La Chaussée-Tirancourt (gallery grave)

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Location north of the Somme

The gallery grave of La Chaussée-Tirancourt was discovered in 1967 by M. Baudimont while deep plowing . It is located in the commune of La Chaussée-Tirancourt near Picquigny , 14 kilometers northwest of Amiens , on the lower reaches of the Somme , in Picardy , in France .

The Allée couverte de la Cense du Bois , also named after the Lieu-dit Cense du Bois , was investigated in the 1970s and since then has been one of the most famous end-Neolithic sites with finds from the Seine-Oise-Marne culture (SOM between 3100 and 2000 BC . Chr.). This type of megalithic system , which is more common in the soft landscape of Paris (e.g. La Pierre Turquaise ), was previously unknown in Picardy.

Scheme of a gallery grave

The landscape

The meandering Somme, which accompanies the Canal de la Somme , forms a number of swamps , ponds and watercourses in its wide natural valley . The valley is a green and moisture biotope crossed by forests in an otherwise rather dry chalk landscape .

The monument

The monument, which is sunk into the slope of the valley, is 1.7 m below today's ground level, is 11 m long and three meters wide. Sandstone blocks with a weight of up to four tons form the chamber walls, as well as the remainder of the antechamber that was once two meters long , which now protrudes like an antenna . The antechamber has the entrance typical of this culture (the so-called soul hole ). A lateral access to the chamber is immediately behind the antechamber. Of the original 14 bearing stones, 13 still exist. Due to the missing (possibly never existing) capstones, it is assumed that the facility was possibly covered with wooden planks, for which, however, no evidence was found.

The uppermost floor layer in the monument is divided into rectangular or trapezoidal quarters of different sizes by transverse rows of small sandstone panels . The vertical use was determined within five layers (levels) lying one on top of the other. Studies have shown that changes in the surrounding vegetation sometimes took place between the use of the layers.

The dating

The system, which was used for a longer period, only provided 14 C data from the end of its useful life. They are between 1750 and 1400 BC. BC (calibrated plus 600–700 years). The system therefore dates from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Chr.

The finds

Antechamber

The artifacts discovered in the antechamber (perforated antler shoots, coarse earthenware and small ax pendants (amulets) made of green stone ) are characteristic of the SOM culture.

chamber

The remains of 346 people, including children, were found in the chamber, which was initially only examined in eight areas down to the lowest level. This makes La Chaussée-Tirancourt one of the busiest courses in Europe . Three skeletons had been isolated from the rest by small blocks of sandstone. Apart from two small copper beads, the chamber hardly found any additions.

The little quarters at the head of the chamber were empty. Skulls and skeletons were found in the other quarters. The position of the bones led the excavators to believe that an individual had been propped against a supporting wall made of organic material in a sitting position. The supporting wall running parallel to the system axis left its traces in all excavated areas. After the putrefaction, the bones were pushed together in a heap. The long bones often show the characteristics of dry, broken bones. The structure of Level V, the lowest and oldest of the facility, was largely destroyed by Level IV. Most of the bones in Level V were piled on the axis of the monument. At the end the plain was covered with a 20 cm thick layer of loess and chalk.

Level IV consists of a filling of 6 to 8 tons of soil. The burials form a completely different picture than the one in Level III, which is much thicker than IV and has 12 intricate subdivisions. The not completely excavated monument was filled with earth to protect it from grave robbers.

Nearby are:

Menhir in the Samara Grand parc

literature

  • Claude Masset: Une sépulture collective mégalithique à la Chaussée-Tirancourt (Somme). In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française. Vol. 68, No. 6, 1971, ISSN  0037-9514 , pp. 178-182, doi : 10.3406 / ex . 1971.4319 .

Web links

Coordinates: 49 ° 58 ′ 13.6 "  N , 2 ° 10 ′ 25.2"  E