Dolmen de Cornevache
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen de Cornevache, located in Selommes (Loir-et-Cher), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Selommes, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7601, 1.1748
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098602
A discreet Neolithic vestige in the Loir-et-Cher region, the Cornevache dolmen with its sandstone orthostats stands among the Selommes woods, a silent testimony to a civilisation dating back five millennia and listed as a Historic Monument.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the hedged farmland of the Loir-et-Cher, on the borders of the Beauce and Perche regions of Vendôme, the Cornevache dolmen belongs to the family of megalithic monuments that discreetly dot the Loir valley. Far from the notoriety of certain Breton alignments, it has an austerity that commands respect: a few massive slabs erected by men whose names and language we know neither, more than five thousand years ago. What makes Cornevache so special is precisely its discretion. Away from the main tourist routes, it can be discovered at the turn of a country lane, surrounded by vegetation that seems to want to protect it. The stone tables, which weigh several tonnes, have survived the millennia without any guardian other than the earth itself. This permanence in the face of man's ephemeral time is the main thrill of the visit. The visit is above all a contemplative experience. Unlike built monuments, here there are no interiors to wander through, no ceremonial rooms to admire: just the sacred space delimited by the blocks, the light that filters through depending on the time of day and the season, and the silence inhabited by an ancient presence. Prehistory enthusiasts will recognise the classic layout of the corridor dolmen, while ordinary walkers will simply be struck by the strangeness of these mineral giants standing there in the middle of the Sologne countryside. The natural setting adds to the magic of the place. The Vendôme is a region of gentle hedged farmland, calm rivers and soft light that exalts the mineral. In spring, the area around Selommes is covered in soft greenery that contrasts magnificently with the grey-beige of the orthostats. In autumn, the ochre hues of the surrounding oaks provide photographers with stunning compositions. The Cornevache dolmen is one of those places that rewards travellers who take the time to stray from the beaten track.
Architecture
The Cornevache dolmen displays the morphology typical of megalithic burials in the Centre-Val de Loire: a set of vertical supports, the orthostats, held in place by their own mass and by the earth and stone fill that originally surrounded them, crowned by one or more horizontal slabs forming the covering table. This 'single-chamber' plan is one of the most widespread forms in the region, as opposed to the large corridor dolmens more common in Brittany and Maine. The materials used come from the local geological substratum, probably Turonian limestone or ferrous sandstone typical of the Vendôme subsoil. These grey-beige blocks, marked with orange and greenish lichens, have a naturally rough surface that the Neolithic builders only partially levelled. The covering slab, estimated to weigh several tonnes, rests on the orthostats with remarkable precision, enabling the whole structure to resist subsidence and pressure from the ground over the centuries. The sepulchral chamber thus delimited originally offered an accessible interior space, probably closed at the front by a removable bedside slab allowing successive deposits of bones. Like most of the dolmens in the area, Cornevache was probably originally covered by a mound of earth and stones that concealed it beneath an artificial mound, which has now disappeared due to ploughing and erosion, leaving the monument's bone structure exposed in the landscape.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Vendômois (vers 3500-3000 av. J.-C.)Les antiquaires de la Société Archéologique du Vendômois (XIXe siècle)Les inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier de classement (1980)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen de Cornevache located?
Dolmen de Cornevache is located in Selommes, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Is Dolmen de Cornevache open to visitors?
Dolmen de Cornevache is currently closed to visitors.