Dolmen du Bois-Briand
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen du Bois-Briand, located in Saumur (Maine-et-Loire), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.2563, -0.0998
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109313
A Neolithic vestige listed as a Historic Monument since 1914, the Bois-Briand dolmen erects its imposing slabs of schist at the gateway to Saumur, silent testimony to a civilisation that disappeared over 4,000 years ago.
History
In the heart of the Maine-et-Loire region, a stone's throw from Saumur, whose reputation is built on its châteaux and troglodytic caves, the Bois-Briand dolmen is part of an even older heritage. This megalithic monument, erected by the Neolithic peoples who populated the Loire Valley between 4,500 and 2,000 BC, rises from the ground with a sober majesty that the millennia have not diminished. Its large slabs of local stone, standing upright and topped with one or more covering blocks, make up the funerary and ritual architecture characteristic of the Anjou region. What sets the Bois-Briand dolmen apart is above all its location: set in a wooded area that gives it a special atmosphere, it escapes the aridity of some exposed megalithic sites. The wooded setting amplifies the sense of mystery and contemplation that surrounds these collective tombs. Here, nature has reclaimed its rights, covering the stones with moss and lichen to underline their great age. A visit here is an intimate encounter with Anjou's prehistory. Far from the crowds that flock to the troglodytes or the Château de Saumur, visitors to Bois-Briand would happily walk alone in front of the slabs, invited to reflect on these anonymous builders capable of moving and arranging blocks weighing several tonnes using only stone, bone and wood tools. Man's hand on stone is as eloquent here as any sculpted façade. The surrounding area makes for a richly rewarding visit: the Saumur region has a high megalithic density, and the Bois-Briand dolmen is part of a network of prehistoric sites dotting the hillsides of the Loire. Less than a few kilometres away, other dolmens and tumuli are reminders that this region was a dense and dynamic centre of settlement in the Neolithic era. Photographers and archaeology enthusiasts will find an inexhaustible wealth of subject matter here.
Architecture
The Bois-Briand dolmen belongs to the large family of single-chamber or corridor megaliths typical of the French Atlantic coast. Its structure is based on the universal principle of the dolmen: orthostats - upright vertical stones - form the walls of a burial chamber, surmounted by one or more horizontal covering tables whose weight, sometimes several tonnes, is maintained by the sheer force of the load-bearing blocks. The materials used are typical of the subsoil in the Saumur region: white tufa and local limestone, but also blocks of sandstone or shale quarried from nearby outcrops, depending on the availability of resources. The dimensions of the building were in line with regional standards: a chamber two to four metres long internally with a slab height of around one to two metres, allowing access for the officiants during successive burials. The entire structure was originally covered by a mound of earth and dry stone that concealed the structure, leaving only the ritual entrance visible. Millennia of erosion have cleared away the rough stones we see today, giving the dolmen its characteristic silhouette of a stone table rising out of the ground. Technically, the erection of such monuments required an elaborate social organisation: large teams, sledges, wooden rollers and levers were needed to extract, transport and place the monoliths, which regularly weighed in excess of five to ten tonnes. This feat of Neolithic engineering, accomplished without metal or wheels, remains one of the most impressive in European prehistory.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes (vers 4000-2500 av. J.-C.) — communautés agropastorales du SaumuroisLes antiquaires angevins du XIXe siècle — érudits locaux ayant recensé et décrit les mégalithes du Maine-et-LoireArcisse de Caumont (1801-1873) — archéologue normand dont les travaux ont posé les bases de l'étude des mégalithes de l'OuestGabriel de Mortillet (1821-1898) — préhistorien français ayant contribué à la classification des monuments mégalithiquesLes représentants de l'État (1914) — acteurs de la première vague de classements préhistoriques sous la loi de 1913
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen du Bois-Briand located?
Dolmen du Bois-Briand is located in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
Is Dolmen du Bois-Briand open to visitors?
Dolmen du Bois-Briand is currently closed to visitors.