Dolmen
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen, located in Averdon (Loir-et-Cher), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Averdon, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6723, 1.3231
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098328
A Neolithic vestige listed as a Historic Monument, the Averdon dolmen erects its imposing sandstone slabs in the heart of the Beauce region, silent testimony to an agricultural civilisation dating back over 5,000 years.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
In the heart of the Loir-et-Cher region, just a few kilometres from Blois, the dolmen of Averdon emerge from the bocage landscape like a fragment of eternity. This megalithic burial chamber, whose massive slabs have stood the test of time since the Neolithic period, is part of a network of funerary monuments dotting the Loire Valley and its tributaries, reminding us that this region was already densely populated and ritually organised long before the age of castles. What sets this dolmen apart in the archaeological landscape of the Centre-Val de Loire is its location on the Loire plain, away from the main tourist routes. Where other megalithic monuments are found on higher ground or in forests, the Averdon monument nestles discreetly in an agricultural environment, protected from major modern developments thanks to its protection as a Historic Monument since 1979. It offers a direct and striking view of Neolithic funerary architecture: upright orthostats bearing a covering slab, forming a chamber that was once intended to house several deceased people and their offerings. The visitor experience is that of an intimate face-to-face encounter with prehistory. There's no staging, no barriers: you can get right up close to the stone, feel the grain of the local limestone, and see for yourself the care that went into assembling blocks that can weigh several tonnes. For the attentive visitor, the layout of the slabs reveals a carefully calculated orientation, probably linked to the solar cycles, as seen on other dolmens in the Loire. The rural setting of the Loir-et-Cher amplifies the singularity of the site. Between cultivated fields and hedgerows, the dolmen at Averdon evoke the enduring relationship between man and the land, a relationship that goes back beyond any written record. An essential stop-off for anyone travelling through the Loir valley in search of the oldest strata of human history in France.
Architecture
The dolmen at Averdon have the classic morphology of the single-chamber dolmens typical of the Middle and Late Neolithic in the Loire basin. The structure is based on the principle of orthostats - vertical slabs set in the earth - supporting one or more horizontal covering tables. The whole structure forms a burial chamber of roughly rectangular or trapezoidal plan, with an interior length estimated at between two and four metres, in line with the usual dimensions of Loire dolmens from this period. The materials used are the robust Beauce lacustrine limestones available on the plateau, roughly worked to obtain approximately flat surfaces without elaborate polishing. The structural assembly reveals an empirical knowledge of loads and balances: the orthostats are tilted slightly inwards to better support the weight of the covering slab, whose thickness and mass guarantee the stability of the whole against ground movements. The entrance to the chamber, which traditionally faces east or south-east in the dolmens of the Centre region, must have been closed off by a movable cover slab, allowing successive deposits of the deceased and ceramic or lithic offerings. Originally, like most regional dolmens, this monument was probably covered by a dry stone cairn or earth mound, which has now disappeared under the effects of erosion and millennia of ploughing. This tumulus envelope gave the monument the silhouette of an artificial hill, visible from afar in the open Beauce landscape, reinforcing its function as a territorial signal and landmark in the Neolithic agrarian space.
Related Figures
Bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du bassin ligérien (vers 4000-3000 av. J.-C.)Érudits de la Société Archéologique et Historique de l'Orléanais (XIXe siècle)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le classement de 1979
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen located?
Dolmen is located in Averdon, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Is Dolmen open to visitors?
Dolmen is currently closed to visitors.