Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche, located in Broc (Maine-et-Loire), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Broc, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5800, 0.1531
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109000
A discreet megalithic monument nestled in the Anjou countryside, the Pierre couverte de la Planche is a Neolithic dolmen of modest proportions, a silent testament to the first builders of Maine-et-Loire.
History
In the heart of the Anjou bocage, just a stone's throw from the village of Broc, the Pierre couverte de la Planche stands with the majestic sobriety typical of great Neolithic architecture. This dolmen, whose evocative name refers to the covering slab laid flat like a plank on its vertical supports, belongs to a particularly dense megalithic tradition in the Maine-et-Loire department, one of the most remarkable centres of this phenomenon in France. What makes this monument unique is precisely its setting in a landscape of hedges and meadows that has hardly changed for thousands of years. Unlike the large covered walkways used by tourists, the Pierre Couverte de la Planche retains an atmosphere of intimacy and authenticity that lovers of wild heritage will appreciate. The cover slab, imposing despite centuries of erosion, rests on upright orthostats forming a burial chamber characteristic of Middle and Final Neolithic sepulchral practices. The visitor experience is that of a direct encounter with prehistory, with no museographic intermediary. As you approach the monument, you instinctively understand the formidable collective undertaking involved in its construction: moving, erecting and covering blocks of local sandstone or shale weighing several tonnes, with no tools other than human strength, wooden levers and an already complex social organisation. The surrounding hedged farmland adds to the charm of the site. The dolmen emerge from a discreet canopy of vegetation, sometimes encircled by brambles and tall grasses depending on the season, which reinforces its discovery character and the impression of touching something immemorial. For the photographer or draughtsman, the low-angled light of the morning or evening provides a remarkable play of shadows on the stone.
Architecture
The Pierre couverte de la Planche is a simple dolmen, a characteristic architectural type of the Armorican Neolithic. Its structure is based on the fundamental principle of the megalithic burial chamber: several orthostates, vertical slabs of local stone, support a horizontal covering table, the famous "plank" to which the monument owes its popular name. This table, carved from a monolithic block of local sandstone or shale, provides a flat, massive surface whose weight alone ensures the stability of the whole. The materials used were extracted from local geological formations in the Maine-et-Loire region, where Armorican shale and sandstone outcrops are ideal for cutting large slabs. Neolithic builders chose their blocks carefully, favouring stones that were naturally flat and resistant to weathering. The resulting chamber, measuring just a few square metres, was probably originally accessible via a short entrance corridor or a simple opening between the orthostats. As with the majority of dolmens in the Anjou region, the monument is now free of any covering mound, if it ever had one. Some of the dolmens in this geographical area were initially covered by a mound of earth and small stones that partially concealed them, while others were deliberately left exposed. Erosion over several millennia and successive agricultural operations have levelled the surrounding area, leaving the stone structure to face the Anjou sky alone.
Related Figures
Populations néolithiques du Bassin armoricain (bâtisseurs, vers 3500-2200 av. J.-C.)Érudits angevins du XIXe siècle (premiers inventaires mégalithiques du Maine-et-Loire)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (arrêté de protection, 1983)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche located?
Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche is located in Broc, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
Is Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche open to visitors?
Dolmen dit Pierre couverte de la planche is currently closed to visitors.