Dolmen de la Devèze-sud
The Dolmen de la Devèze-sud is located near a cliff overlooking the valley of the Célé, southwest of Marcilhac-sur-Célé in the Lot department in France . In France, dolmen is the generic term for Neolithic megalithic structures of all kinds (see: French nomenclature ).
The dolmen was excavated in 1963/64 by Jean Clottes and Jean-Pierre Lagasquie. New excavations were carried out by Jean-Pierre Lagasquie between 1992 and 1994 to study the architecture of the Cairns .
The cairn has a diameter of 16.0 m and an average height of 1.4 meters. Within a radius of 2.0 meters around the chamber, the cairn's filling island consists of flat panels, which are surrounded by a roughly rectangular panel with an average height of 0.75 meters, only the back is missing. The rear fairing, of which no trace was found, may never have existed or may have been destroyed. In the spaces between the stone mound, earth and gravel collected and formed a tumulus .
The inner structure of the cairn is made up of blocks of various sizes that are in no discernible order, except for the blocks that were used to wedge the base of the orthostats . In contrast, the cladding shows a regular stacking on both sides of the dolmen. However, this organization is absent on the facade and in the southwest corner, a part that, according to Jean-Pierre Lagasquies, is a troubled sector.
The panels of the northeast cladding come from a limestone deposit below the cliff, while the other elements of the cairn were extracted on site or in close proximity.
The finds discovered in the tumulus ( arrowheads and pearls ) confirm the chronological attribution of the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age by Jean Clottes. The methodical excavation revealed that the construction site was being prepared. The ground was leveled to reduce the natural slope, with the carts - Lapiaz in French - being filled up. This was accompanied by the storage of the large blocks for later use. The study of the structure made it possible to divide the history of the Dolmen of Devèze into 11 phases.
The dolmen simple is an archetype of a dolmen. The difference in height between the orthostats was leveled by placing the base on the left side in a natural pit filled with clay, while the right side was placed on the rock. The capstone is missing, but two large blocks near the chamber are likely its fragments. In contrast, the locking plate is still in situ , which is unusual. The relatively thin plates of the southeast-facing chamber are up to 2.25 m long and 1.35 m wide. The lapiaz underneath is used as a plaster.
The Dolmen de la Devèze-sud has been classified as a monument historique .
The Combe de Sole dolmens are nearby .
See also
literature
- Jean Clottes: Le dolmen de la Devèze (Marcilhac - Lot) In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 1964 E&T 61-2 pp. 323–336
- Jean Clottes: Inventaire des mégalithes de la France, 5-Lot, Supplément à Gallia préhistoire, Éditions du CNRS, 1977, p. 552. ISBN 978-2222019459
Web links
- Site archéologique du dolmen de la Devèze-sud in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 44 ° 32 '28 " N , 1 ° 45' 7.2" E