Vaintray menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.151  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: Lots of new houses have been built in the area around this menhir, and I could find nowhere to get behind them to have a look. It is all very busy, narrow roads around here.

Vaintray menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.157  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just to the east of the hamlet of Vaintray, and about 100 metres south down a little cross track from the road to Aslonnes, can be found this little menhir, stood in a little grassy clearing amongst bushes in a region left clear of the fields. It is a small triangular stone, only about 1.3 metres tall, and 0.8 metres wide at the base. It's got some lovely yellow lichens on it, and is hiding in amongst some strange fruit trees, sort of a tiny little bright red plum, which nothing wants to eat. I have not seen these before.

Andillé Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.152  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 20th Jul 2005. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: About 50 metres to the south of the road (Route de Dolmen), in a field of sweetcorn, I could just see the top of this dolmen. There was no obvious way of getting to it to have a proper look, but it looks to be the remains of a little simple dolmen.

Pouzac Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.153  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: I could find absolutely no sign of this. I should have the few minutes extra in the shop to have a look at or buy the 1:25000 map, rather than think I could go without.

Pouzac Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.155  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Even having the detailed map, finding this dolmen was not easy. Go south along the track from the east end of the hamlet of Pouzac, then go right at the crossroads of trackways. Go along here for 100 metres and then the dolmen is to be found in the southern side of the southern hedge, and is getting a bit overgrown. It is a little limestone simple dolmen, with a capstone about 3 m by 2 m sat up off the ground on several broken support stones, with its entrance towards the east.

Château-Larcher Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.154  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: While trying to find a campsite at Chateau Larcher, I saw lots of signposts to Dolmen. I tried to follow them, they pointed out of the town and then I could find no more. So this was another two dolmens not found on this very frustrating day. However, right outside the chateau, there is a big cross mounted on top of a sort of dolmen. I wonder if it is real. By the time I saw it, I had driven past, and there was nowhere to stop. Maybe thats another one I should have had.

Arlait Dolmens

Trip No.204  Entry No.158  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Being more careful this time, and not in so much of a rush, I was able to find this dolmen. Follow the signs to the north of the village of Chateau Larcher for about a kilometre, and just before the road gets to the top of the hill, stop. There is a little dirt track which crosses the road, and if you look carefully, has a little painted sign to dolmen, to the west (left) of the road. Follow this track for about 800 metres, alongside a large wire fence most of the way, and the dolmen is then about 80 metres to the north (right) down a wide open trackway. The dolmen is a fairly large one, with a rectangular chamber about 4 metres by 3.5 metres, with an entranceway facing to the southeast.

The rock is very holey limestone, and much of it has cracked and crumbled, and the capstone has all fallen in. In fact it looks to have broken very recently, as a couple of the breaks are very fresh. The dolmen is still within the remains of a fair sized mound of loose rock, probably 25 to 30 metres in diameter, covered in the inevitable oak woodland. There are several other slabs of rock laying about, and I wondered if there was a second chamber within the mound. While I was sat here, there were a couple of deer not far away, looking at me.

Villaigue Dolmen 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.159  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Well, I just HAD to come here, to the village of St Martin l'Ars, didn't I. All those years ago, when I started researching and cataloging French megalithic sites, I found two dolmens recorded in the community of St Martin l'Ars, possibly via the Merimee online database. Some time later, I had decided to quit work and go on a 6 month odyssey around France looking for old stones - in particular trying to find many of the little know ones. So, it became one of the main objectives of my trip to hunt these two down, as I have been called an Ars on more than one occasion, particularly with respect to going on this expedition, so in a way these were my dolmens !

So, it happened that on 21st July 2005, I got to the village of St Martin l'Ars, which is 40 to 50 kilometres southeast of Poitiers. I have to admit that I had no idea where to find the dolmens, but the French villages often have maps of the locality at their Mairie, sometimes with items of historical interest marked on them. Unfortunately, that was not the case here. It should also be said, that in most of France, their megalithic heritage is not known, and the public usually have no idea about such matters, so asking people is more often than not met with blank looks.

St Martin l'Ars is a nice little village, with a castle and a leisure park. After initially not finding any indication of where the dolmens were, I went and had a picnic lunch beside the lake in the leisure park, where there is a nice beach for swimming, and battery powered galleons which can be rented out ! Within the leisure park I found a map with some local walks marked on it, and to my great joy there was a route marked which passed by the dolmens. So after my lunch and an ice cream on this very hot day, I was able to have a go to try to find them.

A couple of kilometres north of the village, I parked between the hamlets of Vilaigre and Bars, just to the east of the little river, then was able to walk down the obvious track to the south for a couple of hundred metres. The remains of the two dolmens were to be found under the bushes in the field on the left. Both dolmens were thoroughly overgrown, and had been ploughed very close to, and I have to say that both were not much more than a capstone sitting on top of a jumble of other stones. It was impossible to make out any more details of what was once here. I have to say, although there are only two dolmens recorded in the French monuments record, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were ruined remains of several others hereabouts. There are dotted about other clumps of bushes which might harbour ancient stones, and there are many hedgerows which could hide the odd bit of dolmen. As with much of France, there is probably a lot here to find - it just needs somebody with an interest, and a lot of time on their hands.

The remains of the first dolmen is found under the bushes in the field on the left. Dolmen A has been ploughed very close to, and I have to say that it is not much more than a capstone about 4 m by 2 m sitting on top of a jumble of other stones, aligned to the northeast.

Villaigue Dolmen 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.160  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Well, I just HAD to come here, to the village of St Martin l'Ars, didn't I. All those years ago, when I started researching and cataloging French megalithic sites, I found two dolmens recorded in the community of St Martin l'Ars, possibly via the Merimee online database. Some time later, I had decided to quit work and go on a 6 month odyssey around France looking for old stones - in particular trying to find many of the little know ones. So, it became one of the main objectives of my trip to hunt these two down, as I have been called an Ars on more than one occasion, particularly with respect to going on this expedition, so in a way these were my dolmens !

So, it happened that on 21st July 2005, I got to the village of St Martin l'Ars, which is 40 to 50 kilometres southeast of Poitiers. I have to admit that I had no idea where to find the dolmens, but the French villages often have maps of the locality at their Mairie, sometimes with items of historical interest marked on them. Unfortunately, that was not the case here. It should also be said, that in most of France, their megalithic heritage is not known, and the public usually have no idea about such matters, so asking people is more often than not met with blank looks.

St Martin l'Ars is a nice little village, with a castle and a leisure park. After initially not finding any indication of where the dolmens were, I went and had a picnic lunch beside the lake in the leisure park, where there is a nice beach for swimming, and battery powered galleons which can be rented out ! Within the leisure park I found a map with some local walks marked on it, and to my great joy there was a route marked which passed by the dolmens. So after my lunch and an ice cream on this very hot day, I was able to have a go to try to find them.

A couple of kilometres north of the village, I parked between the hamlets of Vilaigre and Bars, just to the east of the little river, then was able to walk down the obvious track to the south for a couple of hundred metres. The remains of the two dolmens were to be found under the bushes in the field on the left. Both dolmens were thoroughly overgrown, and had been ploughed very close to, and I have to say that both were not much more than a capstone sitting on top of a jumble of other stones. It was impossible to make out any more details of what was once here. I have to say, although there are only two dolmens recorded in the French monuments record, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were ruined remains of several others hereabouts. There are dotted about other clumps of bushes which might harbour ancient stones, and there are many hedgerows which could hide the odd bit of dolmen. As with much of France, there is probably a lot here to find - it just needs somebody with an interest, and a lot of time on their hands.

The remains of the dolmens are found under the bushes in the field on the left. Dolmen B is about 50 metres to the east of its neighbour, and is in an even worse state. It too has been ploughed very close to, and is more thickly overgrown. Other than a pile of stones, the remnants of the capstone sits in the bushes at an angle, partly on the ground. Again, it was impossible to make out any more details of what was once here.

Dolmen au Grand-Fâ

Trip No.204  Entry No.161  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 21st Jul 2005

Log Text: I found no sign of any dolmen or other megalithic monument in this village, but there is a place called Pierre Brune on the 1:25000 map to the northwest of the village near the rubbish dump.

Pierre-Levée (Chiroux)

Trip No.204  Entry No.162  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Atop a little hill overlooking a pond can be found this fine dolmen, 150 metres from the road and signposted with a little parking area. It's chamber is a sort of Vee shape, about 5 metres long and up to 3 metres wide, with its entrance to the east, on a bearing of about 100°. The single large capstone sits about 1.5 metres high on top of two sideslabs each side, and with a single large backstone. There are many other boulders around on the ground nearby, probably natural rocks fallen from the hilltop.

La Lue Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.163  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the west of Berneuil, travel a couple of kilometres along the D.83 and you come to this dolmen at a bend in the road, just after a crossroads, where it is about 30 metres into the field. It has a 4 m by 2 m chamber facing east, made of two long sidestones and with two smaller stones at the back of the chamber, which are made of a different coloured rock. I wonder if it has been "restored". It is covered by a large single capstone about 5m by 4m, but this is now cracked and broken into two pieces. There are traces of a small stone mound around it.

Borderie Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.164  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A couple of kilometres west of Berneuil, along the D.83, turn right at the crossroads besides the La Lue dolmen. After a couple of hundred metres there is a trackway to the right, and signposted "dolmen", and then walk along there for another couple of hundred metres.

This is a very pleasant and nice looking dolmen on first sight, standing almost 2 metres tall. But closer inspection leaves me wondering about its authenticity. Firstly there is a fence built right through it, and secondly the entrance, with a fallen stone, is to the west. Inspection of the support stones shows many of them to have been broken and cemented back together from fragments. It is obviously a reconstruction of some sort, but how accurate I would not like to say. However, the chamber is about 3.5 m by 2.5 m with a nice capstone sitting proudly on top at head height.

Betoulle dolmen 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.166  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I spent quite some time looking for the second dolmen here, in all the hedges and adjacent fields nearby. But never just a few yards across the same field, where a large slab can be found ! Doh !

Betoulle dolmen 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.165  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is another nice dolmen, found just inside a fieldby the roadside a few kilometres south of Berneuil. You can find it by turning left at the crossroads near La Lue dolmen, and travelling a couple of kilometres until just past the big road on the right.

It is a nice tall dolmen with a nice capstone sat upon six support stones, covering a chamber 3 m by 2 m. Closer inspection again shows a reconstruction job, with some cemented together broken stones. Perhaps this was completely enclosed, but the entrance today is again to the west. A few other stones and chunks lie nearby.

Betoulle dolmen 3

Trip No.204  Entry No.167  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 21st Jul 2005

Log Text: Some stone slab remains at the base of a tree in the field the other side of the road.

Ceinturat Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.168  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: "Megalithes" are signposted to the south of Montemart, and following these signs takes you first to a parking place from where a 700 metre walk to the Ceinturat Menhir can be taken. I was surprised by how big it is, as it is taller than 5 metres and looks like the top has been broken off. It has a flat north face, but a rounded southern face, which faces downhill. These days it is in a little woodland clearing, surrounded on one side by oak forest, the other by gorse and bracken. Shaded by the trees as it is, it looks like it is a stone tree trunk with branches growing out of it. A nice start to the day.

Pierre a Cupules (Arnac)

Trip No.204  Entry No.169  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: On a green grassy area at the southern edge of the village of Arnac, is found this nice standing stone, standing about 2.5 metres tall. But the noticeable thing about this stone are all the cupules, or cupmarks, engraved into it.

Not immediately obvious in the mid day sunshine, but the first marks to stand out are on the southeast edge, where there appears to be a couple of rows of 35 mm diameter holes running in a line up the edge. Closer inspection shows a very flat southern face - possibly with checkerboard markings on it, and cupules running up the edges from top to bottom. On the northern face, also flattened, the whole stone is covered with these cupules, loads and loads of them. There must be at least a hundred. There does not appear to be anything on the two sides of the stone.

Rouffignac Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.170  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: From the hamlet of Rouffignac, this little dolmen is signposted and easily found, about 400 metres along the track opposite the farm, first to the west, and then south (left) into a little recently cleared area amongst thet trees. The dolmen is a simple thing, with a 2.5 by 2.5 metre capstone sat on three upright supports, about one metre above the ground. The capstone has several 30 mm cupules carved into it, and also a fairly large diameter circle - or semi circle at least, which I think must be relatively modern.

Menhir du Pic

Trip No.204  Entry No.171  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Couldn't find on 22nd Jul 2005

Log Text: I could not find this.