Dolmen dit de la Mouïse
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen dit de la Mouïse, located in Baccon (Loiret), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Baccon, Loiret, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8786, 1.6030
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098686
A Neolithic vestige buried in the forests of the Loiret, the Mouïse dolmen bears witness to a human presence dating back more than 5,000 years. Its cyclopean slabs of siliceous sandstone form a burial chamber of sober and striking majesty.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
Hidden away in the Loirétain bocage near the commune of Baccon, the Mouïse dolmen is one of the rare megalithic monuments preserved in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Set in a landscape of mixed meadows and woodland, this collective burial site, erected during the Middle or Late Neolithic - between 3,500 and 2,500 BC - stands out with a discretion that in no way detracts from its evocative power. What makes this monument so special is, first and foremost, its geographical location: the Loiret is not the historical heartland of French megalithism, which is concentrated in Brittany, Maine and Anjou. However, the Mouïse dolmen attests to the fact that the Neolithic populations of the Paris Basin and the Middle Loire also developed ambitious funerary architecture, using blocks of sandstone or limestone whose transport and installation required elaborate social organisation. A visit to this site is a must for anyone interested in the origins of human civilisation in France. Approaching the massive slabs, laying your hand on the stone that has been weathered over the centuries, imagining the community of farmers and breeders who laid their dead here: the emotion is both archaeological and profoundly human. The site, listed as a Historic Monument since 1979, is protected to guarantee its integrity for future generations. The surrounding natural setting enhances the special atmosphere of the site. On the edge of a forest or in the heart of a clearing, depending on the season, the dolmen blends into or stands out from the landscape with equal eloquence. In spring, a halo of greenery surrounds the dolmen, while in autumn, dead leaves cover its surface in gold and rust, intensifying the feeling of suspended time.
Architecture
The Mouïse dolmen follows the classic morphology of Neolithic megalithic burials in the Paris Basin: an elongated burial chamber, delimited by orthostats - slabs standing vertically - which support one or more horizontal covering tables, the capstones, which can weigh in excess of several tonnes. The whole structure originally rested under a mound of earth and stones, the cairn or tumulus, of which only eroded remains remain after millennia of exposure to natural agents and human disturbance. The materials used were probably local siliceous sandstone or limestone, extracted from the outcropping geological formations of the Beauce or Gâtinais regions, a few kilometres from Baccon. These hard, weather-resistant sedimentary rocks explain why the building has been preserved to the present day. The orientation of the chamber - probably on an east-west axis or in an astronomically significant direction, such as the solstitial sunrise - reflected the symbolic and cosmological imperatives of Neolithic beliefs in death and renewal. The burial chamber, modest to medium-sized by regional standards (around 2 to 4 metres long and 1 to 2 metres wide), was accessible via an entrance corridor or a simple opening between two orthostats. This configuration allowed successive burials to take place, making the dolmen a veritable community ossuary used over several centuries. The absence of mortar or any binding agent underlines the mastery of the Neolithic builders in the art of balance and dry assembly.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques du Bassin parisien (3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs anonymes du monumentÉrudits de la Société archéologique et historique de l'Orléanais (XIXe siècle) — premiers recenseurs des mégalithes du LoiretGabriel de Mortillet (1821-1898) — préhistorien français dont les travaux de classification ont permis de contextualiser les dolmens du Centre de la FranceDirection régionale des Affaires culturelles du Centre-Val de Loire — autorité ayant instruit le classement MH de 1979
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen dit de la Mouïse located?
Dolmen dit de la Mouïse is located in Baccon, Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Is Dolmen dit de la Mouïse open to visitors?
Dolmen dit de la Mouïse is currently closed to visitors.