Dolmen in the Lot department

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The dolmens in the Lot department in France are mostly small, rectangular systems of the "simple dolmen" type. The chamber is delimited by lateral orthostats , an end plate and a top plate. The dolmens lie directly on the bedrock, with the orthostats being inserted into cracks that are widened or filled in as required. The chamber floor is sometimes paved. The patch consists of either a single plate or Opus incertum . In France, dolmen is the generic term for Neolithic megalithic structures of all kinds (see: French nomenclature ).

In addition to the basic architecture, a limited number can be observed:

  • Double dolmen : Two chambers of unequal size whose orthostats are also different lie together under a cairn or tumulus (Dolmen des Igues de Magnagues; near Carennac ); [1]
  • Dolmen with side chambers: Two chambers, which are usually separated by a passage, are under the same hill (Dolmen des Places - also Dolmen de Salers; near Théminettes).
  • Dolmen with corridor or vestibule: In front of the chamber there is a small uncovered vestibule (an ante ) made of vertical panels that are smaller than the orthostats of the chamber ( Dolmen of Gabaudet near Issendolus);
  • Dolmens with side access or articulated dolmens, where a plate moves the access next to the axis. (Dolmen des Escabasses at Flaujac-Gare, Dolmen des Cloups at Ginouillac);
  • Dolmen with aniconic stele: The entrance is provided with a small stele that stands in front of one of the orthostats ( Dolmen du Rat near Saint-Sulpice, Dolmen du Roucadour near Thémines and Dolmen du Pech d'Arsou near Corn)

Unique dolmen whose architecture is limited to a single case.

The capstone of the dolmen can be provided with one or more bowls ( French Pierres aux écuelles ) or pierre à cupules . Their size can reach that of a small basin. They are either the result of an artificial excavation, the expansion of a natural cave or the natural erosion of the limestone .

Reuse and destruction

As everywhere in France, the destruction of megaliths was common in Lot for various reasons:

destruction

  • If there are dolmens in fields and hindering crops, this can lead to their destruction (Dolmens of Siran in Loubressac).
  • A custom that is still practiced is to pile the stones of the cairn on the dolmen (Dolmen du Verdier-Petit in Durbans) or on the tumulus (Dolmen Peyrefit in Espédaillac). In the first case the dolmen can collapse under the weight, in the second case the shape of the tumulus becomes unrecognizable;
  • Excavations that were improperly carried out in the 19th century;
  • Dismantling of a dolmen to reuse panels (La Jalie and Mas du Breuil in Saint-Sulpice, Dolmen des Vandourgues in Gréalou);
  • Destruction in a row for a treasure hunt (Autoire Dolmen, Menhirs Belinac No. 2),
  • religious fanaticism (Lemboulas Valley)
  • modern carelessness (dolmen of Pierre-Levée in Assier, Camp Viroulou in Alvignac, dolmen of Pierre-Levée in Saint-Chels, Pierre-Levy of Cayre in Gréalou).

reuse

  • The use of a dolmen as an agricultural protective structure (stable) or the inclusion in a field boundary gradually lead to its structure changing significantly; ( Dolmen of Plaza del Sol in Espédaillac and Dolmen Fourques Hautes in Brengues)
  • Reuse for burials in the Iron Age or ancient times;

See also

literature

  • Jean Clottes: Inventaire des mégalithes de la France, 5 lot. Supplément à Gallia préhistoire, Éditions du CNRS, 1977, p. 552. ISBN 978-2-222-01945-9
  • Alain Beyneix: Les architectures mégalithiques du département de Lot-et-Garonne In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 2000 pp. 239–264