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<< Our Photo Pages >> La Loge aux Sarrasins - Burial Chamber or Dolmen in France in Normandie:Calvados (14)

Submitted by TheCaptain on Friday, 28 September 2007  Page Views: 9772

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: La Loge aux Sarrasins Alternative Name: Dolmen du Mont Savarin, Dolmen de la Loge aux Sarrazins
Country: France Département: Normandie:Calvados (14) Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Nearest Town: Vire  Nearest Village: St-Germain-de-Tallevande
Latitude: 48.791210N  Longitude: 0.87407W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
2 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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TheCaptain visited on 9th Oct 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4 Having gone to Vire for a Vide Grenier and country show, persuaded Trevor and Sara to visit this stone for another look. Followed the same path as last time, and this time, once at the corner of the garden, the dolmen was clear to be seen in the back garden. At Last! Its a lovely looking little dolmen. I can only assume that last visit there was a shed in the way, preventing it being seen. To get a better view, went back to the cornfield, and walked along its edge and up along outside the garden. I noticed that a bit further to the west, behind the garage, there was a separate standing stone, a couple of metres tall.

TheCaptain couldn't find on 17th Apr 2005 Despite an accurate description of how to find this dolmen I could find nothing that looked like the picture from 1980. I did however find some large stones in about the right place a large single stone standing in the middle of the field and a couple of smaller ones with a small stone on top and a further large stone nearby. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong field but I think more likely is that this dolmen has recently been destroyed. A closer inspection of the photographs and I think that the large stone lying near the edge of the field might be the capstone from the dolmen upside down. A criminal shame that these things survive so long only to be destroyed in these modern times due to greed and laziness of a farmer. Later note. Having seen the 1:25000 ign map of the area the dolmen is marked in a field further to the north than where I was looking beside the farm buildings which begs the question of what are the stones I did find.

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95 : These photos were taken in 2007, in the garden of the owners. So it's a bit boring because you are in their propriety. I get there by the little path coming by la Chaudronniere. Site in Normandie:Calvados (14) France (Vote or comment on this photo)
A rare, and elusive simple dolmen, with a large capstone sitting on five supports, near to the village of Saint-Germain-de-Tallevende, just to the south of the town of Vire, in Normandy.

On my first visit to this, in April 2005, despite an accurate description of how to find this dolmen, and expecting it to be an easy find, I could find nothing that looked like the picture I had seen from 1980. Having later seen the 1:25000 ign map of the area the dolmen is marked in a field beside the farm buildings a bit further to the north than where I was looking.

I did however find some large stones in about the right place a large single stone standing in the middle of the field and a couple of smaller ones with a small stone on top and a further large stone nearby, which begs the question of what are the stones I did find.



Note: This rare Normandy dolmen becomes yet another French megalithic site which has now been seemingly fenced off from the public by new owners of an old farmhouse - including shutting of a GR footpath.
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la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : Through a gap in the hedge from the edge of the field of maize, the dolmen can be seen in its garden setting. (Vote or comment on this photo)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : With a bit of manoeuvering at the corner of the garden, and a telescopic lens, I could get this picture of the dolmen. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : Through a gap in the hedge from the edge of the field of maize, the dolmen can be seen in its garden setting. (Vote or comment on this photo)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : This time trying the edge of the field of maize, rather than the trackway, and lo and behold, the dolmen comes into sight through a gap in the hedge and a gateway. (Vote or comment on this photo)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : Out the back of the garage to the west of the dolmen is this standing stone

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95 : Site in Normandie:Calvados (14) France

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : Out the back of the garage to the west of the dolmen is this standing stone.

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : A field or so to the south of where la Loge aux Sarrasins is, I found these stones. Simple field clearance or something more significant ?

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : A field or so to the south of where la Loge aux Sarrasins is, I found these stones. Simple field clearance or something more significant ?

La Loge aux Sarrasins
La Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by thereddragon : Bulletin de la SOCIETE NORMANDE D'ETUDES PREHISTORIQUES Tome II 1894 Between p130 & p131 Diagram of the dolmen

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : Following the signed trackway, and eventually it leads to the corner of the garden I previously went to. But this time, the dolmen can be seen (I think an old shed between me and dolmen has been demolished). (1 comment)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by hrun95 : Site in Normandie:Calvados (14) France

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by TheCaptain : To the south of where la Loge aux Sarrasins is, I found this stone. This surely is not natural, and is something more significant.

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by thecaptain : Walking up the trackway, it can be seen that the old farmhouse has been bought by new owners, who are not only making the farm into a very big house, but have also completely blocked off the GR footpath, with lots of private and no entry signs. My best guess for the dolmen is that it is somewhere in the grounds of this house, and now fenced off from the public - the new owners not wanting anybo... (4 comments)

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by thecaptain : Not to be beaten, I drove round to where I had looked a couple of years ago. Right by the trackway to the farm, there is now a sign which was not there two years ago, and which indicates le dolmen, but which has been painted out, and also a no through way sign painted onto it.

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by thecaptain : We followed the track down to the little pond, but from there it bends round to the left, and doesn't go straight on as marked on the map, where there is a field of maize. After some looking around, I came to the conclusion that the dolmen is probably hidden somewhere in the maize field, or perhaps somewhere in the grounds of the new house at the top.

la Loge aux Sarrasins
la Loge aux Sarrasins submitted by thecaptain : Despite the overgrown signs, this looked all very promising, and that I could add this elusive, rare Normandy dolmen to my list !

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"La Loge aux Sarrasins" | Login/Create an Account | 8 News and Comments
  
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Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by thereddragon on Wednesday, 03 October 2012
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Bulletin de la SOCIETE NORMANDE D'ETUDES PREHISTORIQUES Tome II 1894
Between p130 & p131 Diagram of the dolmen and other stones.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by TheCaptain on Monday, 07 November 2011
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Attempt 3 (or is it 4?) to visit this dolmen, 9 October 2011.

Having gone to Vire for a horse and country show, afterwards went to visit this site for another look. Followed the same path as last time, and this time, once at the corner of the garden, the dolmen was clear to be seen in the back garden.

At Last! Its a lovely looking little dolmen. I can only assume that last visit there was a shed in the way, preventing it being seen. To get a better view, went back to the cornfield, and walked along its edge and up along outside the garden.

I noticed that a bit further to the west, behind the garage, there was a seperate standing stone, a couple of metres tall.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by Anonymous on Sunday, 03 July 2011
From hrun95

Le dolmen du Mont Savarin, ou Mont Savary, a pour nom la Loge aux Sarrazins. Il est en granit. Sa base se compose de quatre supports mais ne porte que sur trois. Une cinquième pierre située en avant indique qu'un vestibule se trouvait de ce côté. Les quatre supports mesurant 1m20 de hauteur sont profondément enfoncés dans le sol et forment un carré. La table mesurait primitivement 3m30 mais fut mutilée vers 1780.
Aujourd'hui, elle n'a plus que 3m sur 2m65 de largeur et environ 0m70 d'épaisseur. A l'intérieur, l'élévation du monument à partir du sol est de 2m. L'intérieur de la chambre mesure 1m80 sur 1m30. Il existait autour, du côté sud et ouest, des fossés couverts de grands arbres, au milieu desquels gisaient de grosses pierres. On les enleva vers 1820, on combla les fossés et le dolmen fut encore mutilé. Il ne dut sa conservation qu'à cause de l'abri qu'il donnait au berger de la ferme lorsqu'il gardait ses moutons. Toutefois, pour circuler plus facilement, ce dernier enleva encore un des supports de la chambre. Non loin, on découvrit vers 1810 un lot d'objets en bronze (Source: Mémoire des Antiquaires de Normandie, 1831-1832, page 407).

"The dolmen of Mont Savarin, or Mont Savary, is named la Loge aux Sarrazins. It is granite. Its base is made of four supports but is put only on three. A fifth stone ahead of it shows that a hall was in this side. The four supports measuring 1m20 high are deeply pushed in the soil and form a square. The capstone measured approximately 3m30 but was mutilated about 1780. Nowadays, it's only 3m by 2m65 wide and about 0m70 thick. Inside, the height of the monument above the ground is 2m. The inside of the chamber measures 1m80 on 1m30. There existed nearby, south and west sides, some ditches covered with great trees, with big stones in the middle of them. They had been taken over about 1820, the ditches were filled up and the dolmen was mutilated anew. It was saved just beacause of the shelter it gaves to the shepherd of the farm when he kept his sheep. However, to circulate more easily, this one took over anew one of the supports of the room. Nearby were discovered in about 1810 a lot of objects in bronze (Source: Mémoire des Antiquaires de Normandie, 1831-1832, page 407)".
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Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by Nick- on Saturday, 29 September 2007
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It was like that near Arles in April (2007), a dolmen marked on the map,
I tried approaching it by car and it was on private gated land,..... If one had the time (which I didn't), one could try different approaches to the site, via fields or woodland....

There's a bit of a problem with regards to the lesser known archaeological sites in France, to put it mildly... neglect ,ignorance, and a total lack of interest. The same thing applies to loads of isolated medieval churches, which are falling into ruin, (the money or interest just isn't there to restore them.....)



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Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by TheCaptain on Saturday, 29 September 2007
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Some pictures of this dolmen can be found here.

Clearly it is in the garden of the big house, and I can state that it must have been obscured from my view at the top of the track by something, as if it was as in these pictures, it would have been clearly visible. I seem to remember a shed with logs perhaps now being there.

I still can't believe I didn't get to see this one ! It must have been there in disguise !

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Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by Nick- on Friday, 28 September 2007
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They could get into trouble for that, especially if it is GR path. They also do have rights of way in France, but just don't mark them like the British do on their 1:25000 maps....(Wish they would!)
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Re: la Loge aux Sarrasins by TheCaptain on Friday, 28 September 2007
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After having found no megalithic things at all so far on my latest visit to Normandy, I decided to drive the hour down to Vire with my Dad, and have another look for this, now I know where it is. This was my banker for the trip, as it is clearly marked on the ign 1:25,000 map, and has a GR footpath running right past it.

The visit started off very well, and from the hamlet of La Chaudronniere, the dolmen is now signposted, both from the main road, and two signs at the end of the farm track. We followed the track down to the little pond, but from there it bends round to the left, and doesn't go straight on as marked on the map, where there is a field of maize.

A bit later, the track goes up to towards the top of the hill, but stops short of the back garden of a house, with lots of private, and no through way signs. There was nobody around to ask, and it looked like the house was being rebuilt to double the size. After some looking around, I came to the conclusion that the dolmen is probably hidden somewhere in the maize field, or perhaps somewhere in the grounds of the new house.

Not to be beaten so easily, I drove round to where I had looked a couple of years ago. Right by the trackway to the new house, there is now a sign which was not there two years ago, and which indicates le dolmen, which has been painted out, and also a no through way sign painted onto it. Walking up the trackway as far as possible, it can be seen that the old farmhouse has been bought by new owners, who are not only making the farm into a very big posh house, but they have also completely blocked off the GR footpath, with lots of private and no entry signs. How can they do this ?

My best guess for the dolmen is that it is somewhere in the grounds of this house, and now fenced off from the public - the new owners not wanting anybody passing by on the footpath or looking for the dolmen. This is not right !
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