Pierre-Pointe

Trip No.204  Entry No.217  Date Added: 4th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Yes on 4th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: This menhir, about 4 metres tall, can be seen around the back of an out of the way farmyard, just to the north of the N.6 road between Aunay and Saulieu. It is not easy to get to, but can be clearly seen from the lane leading to the farm, at a distance of about 50 metres. It is up on top of a hill with commanding views over the valley and plains below.

Camp de la Justice Alignements

Trip No.204  Entry No.216  Date Added: 4th Sep 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 4th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2

Log Text: Just to the north of Autun, near a place called Orme, along the busy N.81 road, can be found the remnants of these alignements. They are difficult to get to, across a railway and a couple of fields, but they can however be seen from the main road. There are a couple of large stones and at least three smaller stonesin a line along in the hedge. Any more than that, I cannot say, as I couldnt get right to them to have a proper look.

Tombeaux du Single

Trip No.204  Entry No.215  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: As with so many of the megalithic sites in the area, I could find nothing to help me find it. Remains of two burial chambers made with large slabs were excavated here in 1867. Many human bones, flint tools and a round holed stone were found.

Croconnet Tumulus

Trip No.204  Entry No.214  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: I had a need to fill up with diesel, and so couldn’t spend long looking for this, having spent about an hour driving round every lane in the area trying to find it. I am wondering if there is a local law around here prohibiting any roadsigns for anything other than wine sellers. The tumulus wasn't to be obviously found up the trackway I walked up.

Dolmen de Pierrefitte (Volnay)

Trip No.204  Entry No.213  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: Dolmen in tumulus to be found in the commune of Volnay. This dolmen was excavated in 1914, yielding several bones. I could find nothing obvious to lead me here.

Dolmen dit la Pierre-Brûlée

Trip No.204  Entry No.212  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Just to the south of the D.17 between Meloisey and Pommard, near to the crossroads with the D.23, this dolmen is to be found within a field which when I visited was well fenced off with electric fencing and full of sheep, so I didn’t go in. The remains of a mound can be seen, with a capstone sitting on the top.

La Garenne (La Rochepot)

Trip No.204  Entry No.211  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: Dolmen to be found in the commune of La Rochepot, Côte-d'Or, but I could find nothing on maps to find it

Chateillon

Trip No.204  Entry No.210  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: Remains of an Allée Couverte and its mound are to be found on a west facing slope near to the village of La Rochepot. I could find nothing obvious on maps to find.

Allée Couverte de la Chaume

Trip No.204  Entry No.209  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: There are supposedly several dolmens and an allee couverte in the Rochepot community, but not marked on my maps, I doubt I will find any of the others, so soon decided to give up now on looking for more.

La Pierre qui Vire (Rochepot)

Trip No.204  Entry No.208  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: High up on the ridge to the south of the village of Rochepot, with its fantastic chateau and well known wines, can be found this stone which turns. There's not much left to see, except the big capstone which is sort of triangular shaped, 4 metres by 3 metres. There are traces of a mound, and a chamber underneath, but nothing really substantial remains.

There are supposedly several dolmens and an allee couverte in the Rochepot community, but if this is the only one on the maps, I doubt I will find any of the others, so decide to give up now on looking for more.

Mont-de-Sène dolmen 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.207  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Aug 2005

Log Text: Remains of at least three dolmens and their mounds are to be found on the slopes of Mont-de-Sène, high up above the village of Dezize-les-Maranges.

Cul Blanc Dolmens

Trip No.204  Entry No.205  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Cul Blanc 1: Still within most of its tumulus, this dolmen is on the northern slopes of Mont des Troix Croix, high up above the village of Dezize-les-Maranges at a junction of the tracks. The circular mound is about 15 metres in diameter, and the dolmen is in the middle. The chamber is about 2.5 metres in length by 1.3 metres wide, open to the south and covered with a triangular limestone capstone, of dimensions 3m by 3m by 3m. It was very difficult to find my way to, lots of roads shut for maintenance, and a complete absence of any signs except for all the local vineyards. Supposedly one of two dolmens here.

Cul Blanc 2: Ah, yes, here it is. The second one is about 40 metres further down the hillside, and still completely within its mound, making it very difficult to see amongst the bushes. Probably similar to the first dolmen, the chamber cannot be seen, just the top of the capstone is exposed.

Menhirs d'Epoigny

Trip No.204  Entry No.204  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 5

Log Text: Just to the south of the D.978 road, a few kilometres north west of Couches, is a sign to menhirs, which I of course followed. About a kilometre from the main road is a little road junction, and several menhirs can be seen in the fields. It's hard to make out exactly what the menhirs represent, and how accurate they are is open to question, as they have all been re-erected in concrete bases fairly recently.

Near the side of the lane is a row of three superbly sculpted menhirs, the southern one being 5.5 metres tall, with several carved lines and cupmarks. The central menhir is about 4.5 metres tall, but has lost its top, while the northern menhir is fallen and broken (in actual fact it looks to have been cut up) and would perhaps have been bigger than its neighbours. The three menhirs are evenly spaced about 7 metres apart, and are aligned NW to SE at about 125°. Forty or fifty metres away to the north, are another pair of menhirs, both about 4.5 metres in height, and again they are superbly shaped and dressed. These are spaced at about 10 metres from each other, and align NE to SW at 025°, and any intersection passes through the row of three but not at any stone. Of this pair of menhirs, the southern one has a few cupules carved into it, while the northern one is decorated with lines, cupules and at least one axe, and a few more serpent like lines. Just outside this field, beside the road junction, is a sixth menhir, this one only about 2 metres tall and broken, and which does not align with any of the others.

It is thought that there was once more menhirs here. This feels like a very powerful place, up on this hill. I feel all trembly here, and in awe of the stones, and find it hard to leave.

Pierre Guénachère

Trip No.204  Entry No.203  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Sculptured Stone Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a large granite blockdeep in the forest near a little stream, about one kilometres walk from the farm of La Madeleine, just to the west of St Emiland. Take the track beside the farm, keeping left, and after some distance it is signposted.

The stone is a granite block, 4m by 3m by 2m high, which has got several strange carvings in it, particularly large circles. On the north side there are three circles, between 70 cm and 1 metre in diameter, while on the south side there is a straight line and a large, deeply cut circle, more than one metre in diameter. These symbols seem to have been very roughly hewn with stone tools, and it is thought that they are prehistoric. There are many legends associated with this stone, of which I don't know any.

Pierre-aux-Fées (St-Micaud)

Trip No.204  Entry No.202  Date Added: 26th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a very large menhir right beside the D.28 road in front of a large house in the village of St-Micaud. I would estimate it to be about 7 metres tall, but its not easy to tell as it is in the private garden and surrounded by a hedge. The menhir is of rectangular shape, nd has very uneven surfaces, and has perhaps got some carvings on it.

Menhir d'Uxelles

Trip No.204  Entry No.201  Date Added: 26th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Couldn't find on 2nd Aug 2005

Log Text: I see in my notes that there is a menhir to be found in the commune of Uxelles, but there is nothing to be found on any of my maps, and I could find no signposts to it or reference to it on any of the village signs.

Pierre-Levée du champ de la Fa

Trip No.204  Entry No.200  Date Added: 26th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Saône-et-Loire (71))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Near to the medieval village of Brancion, beside the D.14 road, can be found this nice menhir, which has a fine view to the west. It stands about 4 metres tall with a cross on the top in a field close to the turn off to Pierre-Levée farm, on a bad corner. It was raining horribly while I visited.

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.

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.

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 !