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Croix St Pierre east
Trip No.203 Entry No.6 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Croix St Pierre east submitted by thecaptain on 23rd Nov 2005. Croix St Pierre north and south dolmens can be seen in the background of this picture amongst the long grass, with in the foreground the simpler and smaller burial chamber.
I think these three structures were once in a single long mound, but I may be wrong, and perhaps they were once in seperate individual round mounds.
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Log Text: A large long mound with two large dolmenic chambers within it opening to the side and also a smaller one near one end. This has been excavated and restored in 1990/91 and was dated to 3500 to 4000 BC. As with all of these chambers it is fenced off to keep the masses out.
Château Bû
Trip No.203 Entry No.5 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4
Château Bû submitted by thecaptain on 22nd Nov 2005. Château Bû, part of the St Just megalithic wonderworld.
A chambered tumulus with a stone circle on the top and also 3 or 4 large white menhirs.
Most strange. Like nothing I have seen before at all. Sort of like three or four monuments in one all on top of each other.
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Log Text: This is now fenced off to prevent the massive erosion which was happening but clearly visible although becoming a little overgrown. Just what the heck is it ? A chambered tumulus with entrance to the east but with a stone circle on the top and also 3 or more large white menhirs. Most strange. Like nothing I have seen before at all. Sort of like three or four monuments in one all on top of each other.
Demoiselles Piquées
Trip No.203 Entry No.4 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Demoiselles Piquées submitted by greywether on 27th Jun 2005. Showing all three stones.
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Log Text: Three large white quartz menhirs one now fallen. The stone of the westernmost menhir is a really lovely thing with all sorts of coloured patterns and swirls within it.
Alignements du Moulin W
Trip No.203 Entry No.3 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Alignements du Moulin W submitted by TheCaptain on 13th Apr 2011. The third row I found consists of about 5 white quartz blocks to the west of the ends of the two main rows and running in a north south direction.
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Log Text: There are two long roughly parallel lines running east west with a third less well defined row to the southwest running in a north south direction. The first row reached is the northernmost and consists of at least 14 large white quartz blocks with a few grey stones in it as well with an alignment of 099°. One of the large stones towards the western end has been used at some later stage as a part of a burial chamber with at least two burial cists to be seen adjacent to it.
Just to the south of this row is another row, with an alignment of 111° but this time consisting of taller thinner stones of various types and colours, which get bigger in size towards the middle where the row runs over a cairn and then get smaller again. The stones start off about a metre high but the stones in the middle are up to 5 metres tall. These central stones alternate between white blocks and black blocks of stone with various other colours and shapes being mixed in as well. I absolutely love this row. It is completely bonkers. So weird. The whole place is odd and not like anything else I have seen. Large white blocks and tall thin black stones. All mixed up and running across this ridge.
The third row I found consists of about 5 white quartz blocks to the west of the ends of the two main rows and running in a north south direction. I am not sure if this is the third row considered to be a part of these same alignments. All three rows appear to converge on a point to the northwest. They have started to clear the gorse away from these stones and I disturbed a large vividly coloured green lizard at one point here.
Alignements du Moulin S
Trip No.203 Entry No.2 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5
Alignements du Moulin N submitted by thecaptain on 22nd Nov 2005. St Just megalithic wonderworld. The Alignements du Moulin north row, looking east.
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Log Text: There are two long roughly parallel lines running east west with a third less well defined row to the southwest running in a north south direction. The first row reached is the northernmost and consists of at least 14 large white quartz blocks with a few grey stones in it as well with an alignment of 099°. One of the large stones towards the western end has been used at some later stage as a part of a burial chamber with at least two burial cists to be seen adjacent to it.
Just to the south of this row is another row, with an alignment of 111° but this time consisting of taller thinner stones of various types and colours, which get bigger in size towards the middle where the row runs over a cairn and then get smaller again. The stones start off about a metre high but the stones in the middle are up to 5 metres tall. These central stones alternate between white blocks and black blocks of stone with various other colours and shapes being mixed in as well. I absolutely love this row. It is completely bonkers. So weird. The whole place is odd and not like anything else I have seen. Large white blocks and tall thin black stones. All mixed up and running across this ridge.
The third row I found consists of about 5 white quartz blocks to the west of the ends of the two main rows and running in a north south direction. I am not sure if this is the third row considered to be a part of these same alignments. All three rows appear to converge on a point to the northwest. They have started to clear the gorse away from these stones and I disturbed a large vividly coloured green lizard at one point here.
Alignements du Moulin N
Trip No.203 Entry No.1 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35))
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5
Alignements du Moulin N submitted by thecaptain on 22nd Nov 2005. St Just megalithic wonderworld. The Alignements du Moulin north row, looking east.
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Log Text: There are two long roughly parallel lines running east west with a third less well defined row to the southwest running in a north south direction. The first row reached is the northernmost and consists of at least 14 large white quartz blocks with a few grey stones in it as well with an alignment of 099°. One of the large stones towards the western end has been used at some later stage as a part of a burial chamber with at least two burial cists to be seen adjacent to it.
Just to the south of this row is another row, with an alignment of 111° but this time consisting of taller thinner stones of various types and colours, which get bigger in size towards the middle where the row runs over a cairn and then get smaller again. The stones start off about a metre high but the stones in the middle are up to 5 metres tall. These central stones alternate between white blocks and black blocks of stone with various other colours and shapes being mixed in as well.
I absolutely love this row. It is completely bonkers. So weird. The whole place is odd and not like anything else I have seen. Large white blocks and tall thin black stones. All mixed up and running across this ridge.
The third row I found consists of about 5 white quartz blocks to the west of the ends of the two main rows and running in a north south direction. I am not sure if this is the third row considered to be a part of these same alignments. All three rows appear to converge on a point to the northwest. They have started to clear the gorse away from these stones and I disturbed a large vividly coloured green lizard at one point here.
Le Wuy Menhir
Trip No.212 Entry No.17 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Normandie:Seine-Maritime (76))
Visited: Yes on 27th Dec 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Le Wuy Menhir submitted by theCaptain on 1st Jan 2014. Described as a menhir, this site is more likely the remains of a burial chamber of some sort, which has been largely destroyed by agriculture.
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Log Text: Described as a menhir, this site is the remains of a burial chamber of some sorts, which has been largely destroyed by agriculture. The remains I found consist of one large standing stone, about 2 m width and just over a metre in height. Its a lovely slab of sarsen like stone, which is all smooth on the southern face, but all lumpy and holed on the northern face, as sarsen often is. Beside this stone is another slab of sarsen flat to the ground.
I am sure this is not a menhir as described, but a remaining slab from a burial chamber of some sort, whether a side slab or end slab is not clear. It is possible that this stone is not in its original position, but has been moved here to help clear the fields for ploughing.
Pierre Trouée de l'allée couverte d'Aizier
Trip No.212 Entry No.18 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 27th Dec 2012. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5
Pierre Trouée de l'allée couverte d'Aizier submitted by theCaptain on 30th Dec 2012. This wonderful holed stone is today found nicely presented just outside the little church of the village of Aizier, right on the banks of the River Seine. The stone is the portholed entry stone from a now destroyed allée couverte, destroyed during the making of a road.
The stone is about 1.7 metres tall and wide, thickness 22 cm, but the important dimension is that of the circular hole, which is diameter 47 cm, and yes, I did manage to crawl through it!
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Log Text: This wonderful holed stone is today found nicely presented (since 1976) just outside the little church of the village of Aizier, right on the banks of the River Seine not too far upstream from the Tancarville Bridge, a few miles inland from Le Havre.
The stone is the remains of the portholed entry stone from a now destroyed allée couverte, which was destroyed during the making of the road to Bourneville sometime in the 19th century. The stone is about 1.7 metres tall and wide, with thickness 22 cm, but the important dimension is that of the circular hole, which is of diameter 47 cm, and yes, I did manage to crawl through it!
This type of allée couverte was fairly common in this region, and dates to the final neolithic, -3500 BC to -2800 BC.
Allée Couverte de Mauny
Trip No.202 Entry No.96 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave
Country: France (Normandie:Seine-Maritime (76))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 3
Allée Couverte de Mauny submitted by TheCaptain on 6th May 2005. Mauny Allée Couverte, Eure.
Almost lost in the woods, there is however a very nice half porthole stone which can still be made out.
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Log Text: A much ruined allée couverte which can be found in woodland beside the D265 road as it climbs the hill from the riverbank below and to the east of Mauny. Almost lost in the woods and currently being used as a junk store it almost looks like its been bulldozed. There is however a very nice half porthole stone which can still be made out. The main chamber is probably about 10 metres long 1.5 metres wide and faces down the valley but most of the remaining stone slabs are just a jumble. Its very much in need of some TLC.
Vielle Cote Dolmen
Trip No.202 Entry No.95 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave
Country: France (Ile-de-France:Val-d'Oise (95))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3
Vielle Cote Dolmen submitted by thecaptain on 23rd Oct 2005. Vielle Cote Dolmen
A much ruined trench grave about 10 metres in length.
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Log Text: A much ruined trench grave about 10 metres long and 2 metres wide with an orientation of 292° looking down the hill can be found dug into the hillside in a field of crops along a lane at the top of a ridge about 400 metres south from the little lane which climbs eastwards from the village. Although marked on my ign map there are no signs or any other items to suggest its presence. Parking is available at the junction of the lane and track.
Allée Couverte de Dampsmesnil
Trip No.202 Entry No.94 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Allée Couverte de Dampsmesnil submitted by TheCaptain on 6th May 2005. A picture of the female figure stone carving at the entrance to Dampsmesnil Allée Couverte, Eure, France.
Difficult to make out in the picture, but the necklaces and breasts are clear enough.
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Log Text: It’s easy enough to find the pathway that leads into the woods to this its signed allée couverte from several places from several miles around. However the tiny roads with cropped fields make it almost impossible to park anywhere (certainly a camper van) so it was a long walk. From the lane where the signposted track ascends into the woods its about a half kilometre walk following the main trackway up and keeping left. There is another little sign at a junction of woodland tracks where you turn left and about a further 100 metres along is this nice trench grave along with a little notice board which states that its over 4000 years old and gives descriptions of the various features. When you get there it’s a bit of a corker although falling into disrepair and in need of some affection.
The main chamber is about 10 metres long cut 2 metres deep into the hillside on an orientation of 218° looking down into the valley. There are three massive capstones each more than 3 metres long still in place and the remains of 2 more on this 2 metre wide Allée. The walls consist of large upright slabs with drystone walling between them and the whole thing ends with a massive block at the north-eastern end.
What makes this place a bit special are two features not often found elsewhere. The most obvious is the remains of the lower half of the entrance stone positioned across the chamber with it’s finely cut circular porthole entrance. The top half of the stone is missing but there is enough left to see the fine work which went into creating this entrance. It is very circular with a diameter of about 50 cm made using not just a single cut through the thick stone but a sort of double circular stepped and lipped edge.
The other special feature of this grave is found on the stone just outside the main chamber on the left hand side in front of the porthole stone and with half a capstone sat on it. On this stone has been carved the likeness of a lady (or goddess) and her two breasts can clearly be made out (although in some distant time her left one has been largely hammered away) above which are the remains of four arcs representing necklaces. I thought I could also make out some of her outline and a representation of a belt or other such item. Much of this stone is very worn and indeed I guess its only survived at all due to the presence of the half capstone and I think it said on the notice board that her face could be made out in the past. I wonder who it was.
A few other stones lie scattered about including what was probably one of the capstones which has been removed and lies partway down a steep slope several yards in front of the grave behind the notice board.
After visiting this monument I saw another one marked nearby on the map so set off to look for that. Unfortunately there was a little old narrow bridge between the two places and although my van fitted on to the bridge easily enough I had a lot of trouble getting off the other side and there was no way I was going to be able to reverse back off. After about 6 or 7 attempts to get between the protective bollards in the roadside presumably put there to protect the much wider bridge with a few scrapes down the side of my van and a broken sidelight I had discovered that the gap between the bollards was only an inch wider than the width of my van. I was obviously getting too confident about driving it around all these narrow places and will have to take more care in future.
Menhir dit Gravier de Gargantua (Chateau-Neuf)
Trip No.202 Entry No.93 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005
Menhir dit Gravier de Gargantua (Chateau-Neuf) submitted by thecaptain on 23rd Oct 2005. The Gravier de Gargantua is a big (3.5 metre tall, 2.5 m wide, 0.5 m thick) flinty chalky lump standing beside the road, near the village of Port-Mort in Eure
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Log Text: A big (3.5 metre tall 2.5 m wide 0.5 m thick) flinty chalky lump stood right beside the roadside in a little fenced enclosure. It was moved here when the road was widened and a metre or so was broken off the top while doing so.
St-Etienne-du-Vouvray burial chamber
Trip No.202 Entry No.92 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005. My rating: Condition -1
St-Etienne-du-Vouvray burial chamber submitted by theCaptain on 14th Jan 2011. any remains of this once fine trench grave, similar to Dampsnesnil, are now underneath the railway line.
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Log Text: There are no remains of this gallery grave as it is destroyed and underneath the railway line. It was once a fine trench grave like Dampsnesnil and had many finds.
Saint-Etienne-du-Vauvray Menhir
Trip No.202 Entry No.91 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 4th May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5
Saint-Etienne-du-Vauvray menhir submitted by thecaptain on 23rd Oct 2005. Saint-Etienne-du-Vauvray menhir, 3.5 metrws tall.
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Log Text: About a 3.5 metre tall menhir found right beside the roadside between St Etienne and Louviers. Once the road is found the menhir is easy ! The menhir has been moved from its original position which was where the railway now is on the other side of the road.
Dolmen de la Ferme Brûlée
Trip No.202 Entry No.82 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Centre:Eure-et-Loire (28))
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2005
Dolmen de la Ferme Brûlée submitted by thecaptain on 10th Nov 2005. La Ferme Brûlée dolmen.
Just to the south of Fort Harrouard neolithic settlement, on the banks of the river Eure, is another of these dolmens inside a private garden with lots of keep out signs and security fences. However, it can be seen over the gate, down at the end of the driveway.
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Log Text: Down by the banks of the river Eure are marked on my map a dolmen and polissoir. I couldn’t park close so parked and walked back from some distance away during which time I got soaked by a torrential downpour. I eventually found a house called Le Dolmen but with lots of keep out signs and security devices. Down the far end of the driveway I could see the dolmen and managed a long distance photo of it part hidden by a van. There was no way I could get any sight of the polissoir which was a shame.
La Pierre Courcoulée (Ventes)
Trip No.202 Entry No.79 Date Added: 30th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
La Pierre Courcoulée (Ventes) submitted by thecaptain on 19th Oct 2005. La Pierre Courcoulée, which can be found in the forest near to the village of Les Ventes, in Eure.
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Log Text: This dolmen consists of a giant flinty puddingstone capstone sitting on 4 support stones with a couple more fallen inside. The capstone is about 4 metres by 2.5 metres and well over a metre thick.
It is marked on my ign map but there are no signposts at all on the face of the world. Park where the road from the village of Ventes meets the D60 at Le Haut Bois – there’s plenty of space just to the west of the road at a big entrance area to the forest. Do not walk straight into the forest but take the track to the left (southeast) behind the houses. I just followed this track for about half a mile following my nose at each of the junctions and found the dolmen easily enough. Perhaps some unknown power was guiding me after all my recent failures. After my visit just after I got back into my campervan the heavens opened up and there was a massive thunderstorm. Somebody is on my side today.
La Grosse Pierre (Verneusses)
Trip No.202 Entry No.76 Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5
La Grosse Pierre (Verneusses) submitted by thecaptain on 11th Nov 2005. La Grosse Pierre (Verneusses). A nice dolmen largely made from the most wonderful puddingstone slabs.
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Log Text: A nice simple dolmen right beside the lane just to the east of the hamlet of Verneusses. The large capstone is 4 m by 3.5 m on top of 6 upright support stones. The capstone and one of the upright stones are made from a strange stony conglomerate which has lots of flints in it on one side only. Apparently this dolmen was restored badly nearly two hundred years ago.
Dolmen de la Pierre Couplée
Trip No.202 Entry No.75 Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4
Dolmen de la Pierre Couplée submitted by thecaptain on 11th Nov 2005. La Pierre Couplée, Ferté Frênel, is a poor broken and mistreated dolmen, barely left with enough room to survive in its ploughed field.
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Log Text: The remains of this dolmen are now within a ploughed field just to the northwest of the village of Ferté Frêsnel on the road to Bocquencé. There is a small signpost to the dolmen but as seems almost always in these parts there is nowhere at all to park.
The dolmen is now very badly looked after ploughed right up to the edges and indeed hit with the machinery in one or two places and covered in muck from muckspreading. The large broken capstone is 4 m by 3 m and there are three collapsed support slabs.
Dolmen de la Forge
Trip No.202 Entry No.77 Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Eure (27))
Visited: Yes on 3rd May 2005
Dolmen de la Forge submitted by thecaptain on 6th Nov 2005. Dolmen de la Forge, Rugles.
This dolmen was a nightmare to find. It took me 3 or 4 attempts to negotiate the one way system in the town before finding the right road alongside the river. Then, after I eventually found somewhere to park and walked back about a kilometre, the dolmen was nigh on impossible to spot.
But it is there in a very private garden with double barbed wire fences, a large hedge and guard dogs.
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Log Text: Having failed to find this after several attempts yesterday, the next day I checked out the position of this dolmen on the ign 1:25000 map in the supermarket and it looked simple to find so thought I’d have another go. Its north of the town on the little road that runs on the west side of the Risle river. Just past the hamlet of La Forge it should be between the very small road and the river.
After I eventually found somewhere to park and walked back about a kilometre the dolmen is nigh on impossible to spot. But there it is in a very private garden with double barbed wire fences a large hedge and guard dogs the dolmen can be spotted through the trees about 70 metres away from the road.
Getting a picture is a different matter! It looks a bit like the one at Verneusses with a large capstone on several supports.
Dolmen du Jarrier
Trip No.202 Entry No.72 Date Added: 29th Mar 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Normandie:Orne (61))
Visited: Yes on 2nd May 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3
Dolmen du Jarrier submitted by TheCaptain on 10th May 2005. Dolmen du Jarrier, Saint Sulpice-sur-Risle, Orne.
The dolmen can just be seen hiding under the hedge across the field. Typical for this region there is nowhere to park, and of course, no signs to signify its presence.
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Log Text: A mile or so south of the village centre across both the river and railway on the road to Anglure. The dolmen can be found just before (north of) a crossroads at the top of the hill about 40 metres to the west of the road in a well protected field right under a hedge. It consists of a large capstone resting on four uprights. Typical for this region there is nowhere to park and of course no signs to signify its presence.