Tumulus of Colombiers-sur-Seulles
The tumulus of Colombiers-sur-Seulles is one of the oldest European megaliths (about 4200 to 4000 v. Chr.). It is also the oldest preserved stone monument and the only representative of its genus in Normandy , France .
At the national level, the hill, discovered for science by Arcisse de Caumont in 1830, is important for understanding the earliest stone architecture . In 1894 there were still twelve tumuli of different shapes in the Calvados , of which only two are left today. In the past, the Colombiers-sur-Seulles tumulus was excavated and partially destroyed, but it was restored between 2001 and 2006.
The approximately 60 m long hill externally resembles the Breton grounds of Barnenez and Guennoc . It has a trapezoidal shape and is nine meters wide at the narrow west end and 18 m wide at the rounded eastern end. It is about five meters high in the middle and surrounded by dry stone masonry like a terrace .
- Tumulus of Colombiers-sur-Seulles - The Chamber
Coaxially to the longitudinal axis of the hill, offset to the north, lies the only roughly round chamber with a diameter of approximately 2.5 m. Today she lies there without her capstones. The outer wall is formed by six large monoliths, between which there is no longer original drywall. At the western end there are two large stones in the outer wall. It is unclear whether they once formed the entrance to another small chamber or whether they are the rest of a curb.
The Menhir des Demoiselles is about 900 m away .
literature
- Vincent Carpentier, Emmanuel Ghesquière, Cyril Marcigny: Archéologie en Normandie (= Collection Histoire ). Édition Quest-France et al., Rennes et al. 2007, ISBN 978-2-7373-4164-9 .
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 48 ″ N , 0 ° 29 ′ 39 ″ W.