Santoche dolmen
The dolmen of Santoche ( French Dolmen de la Châtre ) near the municipality of Santoche is one of 18 megalithic structures , including those of the Schwörstadt type , discovered in Franche-Comté in eastern France . Together with Swiss and southern German systems, they form an approximately 5000-year-old group that is related to the Aillevans- type systems in the Haute-Saône department . The complex is a so-called collective grave located on a hill above the Doubs valley and has been a French cultural monument since 1974 . In France, dolmen is the generic term for megalithic structures of all kinds (see: French nomenclature ).
In 1969 the complex, discovered in 1960, and its partially paved esplanade were carefully examined during an archaeological excavation. The archaeologists found the remains of at least 22 people and small grave goods from the Bronze Age . Among the artifacts were blades , arrowheads and scrapers made of flint , a stone ax, bone and fragments of pottery. In the Gallo-Roman times, the dolmen served as a refuge for shepherds, hunters and travelers. Later the facility was deliberately destroyed. In the 17th century, so-called “stone marches” were sealed at the Santoche dolmen. It was tradition for the newlyweds to come to the dolmen to go around it.
The dolmen's five or six slabs have been tilted, overturned or broken, but it is the best preserved in Franche-Comté. The only surviving, once probably rectangular ceiling plate of 1.9 × 1.8 m, the likewise rectangular chamber of 6.0 × 2.0 m, lies tilted there. The two smaller pieces are probably parts of it. A vertical plate of the dolmen has a soul hole with a diameter of about 40 cm.
literature
- Victor H. Bourgeois: Les Monuments Mégalithiques le long du Jura Suisse. Ernest Studer, Yverdon 1926.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry no. PA00101727 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Web links
- Description and pictures (French)
- Le dolmen de Santoche (French)
- Description, pictures and sketches (French)
Coordinates: 47 ° 24 ′ 57.2 " N , 6 ° 29 ′ 45" E