Dolmen du Mas de Labat
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen du Mas de Labat, located in Cénevières (Département 46), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Cénevières, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.4436, 1.7310
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00095057
A silent Neolithic vestige in the heart of Quercy, the Mas de Labat dolmen has been standing on the Cénevières limestone plateaux for over 5,000 years, a fascinating testimony to the Lot's first megalith builders.
History
Perched on the limestone plateaux overlooking the Lot valley on the outskirts of Cénevières, the Mas de Labat dolmen is one of a constellation of megalithic monuments that have dotted the Quercy region since the dawn of sedentary mankind. Discreet, almost swallowed up by the vegetation of the causses, it nevertheless imposes a magnetic presence on those who know how to find it. Its great slabs of grey limestone, standing against time and the centuries, irresistibly evoke the collective energy of a Neolithic community capable of moving and assembling blocks weighing several tonnes with remarkable precision. What makes this dolmen so special is first and foremost its location: the limestone and scrubland of the Causses du Lot provided its builders with an abundance of raw materials and a topography ideally suited to the construction of collective burial chambers. The Mas de Labat dolmen are part of the corridor burial tradition typical of the Middle and Late Neolithic, where the burial chamber served as a permanent dwelling place for the dead, reused generation after generation over several centuries. Visiting the site is like experiencing a complete change of scene. There are no imposing tourist signs between the visitor and the stone. You approach the monument along farm tracks lined with downy oak and boxwood, in a Causse landscape that has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. The contemplation is intimate, almost meditative. Photographers will particularly appreciate the low-angled morning or dusk light, which reveals the textures of the flagstones and casts dramatic shadows on the stony ground. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1959, the dolmen and its immediate surroundings benefit from legal protection that preserves this fragment of eternity from human harm. Nearby, the caves and ornate shelters of the Lot valley are a reminder that this area was one of the cradles of human presence in Western Europe, giving the Mas de Labat dolmen an even more breathtaking historical depth.
Architecture
The Mas de Labat dolmen has the classic morphology of the single-chamber dolmens characteristic of the Quercy Neolithic. Its basic structure is based on several orthostats - vertical slabs planted in the ground - supporting one or more horizontal covering tables, the whole delimiting a burial chamber with a roughly rectangular or slightly trapezoidal plan. Local limestone, the material of choice for Neolithic builders in the Lot, gives the blocks a characteristic grey-beige hue, with a patina from five millennia of exposure to the elements and vegetation. The slabs that make up the monument, quarried from the naturally outcropping limestone banks on the surrounding causses, vary in thickness from 20 to 50 centimetres depending on their structural function. The roof table, the centrepiece of the building, probably covers several square metres and weighs several tonnes, a common feature of dolmens in the region. The whole structure originally rested on a mound of dry stone and earth, now largely levelled off, which protected the chamber and gave it the appearance of a mound visible in the landscape from a great distance. The orientation of the monument, as is often the case with Quercy dolmens, suggests that attention was paid to seasonal astronomical phenomena - equinoxes or solstices - although the partial deterioration of the original structures makes it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions without precise archaeological surveys. Nevertheless, the current state of preservation allows us to appreciate the constructive coherence of the whole, a remarkable testimony to the technical mastery of the Neolithic populations of Quercy.
Related Figures
Populations néolithiques du Quercy (3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs collectifs anonymes du monumentAbbé Caillau — érudit local du XIXe siècle ayant contribué à l'inventaire des mégalithes lotoisÉmile Cartailhac — préhistorien toulousain du XIXe siècle, pionnier de l'étude des mégalithes du Sud-OuestGabriel de Mortillet — archéologue français ayant établi la première classification des dolmens nationaux au XIXe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen du Mas de Labat located?
Dolmen du Mas de Labat is located in Cénevières, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
Is Dolmen du Mas de Labat open to visitors?
Dolmen du Mas de Labat is currently closed to visitors.
