Dolmen du Pech Laglayre 1

Trip No.203  Entry No.151  Date Added: 15th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: High up on top of this dry and barren hill is another mound on top of which can be seen a capstone when approaching. The remains of a central chamber 3m by 1.5 m are clear with its capstone on top. What is slightly less clear is what looked to me like a second chamber in line with the central one to the west and still with a capstone in place on fallen supports. You can see for miles and miles all around up here a place fit for a king but the flies are a dammed nuisance and put me off staying for long.

Dolmen du Pech Laglayre 0

Trip No.203  Entry No.150  Date Added: 15th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Dolmens (plural) are marked on my ign map (and on the Michelin too) to the southwest of Gréalou near to the GR65 footpath so I went for a walk to have a look. The first I came to was nothing much more than a stone mound with a wall going over the top. But there was a collapsed chamber in the middle hence a depression and bits of capstone can still be seen.

Dolmen du Pech Cayrou

Trip No.203  Entry No.119  Date Added: 7th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 23rd May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This one's a bit of a walk up a track and then into a field, but well worth the small effort. Its almost totally enclosed within its mound, with just the large 4 by 3 metres capstone showing above the ground, except to one side where the chamber has been dug into. Most of the chamber is obscured by a large sideslab which has fallen into it, so its difficult to make anything out here.

Apart from the by now normal orchids everywhere, there are the most amazing and vividly coloured butterflies all around this dolmen, and some fantastic views over the Dordogne river valley to the north. There is another mound close by, but thickly covered by bushes and scrub. I could see no obvious remains of a dolmen there, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was one.

Dolmen du Pech (Cazals)

Trip No.205  Entry No.36  Date Added: 19th Oct 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Tarn-et-Garonne (82))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Despite not being marked on any ign maps I have seen, this box tomb dolmen is easily found as it is right beside the D.75B between Bourdoncle and Doumerc by the road to Frau. Subject of an excavation in 1989, and reconstruction in 1992, it is now fenced in, presumably for protection, but it looks terribly ugly because of that.

The chamber seems to be of a double type, open to the east, with a large first chamber 4.5 metres by 2.5 metres between two large side slabs, followed by the smaller chamber between side slabs one metre apart. A single large capstone covers the back chamber and a part of the first, and there is a secondary loose stone structure on the top, covering the capstone. The front of the chamber is walled off from the outside. The odd thing about this dolmen is the rectangular mound it is contained within, which has been subject to a perhaps over-enthusiastic reconstruction. There are other rectangular tombs like this, especially in this locality, but somehow this seems too regular and uniform. The dimensions of the stone mound are about 10 metres wide by 25 metres long. The back, western, end is curved and not squared. The whole thing is most odd.

While reversing to try and park the van here, I completely missed seeing a roadsign and flattened the thing completely - luckily it was only loosely held in the ground and did no damage, and was easy to stand up again !

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 Moulin à Vent

Trip No.204  Entry No.309  Date Added: 12th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Couldn't find on 12th Aug 2005

Log Text: I found the old windmill to the northeast of Broc, but saw no signs of any dolmen.

Dolmen du Mas de Coti

Trip No.203  Entry No.197  Date Added: 20th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 31st May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Sat in a field just beside the D.65 road to the northeast of the village of Varaire near to the Calvarie can be found the remains of this dolmen. It is 4 metres in length, by 1.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, with the long capstone broken into two pieces, facing eastwards at 074°. It has in the past been used as a shelter, and a bit of a wall has been built at the back, and the gap in the capstone covered over. As is often the case, there is a tree growing around it.

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.

Dolmen du Jogard

Trip No.202  Entry No.28  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Normandie:Manche (50))
Visited: Yes on 26th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: A much ruined dolmen just northwest of the village of St Germain-des-Vaux on Cap de la Hague right at the northwestern tip of the Cherbourg peninsular.

I am not 100 percent sure that what I saw and photographed in a downpour was the remains of this dolmen or not but it was in the right sort of place. What I saw was a single stone remaining in a field beside the track beyond the house called Le Jogard. I could not enter the field to see if there were any other stones flat to the ground here and there were several loose cows which came and wanted to inspect me !

Dolmen du Jarrier

Trip No.202  Entry No.72  Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: A mile or so south of the village centre across both the river and railway on the road to Anglure. The dolmen can be found just before (north of) a crossroads at the top of the hill about 40 metres to the west of the road in a well protected field right under a hedge. It consists of a large capstone resting on four uprights. Typical for this region there is nowhere to park and of course no signs to signify its presence.

Dolmen du Griffier

Trip No.204  Entry No.111  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 17th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This dolmen can be found in a field beside the road running west from the village of Coulon, after about a kilometre. The remains are enclosed in a clump of bushes and a tree, about 20 metres from the road. The capstone has collapsed, leaving what at first look is not much more than a heap of stones. Closer inspection reveals it to be an Angevin dolmen, 5m by 2.5m, with an entrance porchway to the south. Unfortunately, the ploughs are getting too close, and are causing damage to the stones.

Dolmen du Grand-Bouillac

Trip No.203  Entry No.266  Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a mid sized dolmen with entrance passageway. The main chamber is about 3 metres square with its single capstone slightly fallen. As with many of the dolmens around here, it has a smoothed limestone slab as a floor. There are a couple of entrance passage stone pairs, one of these still with its capstone.

There is a sign which states that until a century ago, there were many menhirs within a few hundred metres of this dolmen, which was still within a large mound at that time.

Dolmen du Grah-Niol

Trip No.203  Entry No.330  Date Added: 4th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 10th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This initially looks to be an allée-couverte type monument, but which has been dated to about 5000BC, so is much older than a standard allée-couverte. It is still largely within its mound, but was restored in 1936 with the help of lots of concrete.

It is about 11 metres long, and has a stele placed outside of it near to the entrance which is at the east. There is a large end chamber at the west, and also a side chamber. Many of the upright stones have carvings and markings on them, Axes, Palettes, U shapes and squiggles, some of which were clear in the sunlight coming in through a hole in the roof. It seems that many of the stones are supposedly re used from elsewhere, and perhaps the large capstone on the side chamber was once a menhir.

Dolmen du Devès des Gleyettes 1

Trip No.203  Entry No.190  Date Added: 20th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Aveyron (12))
Visited: Yes on 30th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: A few more hundred metres round the signposted footpath is this dolmen with no name sign. Still in much of its long mound, the capstone is broken into three pieces, and partly fallen. The chamber is 3.5 metres long by 1.5 metres wide, and faces southeast at 125°.

Dolmen du Crapaud

Trip No.203  Entry No.325  Date Added: 4th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 10th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Perched on its clifftop, overlooking the sea and a nice sandy beach, from certain angles this does indeed look like a toad poking its head up. Much of the original tomb is no longer with us due to erosion of the cliffs, and what remains is a capstone perched on top of a few small uprights. The capstone is less than 2 metres by 2 metres, but it is in a really splendid position.

The dolmen can be found by walking to the east along the coast path from the big carpark near the beach at Penlann headland.

Dolmen du Chausse

Trip No.205  Entry No.258  Date Added: 13th Dec 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Cantal (15))
Visited: Yes on 26th Sep 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Signposted as tumulus from the village of Mons, just to the east of junction 28 of the A.75 Autoroute near to St Flour. The trackway leads you back over the A.75 and then about another 300 metres. It is probably possible to drive to it, but I parked and walked.

The little dolmen is still mostly contained within its large cairn of stones, except that it has been dug into from the southern side. The cairn is about 16 metres in diameter and 2 metres high, made of loose small volcanic rocks. The dolmen has a capstone 3m by 2m sat on top of a chamber 2m by 1m, with two side slabs but no obvious backstone.

The chamber is full of rocks, and opens southwards with fine views, spoiled slightly by the A.75 motorway screaming past ! A nice place to visit, with lots of yellow mullens growing on and around. Apparently there are many legends attached to this tomb, but I am not sure what any of them are.

Dolmen du Château de Pierrefitte

Trip No.204  Entry No.298  Date Added: 11th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Indre-et-Loire (37))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 10th Aug 2005

Log Text: It's difficult to get to see this dolmen, as it resides in the grounds of a big private chateau, and cannot be visited. However I was just able to catch a glimpse of it from the front gate of the house. It is in the parkland at the east side, with trees around it. It looks a nice tidy dolmen with capstone still in place.

Dolmen du Champ-du-Ruisseau

Trip No.204  Entry No.69  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Maine-et-Loire 49)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: On a signposted village walk, just to the east of the village of Villemaison can be found this dolmen. It is a little allée couverte about 6 metres long and still partly within a mound, and has four capstones still covering the passage. There are also some entry blocking slabs.

I was just about to take a picture or two when a man shouted at me to get out of the field - its dangerous he said. He went on to say it was private property, and that as it was a monument historique it needed protecting which is why it was fenced off. Quite how planting trees on it helps in its protection I don't know, nor how the fact that a farm track has been driven over the top of it. What a terrible state it is getting into. It needs protecting from the people supposedly protecting it.

Dolmen du Champ de Monsieur

Trip No.203  Entry No.128  Date Added: 7th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 23rd May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Try as I might, from the place that looks to be the nearest approach to this dolmen by road, I could not get a way through into the right bit of woodland to visit this double dolmen. There is much dense woodland here, and many big new fences. They obviously dont want people (or sheep and deer) getting in and out of here.

I had another go at finding this one from the west this time but it was still a bugger to find although success in the end after climbing a couple of walls. Getting back to the lane afterwards was rather easier !

It’s a double chambered dolmen still sitting on a little mound well hidden by trees. The smaller chamber is about 2 m by 1 m and faces westish. The larger chamber which adjoins the small chamber opens at the opposite end and towards the southeast. The rear capstone for this chamber, which has two, sits on top of the capstone of the smaller one. This was a lovely find.

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.