Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval
MonumentHidden Treasure
Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval, located in Souillac (Département 46), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Souillac, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.9157, 1.4543
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00095264
A listed Neolithic site in Souillac, the Dolmen Laval reveals a collective burial chamber over 5,000 years old, a striking testimony to the burial rites of the first farmers in Quercy.
History
Nestling in the Quercy limestone plateaux near the medieval town of Souillac, the Dolmen Laval - also known as the Tumulus Laval - is one of the best-preserved megalithic monuments in the Lot département. This Neolithic collective burial site stands in a landscape of limestone and pubescent oak, an environment characteristic of the Quercy plateaux, giving it a timeless atmosphere conducive to meditation and archaeological meditation. What makes this site truly unique is the coexistence of two complementary architectural forms: a dolmenic structure - a dry stone chamber covered with a slab - set in a tumulus of earth and stones, a formula that reflects an elaborate collective burial tradition. Unlike isolated menhirs, this type of monument was a place where the dead were repeatedly laid to rest over several generations, a veritable communal 'house of the dead'. A visit to the Dolmen Laval offers an accessible and contemplative archaeological experience. The construction logic of the Neolithic builders is clearly visible: the choice of local limestone slabs, their arrangement to form a stable chamber, the raising of the tumulus to mark the monument in the landscape. Attentive visitors can see the scars left by earlier excavations, which yielded human bones and furniture characteristic of the Chassean or Epicardial culture typical of the southern Massif Central. The site's natural setting plays a key role in its appeal. The surrounding limestone lawns, dotted with wild orchids in spring, and the low-angled light at the end of the afternoon make the Dolmen Laval a photographic subject of great melancholic beauty, conveying the dizzying depth of time that separates its builders from our contemporary civilisations.
Architecture
The Dolmen Laval belongs to the family of mixed burials combining a dolmenic chamber and a burial mound, an architectural formula characteristic of the Middle Neolithic of the Quercy region. The burial chamber itself consists of several orthostats - large slabs standing vertically - made of Quercy limestone, topped by one or more horizontal cover slabs forming an enclosed space accessible via an entrance corridor generally facing east or south-east, depending on regional practice. The usable interior surface area of these chambers typically varies between two and six square metres for Quercy monuments from this period. The tumulus that surrounds and protects the dry stone structure is made up of a mound of earth mixed with local limestone gravel, the rounded, elongated profile of which is still partially visible in today's relief. This protective mantle, originally up to two or three metres high, played both a structural role - holding the orthostats in position - and a symbolic role - marking the monument in the open landscape of the causses. The materials used were exclusively local: the Bajocian or Bathonian limestone of the Quercy region, easily quarried into regular slabs thanks to the natural bedding of the rock, provided Neolithic builders with a material that was both abundant and workable with the flint and antler tools at their disposal. The absence of mortar or any artificial binder makes it all the more remarkable that these assemblages have stood the test of time for over fifty centuries.
Related Figures
Populations néolithiques chasséennes du Quercy (bâtisseurs du monument, IVe-IIIe millénaire av. J.-C.)Érudits locaux du XIXe siècle (premiers inventaires archéologiques des mégalithes lotois)Abbé Audierne (préhistorien quercynois du XIXe siècle, pionnier de l'inventaire des dolmens du Lot)Direction régionale des Affaires culturelles de Midi-Pyrénées (acteur du classement MH de 1984)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval located?
Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval is located in Souillac, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
Is Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval open to visitors?
Sépulture collective dénommée Dolmen Laval ou Tumulus Laval is currently closed to visitors.
