La Pierre Levée (Brantôme)

Trip No.203  Entry No.59  Date Added: 5th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 17th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This dolmen stands on a sort of village green thing just on the eastern outskirts of the delightful old town of Brantôme about 50 metres north of the D78 road. A single large capstone about 4 metres by 2 metres sits on 3 (or is it 4) support stones with the help of some modern building work about 2 metres off the ground. A couple of other stones remain fallen or broken nearby.

La Pierre Levée (Chapelle-Vendômoise)

Trip No.204  Entry No.296  Date Added: 11th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Loire-et-Cher (41))
Visited: Yes on 9th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Well, thank goodness I didn't totally give up earlier, and came to find this. What a nice find. This is signposted and in a nicely tended little area just south of the village of Chapelle-Vendômoise, just off the busy D.957 road to the northwest of the town of Blois. The road here is a very busy dual carriageway, but there is a little dolmen rest area, from where the dolmen itself is about a 100 metre walk, or alternatively you can drive almost right to it along a little side road.

This is a classic Angevin dolmen made using nice big limestone slabs, and is still almost complete. I do not know whether it has been restored or not, but I am tempted to think that it has. The main chamber is about 5 metres by 3 metres internal dimensions, and 1.3 metres high. Each side has two supports, and there is one large backstone, and it is topped with two large capstones. At the front end, facing to 085° is a classic Angevin porched entry with two stones at the front of the chamber, two entrance stones and a porch capstone, which is all very nicely proportioned. There is also a doorway blocking stone, which may once have had some sort of entry cutting.

There are two minor downsides to this place. Firstly the noise and traffic on the nearby road, and secondly the trees planted around it, making photographs difficult, although they provide some nice shade, and have no doubt protected the dolmen from the plough.

La Pierre Levée (Echauffour)

Trip No.202  Entry No.69  Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: About half a kilometre south of the village of Echauffour can be seen in a field to the east of the road the remains of a dolmen of which a large capstone can be seen resting on some uprights.

I could find nowhere to stop nearby so I parked some distance away and walked to try and get a closer look. This is a nasty busy road with lots of lorries thundering past and I found no way into the field and only got a couple of distant shots. I hate the smell of rapeseed and it brings on my asthma but the yellow flowers of it in a distant field made a reasonable background to the pictures helping the stones stand out against their surroundings.

La Pierre Levée (Graçay)

Trip No.205  Entry No.266  Date Added: 13th Dec 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Cher (18))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 27th Sep 2005

Log Text: Just to the south of the D.68 road between Graçay and Nohant-en-Graçay, near to the hamlet of Les Villaines can be seen the remains of this dolmen, about 100 metres from the road in a field. When I was here, the field had been recently planted, so I did not venture any nearer to the dolmen. It was hard to make out any details, but one capstone can be seen to be still raised above the ground on its supports.

La Pierre Levée (Oleron)

Trip No.203  Entry No.248  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente-Maritime (17))
Visited: Couldn't find on 4th Jun 2005

Log Text: I looked all around the Pierre Levée farm, but could see nothing obvious, so I asked. I was told that there was once a dolmen here, but that it had been destroyed, and nothing remains of it today.

La Pierre Levée (Sablonceaux)

Trip No.203  Entry No.242  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente-Maritime (17))
Visited: Yes on 4th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Signposted from the D.XXX road to Sablonceaux, this dolmen is about a kilometre walk along a track through the forest, but there are no more signs and it’s a guess as to which way to go at several junctions. I kept to the biggest track at each option, and eventually there it was to the right of the pathway. It has a little noticeboard, but there is not much more to see, just a pile of three stones in a little hollow. While I was here, the area around the dolmen was absolutely teeming with masses of little jumping spiders !

La Pierre Levée (Silly)

Trip No.202  Entry No.67  Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: To the southeast of the village of Silly-en-Gouffern and just inside the Forêt-de-Petite-Gouffern can be found this enormous menhir about 40 metres from the roadside. It is more than 6 metres tall and several metres wide with its thickness less than a metre. And the top two metres have been broken off !

When I was here I found nowhere to park a camper van and the stone seemed to be located well within a private area with no direct access.

La Pierre Martine

Trip No.203  Entry No.136  Date Added: 10th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Midi:Lot (46))
Visited: Yes on 24th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Well, I had to come here, didn’t I. It is signposted from the main road, and places all around, to the northwest of the village of Livernon. It has its own little parking area, and the dolmen is found about 200 metres walk away across the fields and an intriguing limestone pavement.

This is the biggest dolmen in the departement of Lot, the capstone being 7 metres in length and 2 metres wide, held up on just two, equally long sideslabs, helped out these days by two concrete pillars, one at each end. The capstone is now broken in two pieces, and before it broke, it used to rock on top of its supports with just the gentlest of persuasion. The main chamber is at the eastern end of the monument, while at the western end there is a blocking stone and what seems to be a side entry from the south. The chamber is aligned eastwards on 093°.

La Pierre Percée (La Chapelle-Basse-Mer)

Trip No.204  Entry No.63  Date Added: 16th Jul 2020
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Loire-Atlantique)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jul 2005. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I dont know whether there ever was an ancient menhir here, but today there is a modern sculpture of a woman looking out over the Loire, with a hole of course, and its rather nice.

La Pierre Pointue (Montacher)

Trip No.204  Entry No.234  Date Added: 5th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Yonne (89))
Visited: Yes on 5th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: A few kilometres to the south of the village of Montacher-Villegardin via windy unmarked roads, and about a kilometre walk to the west of the little road which runs south from the village, along farm tracks and you can find this menhir in a field. It is about 2.3 metres tall, and very pointed as its name would suggest. Around the stone are lots more rocks, whether broken from it or field clearance I cannot say.

La Pierre qui Tourne (Morancez)

Trip No.204  Entry No.265  Date Added: 11th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Eure-et-Loire (28))
Visited: Yes on 8th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Not much more than a pile of stones, La Pierre qui Tourne, or Morancez dolmen can be found amongst the houses of Residence du Dolmen, just off the main D.935 road through the village, a bit to the north of the church. I suspect the locals think of it as a bit of a nuisance, getting in the way of the road and car parking.

It was obviously once very large, the capstone remains here on the ground at 7 metres long by 4 metres wide, with a few other bits of stone standing nearby.

While I was here, there were several young children playing on it, who were very inquisitive as to what I was doing there, and why I couldn't speak properly !

La Pierre qui Vire (Rochepot)

Trip No.204  Entry No.208  Date Added: 27th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bourgogne:Côte-d'Or (21))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: High up on the ridge to the south of the village of Rochepot, with its fantastic chateau and well known wines, can be found this stone which turns. There's not much left to see, except the big capstone which is sort of triangular shaped, 4 metres by 3 metres. There are traces of a mound, and a chamber underneath, but nothing really substantial remains.

There are supposedly several dolmens and an allee couverte in the Rochepot community, but if this is the only one on the maps, I doubt I will find any of the others, so decide to give up now on looking for more.

La Pierre Sorcière

Trip No.204  Entry No.291  Date Added: 11th Sep 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Centre:Loire-et-Cher (41))
Visited: Yes on 9th Aug 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: I have seen this referred to as both a dolmen and a polissoir, and can be found by the roadside just outside the village of Villiersfaux, and signposted from the Mairie. It is a big 5 m by 3 m lump of puddingstone, with a few other stones around and about it. It may well be the capstone of a collapsed dolmen, but on the top it has clearly been used as a polissoir stone. There are at the south end a couple of small grooves, and a couple of flats. This is not overly impressive, but its certainly here, and findable, unlike lots round here.

La Pierre Tournoire, La Courbe

Trip No.202  Entry No.61  Date Added: 28th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Marked on one of my maps as a menhir and another as a dolmen I have no reason to believe there are not the remains of both somewhere in the vicinity as well as an Iron Age encampment. What I found was a single stone standing on the ridge of a promontory overlooking the river Orne.

It's about 1.5 metres tall and made of a funny crumbly orangey sandstone full of holes. There was lots of other loose stone around its base probably fallen from the disintegrating menhir which is 1.5 metres wide at its base and about 0.7 m thick.

La Pierre-Aux-Sorcières

Trip No.204  Entry No.223  Date Added: 4th Sep 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bourgogne:Yonne (89))
Visited: Couldn't find on 4th Aug 2005

Log Text: La Pierre-Aux-Sorcières, or La Pierre-Enlevée is to be found in the community of Vaumort. I'd have liked to have found the Witch's stone, but I don’t have a map with it marked on, and there are no signs or notices in the village to help. Shame.

La Pierre-des-Fievres

Trip No.204  Entry No.198  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Haute-Loire (43))
Visited: Yes on 28th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Access 4

Log Text: The Cathedral of Puy-en-Velay is said to be built on the site of an ancient dolmen, part of which is still in existance as La Pierre des Fievres which is kept and presented near to one of the entrances. It is said that this stone is a part of the coverstone for the dolmen which stood in this sacred place for thousands of years before the coming of Christianity. It is believed that the dolmen was complete until the 9th century, when it was broken by a bolt of lightning, but that the Pilgrims to this place ensured that a part of it was kept here. The stone is highly venerated, and many miracles are attributed to it, including many which involve curing fever, after which it is named. For many years the stone was kept within the Cathedral, but then was put in a place outside so that ill people could have easier access to touch it. To this day, the Cathedral and a dolmen are a symbol of this town of Pilgrimmage, which is an important stopping place on the way of St James.

La Pierre-Folle allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.104  Date Added: 3rd Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 17th Jul 2005

Log Text: To the north of Bournand, but in a very vaguely marked place on my map, is marked the Pierre Folle allée couverte. In the village of Bournand, there is a sign pointing to the Pierre Folle, but as is often the case, there are no more signs later, and try as I might, without a detailed map I could not find this. After my failed visit, I found out that it is an 18 metre long allée couvert, on inaccessible private land within a Renaissance Lodge. It is said to be a superb megalithic monument.

La Pierre-Levée (Poitiers)

Trip No.204  Entry No.149  Date Added: 17th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Yes on 20th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Leaving a major shopping complex having been to buy a new camera, I saw a sign to dolmen, so just followed the signs. Past the Gymnasium de dolmen, past a school and along Rue du Dolmen, and there it is. This suburban dolmen is in a little well tended garden park area amongst the houses in southeastern Poitiers. It has a rectangular chamber about 4 m by 2 m and a large capstone sat on several supports along the south side, but fallen to the ground at the northern side. What a strange place to find something like this.

La Pierre-Levée de Maisonneuve

Trip No.204  Entry No.114  Date Added: 4th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Vienne (86))
Visited: Couldn't find on 18th Jul 2005

Log Text: This is marked on my ign 1:100,000 map, but down a dead end lane into a forest southeast of Loudun. I had a good look round, but there were no signs or anything, and in the thick bushy forest I didn't really stand a chance.

La Pointe de l'Herbaudière dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.291  Date Added: 24th Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Pays de la Loire:Vendée (85))
Visited: Couldn't find on 7th Jun 2005

Log Text: I camped for the night at the large campsite which now occupies most of the northern point of the Ile Noirmoutiers, but could find no signs of any dolmen. The chap running the campsite said he had no knowledge of any dolmen there. There are however, lots of concrete bunkers, blockhouses and gun emplacements, no doubt built by the Germans in World War 2 as part of the Atlantic defenses. These have no doubt been built on and destroyed any dolmen which might once have been here.

There was a fantastic sunset over the sea and smaller offshore islands from here, with many lighthouses flashing away at various points all around. The swallows flying around here are amazing, into and out of the bunkers, swooping low over the grasslands and in and out of the little cliff faces. Wish I could fly like them. Then the bats came out to play. What a lovely place.