Tumulus C by Péré
The Tumulus C of Péré near Prissé-la-Charrière in the Deux-Sèvres department in France has been excavated since 2004. The approximately 100 meters long and 20 wide facility from the Neolithic Age was used for around 400 years in prehistoric times. The archaeologists Roger Joussaume, Luc Laporte and Chris Scarre are coordinating the work.
The grave mound made of dry masonry and clay is impressive not only because of its size, but also because it has been expanded several times. There are currently three known chambers. In the third burial chamber, which was completely blocked for about 6000 years, the archaeologists found the bones of six people (a woman, two men and three children), a pearl , a boar tooth and two ceramic vases. The researchers are certain that here they have one of the extremely rare glimpses into the rituals of the Neolithic builders around 4200 BC. BC, whose bones and accessories were not mixed with later uses. The burial mound also contains several individual burials outside the burial chambers.
The tumulus shows the complex development of such mounds. At first there was only one complex, surrounded by a round stone mound. Between 4450 and 4200 BC Several subsequent burials took place in it . All were made through an existing entrance for this purpose.
Another dolmen with a corridor and a ceiling slab weighing 2.5 tons was built in 4200 BC. And surrounded by a round cairn . The gap between the chambers was filled and both were covered by a 100 m long, slightly wider tumulus. The megalithic chamber with a corridor in which the six skeletons were found was finally built between the first two dolmens.
The construction with several chambers in the same hill is comparable with other regional tumuli (Champ Châlons in Benon, Charente-Maritime), but also with systems from Normandy ( tumulus of Colombiers-sur-Seulles ). The question of the territorial organizational patterns of Neolithic societies in western France remains unexplored. Large monuments examined early on, such as those of Sablons in Luxé or Tumuli de Tusson (Charente), were not topographically surveyed. Today they lie as wooded hills in an open landscape, a situation that is almost the opposite of what we imagine, given some pollen data for prehistoric times. The excavations at Prissé-la-Charrière now make it possible to develop some models.
literature
- Luc Laporte, Elías López-Romero et Régis Bernard: Les tumulus allongés du Center-Ouest de la France: nécropoles, espaces, paysages 2014
- Serge Cassen: Le Néolithique le plus ancient de la façade atlantique de la France. In: Munibe. Antropología y arqueología. No. 45, 1993, pp. 119-131.
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 8 ′ 56.9 ″ N , 0 ° 31 ′ 51.3 ″ W.