène, Archaeological site in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

La Tène is an archaeological site on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel, at the point where the Thielle river leaves the lake toward Lake Biel. Before the Jura water corrections the find spot lay 60 to 70 cm under water, a shallows the fishermen called "Tène". Around 2,500 objects were recovered, among them iron swords and scabbards, spearheads, a wooden plough, textiles and leather. A wooden walkway with a low log rail now crosses the former riverbed, and an information panel shows photographs and drawings of the finds.

In November 1857 the fisherman Hans Kopp, working for Colonel Friedrich Schwab, pulled about forty iron objects from the shallows in an hour, among them eight spearheads and twelve swords. Édouard Desor argued at the 1866 Neuchâtel congress that the site should define the second Iron Age, and at a later congress in Stockholm the period from about 450 BCE to 25 BCE was named the La Tène culture.

The name comes from the Latin tenuis, referring to the shallow water where fishermen found the site; the shallows were called "Tène". Finds include about 2,500 objects: swords and scabbards, spearheads, a bow, shields, sickles, shears, a wooden plough, horse harness, wooden plates and bowls, textiles, brooches and coins. Most are held by the Swiss National Museum in Zurich and the Laténium in Hauterive. A campsite now occupies the spot of the former settlement.

The discovered objects can be viewed today in two museums, one nearby and another in Zurich. Visitors should know that the site itself lies along the lake and is easily reached by public transport.

The site gave its name to the La Tène culture, dated to about 450 BCE to the 1st century BCE and traced from Ireland to Anatolia. The name comes from the Latin tenuis, for the shallow water at the lake's northern tip. A camping site now occupies the spot of the former settlement.