Dolmen de Pedorat

Trip No.203  Entry No.104  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st May 2005

Log Text: Could I find this ? Nope.

Menhir dit le Caillou (Boisse)

Trip No.203  Entry No.105  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st May 2005

Log Text: Could I find this ? Nope.

Dolmen de Baneuil

Trip No.203  Entry No.108  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 22nd May 2005

Log Text: The book says this one is close to the Mairie and I found that OK but no signs of a dolmen nearby. I spend a fairly long time walking round all the lanes and ask a couple of locals but they know nothing. I also checked in the nearby wood nothing was obvious. These Perigord wild goose chases are pissing me off. Decide its time to leave here and stick to those on the maps.

Maison du Loup dolmen 1

Trip No.203  Entry No.111  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 22nd May 2005

Log Text: The book I have says this one is 100 metres from the D.2 road near Marsalès at a place called Borie-Neuve so I thought this one was findable and worth a go. I found Borie-Neuve easily enough but no obvious dolmen. So I looked round all the lanes and tracks in the vicinity but still found nothing. There was nobody here to ask so I had a look in the forest here but its all thick undergrowth and there's no way of finding anything without knowing where to look. Why oh why don’t they all have signposts or at least footpaths to them ?

Dolmen de Case du Loup

Trip No.203  Entry No.101  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st May 2005

Log Text: This dolmen is supposedly 2.5 metres high and three metres long. But beware it houses a giant and monstrous wolf with eyes burning with fire. I spent hours in the hamlet of Larocale looking for this and asked many people who didn’t know until I fond a man out strimmering in the garden who did at least know of its existence. It turned out he was a Professor of Prehistory but of older stuff than megaliths. He told me where to find the dolmen “turn right then right again and up a footpath into the wood on the left about a kilometre. Its small and difficult to find” but he knew of none of the others in the area.

Too right it was difficile a trouver. The wood was being cleared and logged by a man with a tractor splitting logs who I asked but he knew nothing. I had a look round but could find nothing. Just where is that monstrous Loup when you nee him ? On my way back to the Campingcar a couple of the people who I had asked enquired if I had found it. No such luck. One lady then told me about the dolmen at Nojals. At least they know of that one round these parts.

Dolmen le Roc del Ser (Faux)

Trip No.203  Entry No.107  Date Added: 6th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st May 2005

Log Text: Supposedly very close to the D.19 is this 5 metre long stone the remains of a dolmen capstone but I couldn’t find it. Have to say that by now I wasn’t looking hard. It said that if you recite an Avé Maria to it the stone will turn nine times.

I really must try and find this one tomorrow. Its been one of those afternoons where I couldn’t find anything and became frustrated. Then it started to rain and then thunderstorms and I find I am driving around fairly aimlessly so decide to stop and find a camp site for the night which as seems to be the case at times like this isn’t easy. I find several closed ones until I find an open one back at Beaumont again but it only accepts tents.

Its got a tiny car park and someone has parked awkwardly behind me and I have to reverse out from a tight spot uphill between the cars. This I do successfully but believing I was out crunch and I have hit the gatepost on the other side and have buggered the new plastic trim at the back corner. It seems to be the only damage. Poor van.

I eventually find a campsite at Couze but with nobody around so I just take a place and plug in for the night. At least the showers work. Wonder who won the F.A. Cup this afternoon ?

Abri de Cro-Magnon

Date Added: 21st Oct 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 17th Sep 1978

Log Text: Hitch Hiking Trip round France in the summer of 1978. Camped for a couple of days at Les Eyzies to visit and wonder at the ancient sites here.

Musée National de Préhistoire

Date Added: 21st Oct 2020
Site Type: Museum Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 18th Sep 1978

Log Text: Hitch Hiking Trip round France in the summer of 1978. Camped for a couple of days at Les Eyzies to visit and wonder at the ancient sites here.

Font-de-Gaume

Date Added: 21st Oct 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 18th Sep 1978

Log Text: Hitch Hiking Trip round France in the summer of 1978. Camped for a couple of days at Les Eyzies to visit and wonder at the ancient sites here.

La Roque-Saint-Christophe

Date Added: 21st Oct 2020
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 19th Sep 1978

Log Text: Hitch Hiking Trip round France in the summer of 1978. Camped for a couple of days at Les Eyzies to visit and wonder at the ancient sites here.

Pierre Levée (Salles-de-Castillon)

Trip No.203  Entry No.221  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This one comes with its own wine! While driving from Peyre Lebade towards Clotte I saw this stone standing at the entrance to a farmhouse wine producer and noticed that the farm was called Chateau de la Pierre Levée.

I stopped to have a better look and a man on his tractor in the vineyard came over to me so I tried to ask him about the stone. Apparently somewhere in his garage he has an archaeological panel with some information on it which he intends to get erected by the stone but he couldn’t find it. He called his wife who told him it was in the garage and went to look for herself also to no avail ! At this point I enquired of their wine and got taken on a little tour of the place and a tasting or two (how could I refuse?) so of course bought a case of mixed vintages for a very reasonable price as a souvenir.

The menhir at the entrance is just over 2 metres tall but I have to say looks fairly recently erected there although the stone looks as old as the hills. I think I saw somewhere that the menhir after which the wine is named was in a corner of a field. Perhaps it has been fairly recently moved here. It’s a pity I couldn’t fully converse with the chap he had a thick accent which didn’t help and although we chatted well about simple things the details were missed.

Peyre Lebade

Trip No.203  Entry No.220  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: While looking at the village map by the Mairie to see if it marked any of the supposedly local ancient stones I noted an area called Peyre Lebade so of course I went to have a look. In the corner of the road junction here to the west of the village centre can be seen a small standing stone fenced in to a little grassy garden area. It cant be much more than a metre tall and is well weathered so I assume it’s a proper menhir.

Dolmen de Puy Landry

Trip No.203  Entry No.222  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: The old chap at Chateau Pierre Levée knew of this dolmen's existence but the chap at Puy Landry winery didn’t but he pointed me in the direction of a menhir on the top of Puy Landry hill about a kilometre to the north but ce n’est pas grand.. I initially thought it was too far to go walking to in the intense heat and suspected he was pointing me to the Clotte menhir on the ridge but having driven nearby to have a better look it didn’t seem so far. About 400 metres from the D21E road up a track between the vineyards to the top of the ridge and in the woodland can be seen a standing stone.

Closer inspection shows the stone to be about 1.5 metres tall with a fallen companion about a metre away to the north. These stones are on top of a mound running in an easterly direction and there are several other stones lying about in the vicinity which leads me to suspect that this is indeed the remains of a dolmen or allée couverte.

Pitray Allée couverte

Trip No.203  Entry No.224  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 1

Log Text: Well what a find this was. I found Pitray on the village map outside the Mairie and when I got there I found a long driveway up to a chateau with a couple of men working logging in the woodland who told me that they knew of the dolmen and that I should go and ask at the chateau. In the grounds surrounding the chateau a charming lady looking after her baby grandson came to talk to me who spoke good English and told me that she knew of the dolmen well and that she had known of it for many years but hadn’t seen it in a while and that we had best go ask her son in law the master of the chateau if I could go and see it. Another very pleasant man who seemed pleased that somebody was interested in the dolmen in his grounds. I was taken to the remains of the dolmen and on the way it was spoken about that they thought that they should probably clear them up as they are getting very overgrown and crumbling but they were not sure what they are allowed or are supposed to do with them. They are quite difficult to find being as overgrown as they are in some dense woodland and it took a while to find it. I was told that a couple of men from CNES had been round and taken measurements about 20 years ago and had told the owners that there was probably nothing of interest to be found as it would have been fully dug out last century.

The remains are 10 metres in length with large side slabs up to 1.7 metres high placed about 1.2 metres apart making a chamber with an orientation of 074° but there are no cover stones. The back stone is about 2.3 metres in width and the side stones are graded in height with the tallest at the back. There are 3 big and 2 medium sized stones on the northern side and 3 big 3 medium sized stones along the southern side with some smaller stones curving away towards the path into the woods. Some of the stones have strange holes in them which seem to be perhaps more than just weathering. Not far away towards the northeast is a strange arrangement of smaller stones in a double parallel row which align directly to the entrance of the allée couverte.

The owner has no idea what these are or whether they are related or not but interesting nevertheless. These stones are even more overgrown. I was told that the chateau often has Scouts stay within the grounds and that recently a lot of girl scouts had been staying there had found the allée couverte and had rigged up a shower within the chamber complete with makeshift shower curtain! They had not been too impressed when told that they had made their shower within an ancient tomb !

These megalithic remains are on very private land and I was privileged to be allowed into the woods and shown them. A visit should not be attempted without permission.

Pierre du Maine du Prieuré

Trip No.203  Entry No.228  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This is a big menhir stood at the edge of the roadside, at least 3.5 metres tall, and the top has been broken off. Not very well looked after, it is surrounded by junk, although by the marks on it, it looks to have been fairly recently re-erected.

Dolmens de Bignon

Trip No.203  Entry No.231  Date Added: 10th Jul 2024
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 3rd Jun 2005

Log Text: I knew things were going too well this morning. I found Frontenac, and from there I eventually found Bignon, but after much searching and some very difficult to understand directions from an old lady living near the farm (they are very big, and only 800 metres away) I could find no signs of the three dolmens here. Supposedly there is one large allée-couverte and two simple dolmens to be found, and I must have spent over an hour looking along all tracks and in all fields. Perhaps they are deep in some woods beside the stream.

Curton Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.225  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: As I was driving towards Bellefond I saw a sign to Dolmen de Curton so I had to follow it but it’s a pity the large signs do not follow the one at the road junction up. There are one or two very small signs after this which I at first missed and these lead into a vineyard before they give up totally. Following the track on by foot for about 600 metres and you eventually reach the dolmen.

It is a little allée couverte on the reducing remains of its mound which has been ploughed right up to the edges and surrounded by vines. There are some nasty crackling power lines right overhead. One capstone remains on the two rows of sidestones which can be traced for about 8 metres facing an orientation of 110°. The end stone has some strange markings on it several short straight lines and a few horseshoe shapes but they are difficult to make out. Apparently 8 bodies were found within it when the chamber was excavated in 1904.

Roquefort Allée couverte

Trip No.203  Entry No.229  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 1

Log Text: This is a fantastic find, in the grounds of Roquefort Chateau, which is a very private area. I asked at the village about the allée-couverte, and got directed to the Chateau, which is still a very busy wine producer, so I went and asked there. I got taken by the owner to see the monument, and he also found and let me photocopy some documents and details they had about it.

Its a very big allée-couverte, especially for round here, still contained mostly within its long mound, but in a fairly ruinous condition. As with many of these monuments, the mound has got many big trees growing on it, with their roots digging in to the remains, and unfortunately several of these trees were blown down in the big storm of 19XX, substantially damaging the once fine chamber. It is 18 metres in length, with 22 support stones, with an east west orientation at 104°. Only 4 capstones now remain in place, and the end stone has cupules carved into it. Excavations were carried out in 1922 and again in 1977.

Peyrefitte

Trip No.203  Entry No.233  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Signposted from all around, and with a little parking area, this huge and nicely shaped menhir stands in a little field amongst the vines. This is the largest standing stone in southwest France, and it is 5.2 metres tall, 3 metres wide and less than a metre thick, with the bottom part of it chipped away to make the distinctive shape. There is a little hollow in the bottom of it, apparently made for offerings to be placed in during the middle ages.

Estimated to weigh 50 tonnes, the stone has been brought to this position from at least 2.5 kilometres away. It has been dated to 2500 BC, contemporary with the various allée-couvertes to be found in the region.

It is said by legend to mark an entry to the subterranean world, can cure rheumatism, and is good for curing a limp. But while I am here, a massive thunderstorm has arrived, and I must rush back to the van quickly.

Cromlech de Lervaut

Date Added: 29th Oct 2019
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 8th Feb 2011

Log Text: None