Bignon Dolmen

Trip No.202  Entry No.50  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: A little Mayenne allée couverte still largely within its mound but its all falling down and a bit of a wreck. However it is now living in a little fenced off area and is signposted from the hamlet and included on a couple of mapped and signposted walks from the village.

Only one capstone 2.5 m by 2 m remains on its supports but a couple more can be seen. The main chamber is orientated 080° and several side slabs can be seen sticking out of the mound which is approximately rectangular 11 metres long 6 metres wide and up to 2 metres in height.

La Hamelinière

Trip No.202  Entry No.49  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: On the eastern outskirts of the village of Chantrigné this fine allée couverte can be seen looking to all the world like its in somebody’s private back garden. However the man in the house came out and showed me a way round the back (down the side lane then along a footpath between hedges) which gets you right to the allée couverte which is being set into its own little public area.

The remains of the main chamber are about 9 metres long 2 metres wide orientated 080° and has a divider stone placed across the inside of the chamber. Four large capstones remain with 9 stones still standing of the southern side 7 on the northern side which are not in pairs. Another capstone lies fallen near the entrance. Some of the internal stones have holes in them I do not know if they are natural or man made.

La Table des Diables

Trip No.202  Entry No.47  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Also known as La Pierre au Diable this site is an 800 metre signposted uphill walk southwards from a parking place near to la Vallette. As with many of these monuments this is at the top of a ridge within an enchanting forest full of birdsong and wildflowers – a cuckoo being particularly prominent here. The stones are surrounded by wizened old oak trees and large pines without which the views would be superb.

A lot of this site looks natural until you look closely. Apart from the very large (4 m by 2 m) stone sat on top of a rocky outcrop with a couple of small supports just west of this are remains of what looks to me like a wrecked allée couverte with two rows of parallel edge set stones about a metre apart. Perhaps the large rock on top of the outcrop was once a capstone for this ruined monument.

Dolmen des Iles

Trip No.202  Entry No.46  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: A wrecked dolmen situated atop a small hillock in a field just east of the dolmen des Erves. I didn’t enter the field to get a close look.

Dolmen des Erves

Trip No.202  Entry No.45  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is an easily found dolmen a couple of kilometres north of the fortified village of Saint-Suzanne which is quite well known for being the base of Hubert de Beaumont who took up refuge there after 1066 and made raids against the Normans before being put under siege by William in 1083. It is signposted from the village and has its own little parking area where it is situated in a little fenced off area surrounded by some very friendly young cows.

The remains are of a single large chamber which used to be covered by a mound of the Angevins type of which this is a very northern example. The rectangular chamber is about 4 metres by 3 metres in size and consists of two enormous capstones sitting on large upright slabs with an entranceway. The western internal end of the chamber has a capstone about 3 metres by 3 metres which rests on two side stones and one large end stone. The eastern part has a capstone about 3 m by 2 m resting on two side stones only but has two parallel entrance stones further to the east.

The rest of this chamber would have consisted of dry stone walling. Excavated in 1868 and again in 1983 it has been carbon dated to between 4000 and 4700 BC. It is said that there were another 3 dolmens and a menhir within sight of this chamber only a hundred years ago.

Pierre Aigue, Richebourg

Trip No.202  Entry No.43  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005

Log Text: Allée couverte down near a stream seen across a large field near Richebourg farmhouse. There were no signs and I couldn’t see how to get to it. The remains of what I saw looked quite long and made from large rounded brown stones.

La Chaise du Diable

Trip No.202  Entry No.42  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005

Log Text: 2 kilometres east of the village of Sainte Gemmes- le-Robert are marked two dolmens or megalithic monuments on my ign map one north and the other south of a little crossroads. The southern one I could not determine fully as I could not gain full access to any of the possible sites. It could be some large stones in a wooded area or alternatively and I think more likely another large tor like hillock with many stones scattered about on its slopes many of which don’t look to be in natural positions.

Pierres dit Palais du Diable

Trip No.202  Entry No.41  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: 2 kilometres east of the village of Sainte Gemmes- le-Robert are marked two dolmens or megalithic monuments on my ign map one north and the other south of a little crossroads. The northern one consists of a large mound with many large stones scattered about. It looks at first like it may be the top of a natural to type of thing but the stones are too well laid out in unnatural shapes and alignments. There is one pile of stones which has three flat slabs perched on top of other large blocks in a row. Perhaps the whole thing is one giant burial mound. It is all covered with trees with lots of birds singing and a woodpecker pecking away with its loud ratatatatattatt.

Bas Villette Dolmen

Trip No.202  Entry No.40  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Couldn't find on 30th Apr 2005

Log Text: I could find nothing here despite it being marked on my ign map. It is perhaps in private woodland.

Dolmen de la Crête

Trip No.202  Entry No.39  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: To find this allée couverte do not attempt to get to it from the east side through the forest (which looks to be easy on my map but most certainly is not) but proceed towards it from the village of Vautorte a couple of kilometres to the west. Signposted from the village (badly) when you get to near the site there is nowhere to park a camper van although a car may be OK.

This allée couverte is extremely well hidden in Mayenne Forest. The last signpost I saw vaguely pointed into the middle of the forest and any of three tracks could have been the right one ! This being my third attempt to find this (it’s well known from the excavations done here) I didn’t give up and after almost an hour searching I found it. It’s becoming well overgrown despite the fairly recent excavations. The main chamber is about 9 metres long by 1.5 metres wide oriented east west at 080°. Four capstones remain resting on the 11 stone uprights on the north side and 8 on the south side. The entrance is probably from the east end which is only one metre wide and less high and there seems to be a small antechamber at the west end. Some stones of its cairn remain around the outside.

Menhir du Faix du Diable

Trip No.202  Entry No.38  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: A massive menhir right beside the road and standing in the ditch. It must be well over 4 metres tall 3 metres wide and over a metre thick and it looks to have been smoothed.

Clivay Menhir

Trip No.202  Entry No.37  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 30th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: A 2.5 to 3 metre tall menhir in a splendid position near the l’Ernée river below a lovely castle/chateau on top of a bluebell filled wooded hillock. It looks as if the top may have been broken off. There are several other large blocks of stone around I wonder if this was once a large boulder that fell from the sort of tor that the chateau is built on that was modified into a menhir.

Broussardière Menhir

Trip No.202  Entry No.36  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This menhir is about 2.5 to 3 metres in height and about 1.5 metres in width. It is found just a few yards away from the side of the road from Larchamp to Montflaux near a little pond beside a stream and is easy to see despite the very frisky bullocks in the adjacent field trying to get at me!

La Tardivière

Trip No.202  Entry No.35  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Another little Mayenne allée couverte about 6 or 7 metres in length facing uphill and eastwards. It is in fairly ruinous condition with only one capstone remaining at the top end of about 8 pairs of upright stones. There is a large end stone at the lower western end.

It is found in open rolling countryside marked on my ign map but not signposted. At the time of my visit it was in an open field about a hundred metres down the farm track from the country lane where I parked. About 30 metres down from the dolmen was a fairly large stone at the side of the farmtrack. Possibly a marker stone for the tomb but I suspect more likely one of the stones from the allée couverte moved away and dumped at some point.

La Contrie du Rocher

Trip No.202  Entry No.34  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Another little Mayenne Allée Couverte a couple of kilometres north of Ernée which is signposted from there. It is found in the bottom of a little valley by a bend in a stream in a little woodland a few hundred metres walk along a little track from a farm.

The main chamber consists of 3 very large capstones resting on 6 pairs of uprights aligned on a bearing of 036° which sort of looks along the valley. The remains are about 6 metres in length but there are some remains which take the length of the structure to about 10 metres The entrance appears to be at the northeastern end but it is not definite as that end is quite ruined. It is quite low perhaps not much more than a metre at the current time and about 1.5 metres in width.

Some of the stones are very crude and massive blocks rather than nicely shaped slabs. There are many other large stones scattered around in this lovely little place. I give an ambience rating of 5 because at the time of my visit it was an enchanting place. The sun was going down and the birds were singing loudly. The stream which curves around the tomb was babbling away merrily and the whole wooded area was filled with wildflowers of all sorts bluebells aplenty and lots of purple flowers I didn’t recognise which looked like a sort of crocus. A marvellous little place I wish I could have spent more time at.

La Berthellière

Trip No.202  Entry No.33  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Polissoir Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: A lovely polissoir stone found a couple of kilometres southeast of the village of Montenay near to the town of Ernée in Mayenne. The stone is signposted and found in a little wooded area about 50 metres down a lane from the farm of the same name.

The stone is flat on the ground about 2 metres in length and about half to three quarters of a metre wide. It has 3 big polishing bowls several sharpening grooves and several other polished features. It is a very hard looking stone which has been polished fantastically smooth by thousands of years of stone tool making.

I am starting to really like these polissoir stones they really bring the ancient people to life sitting here polishing away at their axes and tools. They say far more than any dolmen or menhir to me.

Menhir de la Chablère

Trip No.202  Entry No.32  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005

Log Text: Either I missed this menhir marked on my ign map or else there is a ruinous allée couverte here or perhaps the menhir is broken and had a field clearance cairn made around it.

Petit-Vieux-Sou

Trip No.202  Entry No.31  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Mayenne (53))
Visited: Yes on 29th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: A little Mayenne Allée Couverte 2.5 km southeast of Brecé village which was has been restored. It is found in a little wooded area a few hundred metres south of the country lane by the farm of the same name and is sort of built into the side of a little hillock just above a little stream.

The main chamber consists of 9 capstones on 10 pairs of stones aligned on a bearing of 316° with the lateral entrance central on the south western side. The external dimensions are about 12 m by 4 m with the internal chamber about 1.5 metres in width and height and fully contained within its mound which is built of stone blocks with drystone walling on the SW side and the two ends.

There are quite a few other large stones scattered around in the pleasant little glade full of bluebells and other flowers at the time of my visit which was my first megalithic site in my new campervan. The first of many.

Pierres Pouquelées

Trip No.202  Entry No.30  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Normandie:Manche (50))
Visited: Yes on 26th Apr 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Much ruined allée couverte on top of the hilly downs to the northwest of the village of Vauville. I measured the remains out to about 12 metres in length but I have seen in a guidebook that the remains are said to be 17 metres long. Perhaps there are more stones under the undergrowth than I saw in the flattened grassy area.

There is only any remains of the central chamber of which can be seen about 9 pairs of stones and 2 remaining capstones in place with a couple more fallen in the middle. There is no sign of any outer peristalith and I could not determine where the entrance would have been. The allée couverte is aligned on about 150° and runs slightly downhill with a large perpendicular endstone still in place at the upper end. Looking along the tomb and it seems to align on the top of the large hill over the other side of the valley above the wonderful beach upon which I believe a menhir once stood.

Although the monument is much ruined it really is in a lovely position at the top of a big hill overlooking the sea with the rocky cliffs of Cap de la Hague stretching away to the northwest and the lovely long beach running south from Vauville. The Island of Alderney can be seen out in the sea and the viscious tide race between the mainland and Alderney can be seen in full flow at the right time of day. It can be reached by a longish and steep walk up from Vauville or alternatively it can be driven almost right to by following the road down towards it from the north and then following the unmade tracks from there which are marked on the 1:25000 scale ign maps.

Menhir de la Bergerie des Etennevaux

Trip No.202  Entry No.29  Date Added: 26th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Normandie:Manche (50))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 26th Apr 2005

Log Text: Menhir about 2 metres tall northwest of the village of St Germain-des-Vaux on Cap de la Hague right at the northwestern tip of the Cherbourg peninsular. I couldn’t get right up to this menhir and could only see it from two fields distance and judged the height from the size of the cows in the field with it.