Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale, located in Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien (Dordogne), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.3431, 0.5284
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082720
An enigmatic Neolithic vestige nestling in the Périgord Vert, Peyre d'Ermale stands with its thousand-year-old sandstone slabs in the heart of unspoilt bocage - silent testimony to the first megalith builders in the Dordogne.
History
At the bend in a sunken path lined with oaks and ferns, the dolmen known as Peyre d'Ermale emerges from the landscape with the quiet authority typical of monuments that have survived five millennia. Erected in the Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien area, on the edge of the green and white Périgord, it is one of a constellation of megalithic tombs dotted around the Dronne basin, bearing witness to dense human occupation from the end of the Neolithic period. The first thing that strikes you is the serene massiveness of the burial chamber: large slabs of local limestone and sandstone, laid with astonishing precision by men who knew neither metal nor the wheel. The very name of the monument - Peyre d'Ermale in Occitan, which could be translated as "Ermale Stone" or "Bad Stone" according to local interpretations - says something about the ominous aura attributed to it by the peasants of the Middle Ages, fascinated and intimidated by these constructions of unknown origin. The visit is akin to an open-air journey back in time. There's no need for a ticket or guide: the dolmen can be discovered freely, in the pastoral calm that characterises the north-east of the Dordogne. Prehistory enthusiasts will appreciate being able to read the monument in detail - the layout of the orthostats, the slope of the covering slab, any traces of polishing. Photographers, meanwhile, will be on the lookout for the low-angled morning or evening light, when the stones take on a warm hue and the shadows sculpt every crevice. The natural setting adds to the emotion: the rolling meadows of the Périgord Vert envelop the monument in an almost anachronistic softness. Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien is a village on a human scale, where the Romanesque church and white stone farmhouses seem to converse through the centuries with the dolmen that precedes them by several millennia. For those who take the time to stop and listen to the wind in the grass, Peyre d'Ermale is not just an archaeological curiosity: it's an intimate point of contact with the most ancient of human beings.
Architecture
Peyre d'Ermale has the classic configuration of the simple corridor dolmens typical of the Périgord: a sub-rectangular burial chamber made up of large vertical slabs, the orthostates, topped by one or more horizontal covering tables. The materials used were exclusively local - limestone and sandstone extracted from natural outcrops on the surrounding hillsides - which testifies to the Neolithic builders' perfect geological knowledge of the area. The covering slab, the centrepiece of the monument, is probably several metres long, with a significant width and thickness, and weighs several tonnes. Putting it in place was the central technical feat of the construction, probably achieved using earth ramps and the collective effort of a large group. The orthostats are set into the ground at a slight angle, giving them remarkable stability after five millennia of exposure to the weather and temperature variations of the Périgord region. The burial chamber, oriented along an east-west axis common in the region's megalithic tradition, was originally surrounded by a mound of earth and dry stone that concealed it completely, leaving only the entrance on the east side visible. This mound has now largely disappeared, leaving the bone structure of the dolmen bare - a state which, while betraying a degree of wastage, offers immediate and striking architectural clarity.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques du bassin de la Dronne (3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs anonymes du monumentProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, dont l'action au XIXe siècle posa les bases de la protection des mégalithes françaisGabriel de Mortillet — préhistorien du XIXe siècle, pionnier de la classification des cultures néolithiques en FranceAndré Glory — archéologue périgordin du XXe siècle ayant contribué à l'inventaire des mégalithes de Dordogne
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale located?
Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale is located in Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
Is Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale open to visitors?
Dolmen dit Peyre d'Ermale is currently closed to visitors.
