Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs
MonumentHidden Treasure
Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs, located in Averdon (Loir-et-Cher), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Averdon, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6609, 1.2938
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098330
In the heart of the Beauce region of Vendôme, the Neolithic site of Averdon brings together burial mounds and standing menhirs, fascinating witnesses to the first builders of the Loire Valley, and is listed as a Historic Monument.
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History
Hidden away in the gently rolling landscape of the Loir-et-Cher region, the Averdon tumuli and menhirs are one of the most discreet and moving examples of megalithic architecture in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Far from the tourist crowds of the major sites in Brittany and Maine, this site offers an intimate, silent encounter with the civilisations who, five or six millennia before our era, were already shaping this land, imprinting on it their vision of the world and the sacred. The site combines two types of monument characteristic of the Neolithic period: tumuli, artificial mounds of earth and stone erected to bury the dead of eminent rank, and two menhirs, standing monoliths whose function remains a subject of debate among archaeologists to this day. Their coexistence on the same plot of land suggests a space that was both funerary and ritual, probably frequented over several generations by agro-pastoral communities of the Middle and Final Neolithic. The visitor experience is that of open-air archaeology, with no staging or intermediaries: they are confronted with structures that time and vegetation have partially covered, requiring particular attention to perceive the topography. It is precisely this sobriety that makes the site so prized - an invitation to the imagination as much as to historical reflection. The hedged farmland surrounding the plot is a reminder of the ancestral vocation of this land in the Loir-et-Cher region, which has been farmed without interruption since the Neolithic period. The commune of Averdon, a modest village just a few kilometres from Vendôme, has preserved a heritage of rare temporal depth in its grounds, which has been protected as a Historic Monument since 1975.
Architecture
The Averdon site features Neolithic architecture typical of the Centre-Val de Loire region, combining two complementary types of megalithic structure. The tumuli - the exact number of which on the site remains to be determined by systematic excavation - are oval or circular mounds made from a pile of earth, gravel and limestone blocks extracted from local formations. Their residual height, now reduced by ploughing and erosion over the millennia, could initially have exceeded two to three metres, topping dry-stone chambers used for successive collective burials. The two menhirs are the most visible feature of the site. Carved from local limestone or sandstone in the megalithic tradition of the Vendôme region, these upright monoliths probably have slightly tapered profiles towards the top, in keeping with the classic morphology of menhirs in the Loire Basin. Their relative position - one in relation to the other and to the tumuli - could reflect a logic of astronomical orientation, particularly towards the sunrises or sunsets of the solstices, a characteristic frequently observed on similar sites in the region. The plot as a whole forms a coherent monumental space, but the surface remains only partially legible, with herbaceous and shrubby vegetation masking some of the structures. The lack of exhaustive excavations suggests that the subsoil preserves some movable remains (lithic tools, ceramics, bones) that would enable us to better date and contextualise each of the site's architectural components.
Related Figures
Populations néolithiques du Loir-et-Cher (Ve-IIIe millénaire av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs anonymes du siteÉrudits de la Société Archéologique du Vendômois (XIXe siècle) — premiers recenseurs scientifiques des mégalithes du départementInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1975) — acteurs du classement protecteur du site
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs located?
Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs is located in Averdon, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Is Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs open to visitors?
Parcelle contenant des tumuli et deux menhirs is currently closed to visitors.