Dolmen Lo Morrel dos Fados
Coordinates: 43 ° 18 ′ 46.6 " N , 2 ° 40 ′ 47.4" E
The dolmen Lo Morrel dos Fados ( German dolmen of the hill of the fairies ) near Pépieux in the Aude department in southern France is the largest gallery grave in southern France . It was established between 3500 and 3000 BC. . AD by people of Véraza culture built. The building has been recognized as a Monument historique since 1943 and 1969 .
Etymology and geographical location
In France, dolmen is the generic term for Neolithic megalithic structures of all kinds (see: French nomenclature ). The name of the dolmen hill of the fairies is derived from the Occitan Lo Morrel dos Fados (correctly actually lo morrèl de las fadas ), which in turn arose from the two nouns lo morrèl ( the hill ) and la fada ( the fairy ). In French , Le Morrel de las Fadas or Le Morrel des Fades is used.
The dolmen is located on a pine-lined hill 1.6 kilometers north of the center of Pépieux near the border with the neighboring department of Hérault . Immediately to the north, the D 168 crosses from Siran to Cesseras .
Another name for the dolmen is Palet de Roland ( German throwing disc of Roland ), as Hruotland , Charlemagne's nephew , allegedly left the imprint of his hand here. A dolmen in the Minervois bears the same name - the Dolmen du Vieil Homme (also Dolmen de la Jargantière) near Villeneuve-Minervois .
introduction
In the Occitania region , the Aude department is not exactly characterized by the number of its megalithic sites - it has almost 100 - little compared to the neighboring Hérault department with 550. However, some of the sites have above-average dimensions. The menhirs of Counozouls and Malves-en-Minervois reach a height of 8.90 and 5 meters respectively. The gallery tomb Saint-Eugène in Laure-Minervois ( belonging to the Russol domain ) is 15 meters long and 30 meters wide. In the Dolmen of Peirières in Villedubert an amazing number of skeletal remains was made.
According to Jean Guilaine , a professor at the Collège de France and one of the best experts on French prehistory, the Lo Morrel dos Fados dolmen is one of the largest tombs in southern France. In his book “La France d'avant la France” ( France before today's France ) he lists the dolmen at Pépieux as the main entry.
description
The south-east-north-west facing gallery grave was originally surrounded by a 35 meter long tumulus . It measures approx. 24 meters and is divided into three areas by two dividing stones with the remains of very large soul holes : an entrance area (French couloir ), a central chamber (French antichambre ) and an end chamber (French cella ). The openings of the two soul holes were made from two semicircular stone slabs.
The side walls of the 12-meter long couloir consist of opposing blocks of red and gray sandstone as well as non-local limestones. Between the locally existing sandstone and limestone blocks, there is dry stone masonry , which was reconstructed in 1946 in all areas where the bearing stones were missing, up to a height of about 0.8 m. Only a capstone made of lime above the approx. 3 m high and 6 m long central chamber remains; one of its bearing stones was only installed during the reconstruction. The cover plate, which weighs over 10 tons, was moved from almost two kilometers away. The 6 m long end chamber still has a side monolith weighing around 9.5 tons .
In contrast to the neighboring mountain dolmen of the Minervois, the dolmen Lo Morrel dos Fados is located on a low - possibly artificially raised - hill overlooking the valley of the Aude .
Dating
Due to the almost perfect smoothing of the perforated stones on both sides and the inside of the orthostats , a comparatively late date is likely (around 3000 BC).
False allée couverte
In French archeology, very long dolmens are commonly referred to as allée-couverte . In the present case of the dolmen by Lo Morrel dos Fados, however, several details do not match the standard definition. In the case of the Lo Morell dos Fados dolmen, for example, the passage is less wide than the main chamber and the monument was only covered by a single slab. Such dolmens are now listed under the heading dolmen à couloir large (dolmens with a wide entrance). In this type, the dry stone masonry alternates with slabs that are smaller than in the main chamber. In addition, the couloir tapers towards the entrance.
History
At the beginning of the 20th century, only the tipped limestone slab of the dolmen could be seen, which touched the ground on one side and was held up by three sandstone pillars on the other.
The monument was first inscribed under the Monuments historiques of France in 1943.
In 1946, Jean Arnal, L. Jeanjean and Odette and Jean Taffanel decided to carry out a test survey and then uncovered another part of the facility. Their work confirms that the Palet de Roland is a dolmen with a couloir and that it is related to similar ones that existed in southern France in the third millennium BC. Is to be counted. Dolmen with a couloir consist of three parts, an entrance, a main chamber and an actual burial chamber.
A rescue excavation was carried out between 1962 and 1965 under the direction of Jean Guilaine. The system was generally excavated systematically, and a new supporting pillar was pulled under the heavy cover plate, which probably came from the Causse de Siran, so that the plate was now horizontal again. The archaeological furniture discovered was taken to the collection point in Carcassonne and kept there, including a very original riveted dagger , which is now on display in the Museum of Olonzac . He refers to the beginnings of metal processing between 3400 and 2900 BC. BC, which were made possible by the copper deposits in the Minervois. As a result of this work, the dolmen was definitely classified as a monument historique by ministerial decree of March 5, 1969.
In 1972 the dolmen underwent a general consolidation by the Conservation Régionale of the Bâtiments de France .
In July 1989, the property on which the dolmen is located and two adjacent properties with a total area of 1.53 hectares were bought by the municipality of Pépieux.
Restoration in 1997
25 years after the last intervention, a new renovation was inevitable in order to be able to present the largest dolmen in southern France to the interested public in its original condition. The work was carried out under the direction of Régis Martin, the chief architect of Monuments historiques, Jean Guilaine and the archaeologist Yann Geay.
Among other things, the east pillars were raised to their known starting height. As a result, the pillar that was artificially drawn in between 1962 and 1965, which disturbs the overall impression, was withdrawn from view. Furthermore, detailed work on shape, color and patina was carried out. Backfill work brought the now heavily eroded tumulus closer to its original shape. The dry stone walls of the entrance area have also been redesigned. For this purpose, stones lying in the immediate vicinity of the dolmen were reused. With all of this work, the monument has now regained its truly Neolithic character.
See also
literature
- Bonnery, Bernard: L'allée mégalithique de Pépieux . 1992.
- Sicard, Germain: L'Aude préhistorique - monuments et découvertes: grottes, dolmens, menhirs . 1900.
Web links
- Description French and pictures
- Description French and pictures
- Description French Sketch and pictures
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dolmen des Fades ou Palet de Roland, Pépieux in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ^ Jean Guilaine: La France d'avant la France . Hachette, 1980.