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.

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.

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.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

Croissonnière Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.144  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Up on the hill to the southeast of the village of Nanteuil, right behind a road of new houses (Rue du Dolmen) can be found the remains of this little dolmen, a few hundred metres walk from the road. It is not much of a dolmen now, more just a large capstone about 4.5 m by 3.5 m, and a pile of stones, tight up against the back hedge and fences of the new houses. It has seen better times!

While I was here, there is a young chap out in his back garden, sitting under an umbrella, seemingly randomly shooting at things with an air rifle.

Les Doignons

Trip No.204  Entry No.145  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: In the book I have about Bougon, there is a map showing a dolmen and tumulus at Les Doignons. A drive past the area and there is nothing obvious to see.

Les Vinettes

Trip No.204  Entry No.146  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: In the book I have about Bougon, there is a map showing a dolmen and tumulus at Les Vinettes. A drive past the area and there is nothing obvious to see.

Pierre Levée de Bougon

Trip No.204  Entry No.147  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: Unless this is another name for the Dolmen des Sept Chemins, I could find nothing for this.

Roche d'Avon

Trip No.204  Entry No.148  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Deux-Sèvres (79))
Visited: Couldn't find on 20th Jul 2005

Log Text: In the book I have about Bougon, there is a map showing a dolmen at Roche D'Avon. A drive past the area and there is nothing obvious to see except a major farm of this name.

La Pierre-Levée (Poitiers)

Trip No.204  Entry No.149  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Leaving a major shopping complex having been to buy a new camera, I saw a sign to dolmen, so just followed the signs. Past the Gymnasium de dolmen, past a school and along Rue du Dolmen, and there it is. This suburban dolmen is in a little well tended garden park area amongst the houses in southeastern Poitiers. It has a rectangular chamber about 4 m by 2 m and a large capstone sat on several supports along the south side, but fallen to the ground at the northern side. What a strange place to find something like this.

Dolmen de Laverré

Trip No.204  Entry No.150  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: Most of the fields around here have a bunch of bushes in the middle of them. I went over to two, but they both looked just like field clearance piles. There wasn't anywhere to properly park, nor to turn round and go back to where I think the dolmen must be, so I missed this one. I must try harder.

Dolmen de Laverré

Trip No.204  Entry No.156  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 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen is a kilometre or so to the south of the village of Andillé, and can be found in the round wooded area behind the lone house to the northwest of the road. The wooded area is perhaps the remains of a tumulus surrounding the dolmen, which is a nicely made rectangular dolmen. A single capstone sits on top of a 3.5m by 2.5 m chamber, made with two sidestones each side, two backstones and a single stone at the east end, where the entrance is. This is a nice find, especially after missing it twice yesterday.