Dolmen de Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe

Trip No.204  Entry No.197  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Haute-Loire (43))
Visited: Yes on 28th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition -1 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: The 11th century Chapel St Michel is built on the ridiculously pointed site of the volcanic Aighuille. But it is built on top of the site of a previous chapel, which was said to have been built on top of a dolmen, or some other megalithic structure.

La Pierre-des-Fievres

Trip No.204  Entry No.198  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Haute-Loire (43))
Visited: Yes on 28th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Access 4

Log Text: The Cathedral of Puy-en-Velay is said to be built on the site of an ancient dolmen, part of which is still in existance as La Pierre des Fievres which is kept and presented near to one of the entrances. It is said that this stone is a part of the coverstone for the dolmen which stood in this sacred place for thousands of years before the coming of Christianity. It is believed that the dolmen was complete until the 9th century, when it was broken by a bolt of lightning, but that the Pilgrims to this place ensured that a part of it was kept here. The stone is highly venerated, and many miracles are attributed to it, including many which involve curing fever, after which it is named. For many years the stone was kept within the Cathedral, but then was put in a place outside so that ill people could have easier access to touch it. To this day, the Cathedral and a dolmen are a symbol of this town of Pilgrimmage, which is an important stopping place on the way of St James.

Freydefond Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.186  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a superbly positioned menhir, made from a hexagonal block of crystalline volcanic basalt, up on top of the high hills overlooking St-Nectaire (of cheese fame) in the deep valley below, and with splendid views all around, except for the various trees and woods in places. It is now only about 1.5 metres tall, but the top has obviously been broken off, and indeed something has been cemented on to it at some point. This menhir is easily found down a trackway from the road above Sailles, and can be seen from quite long distances.

Saint Roch Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.185  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This menhir can be fairly easily found by following marked footpaths for a mile or so from St-Nectaire to Croix-St-Roche, high up on the hill, beside the track which passes from one valley to the next. It's about 2 metres tall, and made from a hexagonal block of crystalline volcanic basalt, the sort which they call orgues (organ pipes) round here. Very nice. If it weren't for all the trees, the views from here in many directions would be superb, with the Puy-de-Sancy mountain off to the west, across which are rolling lots of wet looking clouds ! Think I'd best get back.

Pierre Longue (Fohet)

Trip No.204  Entry No.189  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a lovely menhir standing four and three quarter metres tall at the top of the high hills near the village of Fohet. Its obviously been fairly recently re-erected, as one side is all dirt covered from being on the ground, and there is a sign in the village pointing to "menhir couché"! The views from here are breathtaking in all directions. To the northwest the Chaine-des-Puys range of volcanoes, with Puy-de-Dome standing high above the others in the line of almost cartoon perfect cones. To the east there are long views over the hills and deep valleys, and to the south can be seen the other Auvergne mountains. To the southwest is Puy-de-Sancy, unfortunately today covered in clouds.

Dolmen du Parc (Saint-Nectaire)

Trip No.204  Entry No.184  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This is a pleasant dolmen, sat on a hillside within a sort of sports activity park above the thermal spa and roman baths of St-Nectaire (of cheese fame). It can be found easiest by following the path up the hillside from near to the art-deco Casino, or from other footpaths in the area.

The dolmen has a 3.5m by 2.5m capstone sat up high on five support stones, with a rectangular chamber below, and is made of volcanic blocks. It faces towards the east, which is strangely looking straight into the hillside.

It made me think how people have been in this place for so long, probably due to the hot springs in the valley just a little below. And people still come here to this day to spend time at the thermal spa, even with hot and cold running water everywhere.

Dolmen du Lac (Le Cheix)

Trip No.204  Entry No.183  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 24th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Blimey, it was an effort to get here from Mont Dore, along miles and miles of windy narrow roads in the mountains. From the hamlet of Le Cheix on the D.978 road, take the small lane to the south across the river and then winding up into the hills. Despite some trepidation, the camper van got through the narrow gaps between the buildings, and up the ferociously steep windy lanes. Eventually I came to a junction signposted Le Lac, managed to find a place to park, and got out and walked along this other lane for about half a kilometre.

The dolmen is squashed between a football pitch and a big holiday home, near to a lake. It has got itself a mound, and on top of the mound a 4 metre by 2.5 metre capstone sort of sits on several other stones, but it is all sort of collapsed, and not very high off the ground. It is not very well cared for either, with all sorts of junk piled up around it.

This is a nice place to be, but was it worth all the massive effort to get here ? After visiting the dolmen, I went to look for the Jonas Caves troglodite dwellings, which are way up in the hills beyond the dolmen. This basically consisted of climbing up the cliff in the camper van, first gear for several kilometres. What an absolutely fantastic view from above, with the house and lake seen right below, nestling in amongst all the volcanic cones. Superb.

Pierre-aux-Fées

Date Added: 18th Sep 2010
Site Type: Rock Art Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 5th Sep 2006

Log Text: None

Cournols allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.190  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of the village of Cournols, and on a signposted walk from there, can be found the remains of this curious dolmen. Excavated in 1841, various things were found which are now in the Clermont Ferrand museum. Said to be an allée couverte, its not much like any other allée couvertes I have seen!

It looks more to me like a sort of double dolmen, with two chambers beside one another, both about 3.5 by 2 metres in dimension, and rectangular. The entrance would have been from the east, and central to the two chambers. The back stones at the west and the southern side stones are all still in place, with various other bits and pieces of support stones. Only one broken capstone remains in place, but until fairly recently this was two capstones, with three present in 1835. There are bits and pieces of much broken stone laying around beside it.

The dolmen is now in a little country park area, with a sign, in a region of granite outcrops high above the gorge of the Monne river. Strangely, it also has a football pitch.

Menhir dit Pierre Fichade

Trip No.204  Entry No.195  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 27th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The Pierre Fichade at Champeix is a pleasant menhir, about 4 metres tall and which can be found in a field to the south of the D.28 road between Ludesse and Champeix. It is easily visible from the road, and can be visited via a couple of farm tracks. There are signposts to it along the local footpaths, and in fact it is signposted from the village of Champeix.

Farges Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.181  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Take the little country road southwest from Herment, and after a while the dolmen will be signposted. Its in the middle of a field above the hamlet of Farges and easy to see in the field. Unfortunately it’s a complete wreck, having had trees growing in and around it, and probably its share of hits by the plough. The capstone sits at a steep angle on one high side stone and the ground at the other side. Two other support stones remain standing, plus lots of other broken bits of stone.

There is a superb view of the Sancy mountain range from here. There are many legends and stories of fairies, giants and monsters attached to this dolmen.

L'Usteau du Loup

Trip No.204  Entry No.196  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 27th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of St-Gervazy, near to the hamlet of Unsac, can be found the remains of this fine dolmen, perhaps the largest in the region, and which is signposted from nearby. On a little granite outcrop, near to the village sports ground, surrounded by high hills, it sits under an oak tree.

The chamber is rectangular, 5 metres long by 3 metres wide, is constructed with three granite side slabs each side, and opens to the east. There is in place one very large backstone, along with one smaller one. Unfortunately there are no capstones in place, although one lays fallen behind the chamber with another one nearby. The dolmen would have been almost tall enough to stand up in, and is much larger than any other dolmens I have seen round here.

This is a fine place for a wolf to live, and there are many legends and stories associated to the place. This is also a megalithic monument which has been used for thousands of years, and was used until recently as a sort of changing room for the village football team which plays on the nearby sports field !

Pierre des Quatre Curés

Trip No.204  Entry No.182  Date Added: 10th Jul 2024
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This crystalline basalt menhir has served as a boundary stone between four parishes since the middle ages, hence it's name. It's not much more than 2 metres high, and looks like it has been mended from broken at some point, but I cant be sure. I was hoping for a bit more from this. On the map it looks spectacularly positioned overlooking the Sancy mountains one way, and the valley of the river Dordogne the other. In practice, it really only overlooks the fields around it. It can be found a couple of fields to the south of the busy D.922 road, with a track and footpath almost right to it, and there is room to park.

Pierre du Tombeau

Trip No.205  Entry No.260  Date Added: 13th Dec 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 26th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Right in the middle of the village of Davayat, near to the traffic lights, this menhir resides in amongst the houses, and is half hidden in a garden yard. It is 4.8 metres high, leaning nicely, and is one of the biggest menhirs in the Auvergne region.

The menhir is perhaps lucky to survive right here between the houses, and in many respects perhaps owes its survival to it being seen as an important and sacred monument throughout history by the inhabitants of the village. There was once another large menhir nearby, but traces of this can no longer be found, it falling victim to agricultural "progress".

Plateau de Sailles tumulus

Trip No.204  Entry No.188  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Barrow Cemetery Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: High up in the hills to the north of St-Nectaire, beside the D.640 road across the Plateau de Sailles, are a couple of round cairns on a hilltop. Closer inspection reveals them to be made of stones piled up, with perhaps some large slabs within. Just seeing these here against the skyline makes me wonder just how many more there may be around here, either lost in the woods or ploughed out.

Dolmen de Pineyre

Trip No.204  Entry No.187  Date Added: 3rd Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: High up in the hills to the northwest of St-Nectaire can be found this dolmen, still almost entirely contained within its cairn of stones. The capstone is visible above a chamber, just above the top level of the present day cairn, and is about 4 metres by 3 metres. Apart from one squared corner, and the upper most row of side support stones, not much can be seen at all of the chamber below, which may have been quite large. The stone cairn is approximately 20 metres in diameter, and still about 2.5 to 3 metres high.

The dolmen is fairly easily found by taking a trackway south from the D.640 road along the hilltop above St-Nectaire near Sailles, and is the same trackway which leads to the easily visible Freydefrond menhir. But where a right turn leads to the menhir, take a left turn along a track into the woods, and after a couple of hundred metres the cairn becomes obvious, right at the end of the track.

Dolmen de Samson

Trip No.204  Entry No.191  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Couldn't find on 26th Jul 2005

Log Text: Marked on the ign maps, this is now thought to be a natural rock formation. It looks to be an hours walk from anywhere to get to it in its hilltop position, so I didn't go. However, excavations have been carried out here, and fragments of neolithic pottery were found.

Thedes Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.192  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 26th Jul 2005

Log Text: Approximately 2 metre tall menhir with an iron cross mounted on the top of it. It is to be found at the D.5 and D.90 road junction just to the west of the hamlet of Theddes, and is marked as a cross on the ign map. I must have driven right by it, perhaps twice.

Menhir de Villars

Trip No.204  Entry No.193  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 26th Jul 2005

Log Text: This little menhir, less than 2 metres tall, can be found in the hamlet of Villars, near to the lavoir in the village square. On the top of the menhir is mounted a curious cross with a carving of Christ on it. Again, I missed this only because I did not know of it. There were once three menhirs to be found in the commune of Orcines.

Temple de Mercure

Trip No.204  Entry No.194  Date Added: 28th Nov 2020
Site Type: Ancient Temple Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 26th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Remains of a Gallo-Roman temple can be seen at the summit of the Puy de Dôme (1465m).