Laurent Rabut, a painter and teacher of drawing in Chambéry, was a correspondent of the Académie impériale des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Savoie. Like his brother, François Rabut, a member of the same academy, he had a keen interest in the historical remains in his region. He joined the Commission de Topographie des Gaules (CTG) in January 1866.

Passionate about lakeside pile dwellings

In 1866, Laurent Rabut presented the discoveries he had made on the sites of lakeside pile dwellings around the Bourget lake at a meeting of the Académie impériale de Savoie. He was then authorised to present his paper at the competition led by the Sociétés savantes de l'Empire. It was most likely in this context that, in 1867, Laurent Rabut obtained funding from the CTG allowing him to continue his excavations. The exceptional discoveries he made led to a paper given to the CTHS in 1869 and shared with the CTG and publications. In 1868, some of the material he had discovered was sent to the musée gallo-romain.

Many others shared his interest in prehistoric lakeside pile dwellings, in particular Swiss scholars.

Laurent Rabut was curator of the regional museum from 1879 to 1890.

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