Dolmen de la Garenne (La Mothe)

Trip No.204  Entry No.143  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: The Dolmen de la Garenne at Villedieu-de-Comblé is fairly easily found from the southern end of the village by following Allée du Dolmen up to the top of the hill and then walking along the footpath to the left into the woods. This is in all just a few hundred metres walk.

The dolmen is in a clearing in the woods, and still mostly within its mound. I cannot be totally sure what this is the remains of, whether it is one chamber with a long and angled passage, or more likely two chambers with entry passageways. The most obvious remnant is a 4m by 3m capstone still sitting above the ground on top of various crumbling support slabs. To the east of this are a lot more stones, which could be the entrance passageway, or the remains of another chamber. From here there is an entrance passageway going off through the mound to the south. It is possible that there are two chambers which both exit to the south.

However, there is just too much undergrowth here, and it has been too messed about with for me to be sure. There are deer in these woods here with me, which I can see as I sit and write this, watching me carefully.

Dolmen du Bourg (Exoudun)

Trip No.204  Entry No.142  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: The remains of Exoudun dolmen are to be found less than 100 metres from the village centre and road junction, and it is signposted from there. It is a bit of a wreck, and the 5m by 3m capstone has fallen to the south with the collapse down the hill of the side stone. The back stone is still upright. This has probably not been helped in the past by the building of a flat terraced garden for the big house below, which has been cut into the hillside here.

Dolmen des Sept Chemins

Trip No.204  Entry No.141  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: La Pierre Levée, Sept Chemins dolmen can be found not far from the Bougon necropolis, which is just a couple of kilometres away. The dolmen, just to the south of the Sept Chemins crossroads, has been recently restored, and sits in a little area with parking and notice board. The chamber is about 3m by 2m, with two side slabs and a backstone covered by a nice capstone. The entrance is completely open to the full 2 metres width, and faces towards the southeast. A couple of smaller slabs mark out the short entry corridor. The dolmen sits in the remains of a 9 metre diameter circular cairn.

This dolmen is becoming much more like those of southern France rather than the large complex dolmens of a bit further north. The crumbling limestone from which it is made is also more like what is to be found further south.

Bougon Tumulus F

Trip No.204  Entry No.140  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus F is a wonderfully reconstructed three stage construction. The earliest part, F1 has a small round dolmen within a cairn made of drystone walling with a corbelled beehive roof. This is said to be the oldest dated man made room in the world. Fantastic. F2 is a long thin construction adjoining F1. F3 is another circular construction at the far end of F2 from the F1 cairn. This contains a large dolmenic chamber under a massive capstone, and includes some engravings on some of the side slabs.

Bougon Tumulus E

Trip No.204  Entry No.139  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus E is a rectangular shaped tumulus, containing two dolmenic chambers. One of these would have been covered by a large capstone on top of slabs, while the other was almost certainly corbelled.

Bougon Tumulus D

Trip No.204  Entry No.138  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Cairn Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus D seems to be more a defining line separating the necropolis into two parts. It is about 70 metres in length, but only 1 or 2 metres in width, and it winds in a serpentlike form between the quarries used to get the stone to build the other tumuli.

Bougon Tumulus C

Trip No.204  Entry No.137  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus C another large round tumulus, with a single small chamber within, about 2 metres by 1 metre. The entrance to this is now open, but the original was sealed. Adjoining on the back of this is another large rectangular tumulus with drystone walling.

Bougon Tumulus B

Trip No.204  Entry No.136  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus B is a long thin tumulus adjoining A, within which there are two dolmenic chambers, and also two funerary pits in the top. A superb reconstruction has been done here.

Bougon Tumulus A

Trip No.204  Entry No.135  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Bougon Tumulus A is a large round mound with a single dolmenic chamber within it. It's a massive dolmen, with a capstone estimated to weigh 90 tonnes on top of a 5 metre by 5 metre chamber 2.5 metres high. It is incredible. It is a pity the french graffitti disease has got here and people are carving onto the stones. Apparently Tony Blair was here in 2002, and has carved his name to prove it... Its also a pity, but the flash and exposure on my camera seems to be playing up.

Bougon Tumulus

Trip No.204  Entry No.134  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Barrow Cemetery Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: A magnificent site not far from the town of St-Maixent-l'Ecole, and signposted for miles around. It was about €4 to get in (2005), and this includes everything. I spent more than three hours here, and went back the next day for more, as it had shut before I had finished seeing everything I wanted to, so it was good value. The raison d'etre for this site are the six ancient constructions of the necropolis, of which there are basically 5 tumulus mounds, all of different types, and all close together, which can be visited on a meandering walk around the grounds. With lots of parking and disabled access, there is also a museum built within the archaeological remains of an ancient priory, which is a great place to visit. The displays within the museum concentrate on the late stone age, when man settled down from nomadic hunter-gatherer to become builder and farmer, and all the associated crafts. There are the usual maps and collection of tools, but there is also an interesting display of ancient megalithic art, showing some lovely copies of engraved stones, which culminates in a full size reconstruction of the Gavrinis internal chamber. Outside there are displays of dolmen building, a 40 metre long longhouse based on archaeological finds, Souray sheep, ancient plants..... Everything. This is the best museum of ancient stuff I have been to. This is a must visit place.

Musée des Tumulus de Bougon

Trip No.204  Entry No.133  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Museum Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: I don't really know where to start except to say that it's not far from the town of St-Maixent-l'Ecole, and signposted for miles around. It was about €4 to get in, and this includes everything. I spent more than three hours here, and went back the next day for more, as it had shut before I had finished seeing everythng I wanted to, so it was good value. With lots of parking and disabled access, the museum is built within the archaeological remains of an ancient priory, itself an interesting place to visit. The displays within the museum show with various visual aids time from the creation of the universe, but concentrate here on the late stone age, when man settled down from nomadic hunter-gatherer to become builder and farmer, and all the associated crafts. There are the usual maps and collection of tools, but there was also an interesting display of ancient megalithic art, showing some lovely copies of engraved stones, including several of which I have now seen for myself earlier on this trip, and some of which I did not know for sure were real megalithic art, for example the crosse at the dolmen where the odd German couple were, and the protruding "legs" at the tomb where I had met the old collector man in his van. This megalithic art display culminates in a full size reconstruction of the Gavrinis internal chamber. I thought I had seen these stones somewhere before ! Upstairs, there is a room for temporary exhibitions, and this had an exhibition of Woman in Art - "Femmes Déesses". There was a wonderful collection of items and photographs of woman, with comparisons of modern art to prehistoric art. I must go back and buy the book if there is one. There were some fantastic items on display, with reproductions of Brassempuy, Willendorf, Lespugue, St Sernin etc, right up to Dali and Picasso. This display was well worth the entry fee on its own. Outside there are displays of dolmen building, a 40 metre long longhouse based on archaeological finds, Souray sheep, ancient plants..... Everything. This is the best museum of ancient stuff I have been to. Then there are the ancient tombs themselves, of which there are basically 5 tumulus mounds, all of different types, and all close together, which can be visited on a meandering walk around the grounds. This is a must visit place.

Dolmen de Fontenille

Trip No.204  Entry No.132  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Couldn't find on 19th Jul 2005

Log Text: From the village of Faye-l'Abbesse I tried to find the Fontenille double dolmen, hoping that the village had a map with it marked, but there wasn't. All it has is lots of lorries and a difficult traffic scheme. I found a track to Fontenilles farm, but it was all closed off and gated with no way through, and no signs of any dolmens. This is not the nicest part of France.

Pierre Levée du Grand Gât

Trip No.204  Entry No.131  Date Added: 15th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 19th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A couple of kilometres south of the village of Moutiers-Sous-Argenton, on the little lane to nowhere really, and there is a sign to dolmen, 250m. I walked at least a kilometre along the main track without finding it ! The trick is to not stay on the main track, but to keep straight on always, and yes, the dolmen is there about 250 metres from the road to the left of the track.

This appears to be a dolmen with entrance corridor, but I cannot be certain. The main chamberis about 3m by 2m and has a couple of sidestones and a capstone, though the backstone is missing. At the southeast end is a closing stone and an entrance passage of some sort, though this is mostly fallen, and I cannot be sure of the arrangement. This was a nice little country walk, and I got a very close view of a heron circling around and fishing.

Dolmen dit le Gras du Chien

Trip No.204  Entry No.130  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just north of the main dolmen are lots more stones, which seem to make one large, and one small chamber adjoining the first cairn. These are probably to the side of what was the entranceway, facing to the east.

Pierre Levée (St Léger-de-Montbrun)

Trip No.204  Entry No.129  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just to the north of the road from the town of Thouars to Loudon, a couple of kilometres east of Thouars, can be found this complex of stones. Firstly, there is a simple dolmen, 3 metres by 2 metres, within a restored circular cairn about 10 metres in diameter. The single capstone sits on two side supports and an end stone, and it appears to open to the southwest. Just north of this are lots more stones, which would seem to make one large, and one small chamber adjoining the first cairn. The large chamber would be 5 metres by 2.5 metres, while the adjoining smaller chamber is about 2 metres by 1.5 metres. This is probably to the side of what was the entranceway, facing to the east.

I don't have very much time to spend here, as it has now gone 8:00pm, so I'll have to do a very quick sketch. After a not very good start to the day, it has turned into an excellent afternoon and evening, and the sun has come out to make it even better.

Monpalais Dolmen 6

Trip No.204  Entry No.128  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: As I was walking back to the campervan, I noticed a tree and some bushes in the middle of the field on the other side of the road. Now, why would they be there ? Yep, it's another dolmen, but not in very good condition. Like the others, it has been tidied up, and now consists of a chamber in a little round mound of stones, about 7 metres in diameter. The chamber is 2 metres long by 1 metre wide, facing to the northeast, but it has no capstone. It has two long side stones and a backstone, though they are fairly broken. lots of large pieces of stone are scattered around, no doubt the broken remains of the rest of this dolmen. It is quite possible that there is also the remains of another dolmen nearby, overgrown in a hedge.

Monpalais Dolmen 5

Trip No.204  Entry No.127  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Further west from the first four dolmens, towards the new houses, can be found another little dolmen in the middle of a field, which again has been nicely restored. It is a simple thing with a 2 m by 2 m capstone sitting on top of two side slabs and a back stone. It opens up to the east on about 060°, and in fact is looking directly at what I have called dolmens 3 and 4. It has about a 5 metre cairn of little red stones surrounding it, and a few other larger pieces are sort of scattered around.

I would not be at all surprised if there weren't more of these dolmens around here. This was obviously an important place thousands of years ago.

Monpalais Dolmen 4

Trip No.204  Entry No.126  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A few hundred metres north of the first dolmens can be easily seen and reached this large dolmen, which from the south looks like it is going to be an Angevin dolmen. However, upon reaching it, it is a V shaped dolmen in an oval mound. Another superb bit of restoration, this large dolmen sits in an oval cairn, of dimensions about 15m by 10m, with faced walling around the outside. The chamber is about 8 metres long and opening at the east, where it is about 2 metres wide, increasing in width to 4 metres wide at the western end, and I can easily stand up within it. Two capstones cover the main part of the chamber, while the front entrance part is not covered. Within the chamber is a stone which does not reach the roof, which must have acted as some form of partition, a feature I have seen quite a bit round here. The entrance to the mound is concave, and fits to the edge of the front stone slabs.

Monpalais Dolmen 3

Trip No.204  Entry No.125  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is another small simple dolmen, about 150 metres to the west of the large dolmen 4. A 3 m by 2 m capstone sits on what appears to be two side stones and a back stone, with the entrance looking to the north. The stones sit in a little 7 metre diameter mound of stones, and in fact the chamber is full also. It has obviously had a restoration job done on it, but they probably didn't have much to work with, so have just tidied it all up a bit.

Monpalais Dolmen 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.124  Date Added: 13th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 18th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just 50 metres west of Taizé No 1 is this poor little thing. It also looks to have been recently excavated and restored, but there can't have been much to work on. There is a collapsed capstone and two side stones, and also probably the backstone, but it is now all nearly flat to the ground. For whatever reason, the restorers have left a rectangular patch of stones around this one, about 7 m by 5 m. The chamber would have been about 1.5 m by 1 m in size.