L'Usteau du Loup

Trip No.204  Entry No.196  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 27th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of St-Gervazy, near to the hamlet of Unsac, can be found the remains of this fine dolmen, perhaps the largest in the region, and which is signposted from nearby. On a little granite outcrop, near to the village sports ground, surrounded by high hills, it sits under an oak tree.

The chamber is rectangular, 5 metres long by 3 metres wide, is constructed with three granite side slabs each side, and opens to the east. There is in place one very large backstone, along with one smaller one. Unfortunately there are no capstones in place, although one lays fallen behind the chamber with another one nearby. The dolmen would have been almost tall enough to stand up in, and is much larger than any other dolmens I have seen round here.

This is a fine place for a wolf to live, and there are many legends and stories associated to the place. This is also a megalithic monument which has been used for thousands of years, and was used until recently as a sort of changing room for the village football team which plays on the nearby sports field !

Menhir dit Pierre Fichade

Trip No.204  Entry No.195  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 27th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The Pierre Fichade at Champeix is a pleasant menhir, about 4 metres tall and which can be found in a field to the south of the D.28 road between Ludesse and Champeix. It is easily visible from the road, and can be visited via a couple of farm tracks. There are signposts to it along the local footpaths, and in fact it is signposted from the village of Champeix.

Cournols allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.190  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of the village of Cournols, and on a signposted walk from there, can be found the remains of this curious dolmen. Excavated in 1841, various things were found which are now in the Clermont Ferrand museum. Said to be an allée couverte, its not much like any other allée couvertes I have seen!

It looks more to me like a sort of double dolmen, with two chambers beside one another, both about 3.5 by 2 metres in dimension, and rectangular. The entrance would have been from the east, and central to the two chambers. The back stones at the west and the southern side stones are all still in place, with various other bits and pieces of support stones. Only one broken capstone remains in place, but until fairly recently this was two capstones, with three present in 1835. There are bits and pieces of much broken stone laying around beside it.

The dolmen is now in a little country park area, with a sign, in a region of granite outcrops high above the gorge of the Monne river. Strangely, it also has a football pitch.

Pierre Longue (Fohet)

Trip No.204  Entry No.189  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a lovely menhir standing four and three quarter metres tall at the top of the high hills near the village of Fohet. Its obviously been fairly recently re-erected, as one side is all dirt covered from being on the ground, and there is a sign in the village pointing to "menhir couché"! The views from here are breathtaking in all directions. To the northwest the Chaine-des-Puys range of volcanoes, with Puy-de-Dome standing high above the others in the line of almost cartoon perfect cones. To the east there are long views over the hills and deep valleys, and to the south can be seen the other Auvergne mountains. To the southwest is Puy-de-Sancy, unfortunately today covered in clouds.

Plateau de Sailles tumulus

Trip No.204  Entry No.188  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Barrow Cemetery Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: High up in the hills to the north of St-Nectaire, beside the D.640 road across the Plateau de Sailles, are a couple of round cairns on a hilltop. Closer inspection reveals them to be made of stones piled up, with perhaps some large slabs within. Just seeing these here against the skyline makes me wonder just how many more there may be around here, either lost in the woods or ploughed out.

Freydefond Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.186  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a superbly positioned menhir, made from a hexagonal block of crystalline volcanic basalt, up on top of the high hills overlooking St-Nectaire (of cheese fame) in the deep valley below, and with splendid views all around, except for the various trees and woods in places. It is now only about 1.5 metres tall, but the top has obviously been broken off, and indeed something has been cemented on to it at some point. This menhir is easily found down a trackway from the road above Sailles, and can be seen from quite long distances.

Saint Roch Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.185  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This menhir can be fairly easily found by following marked footpaths for a mile or so from St-Nectaire to Croix-St-Roche, high up on the hill, beside the track which passes from one valley to the next. It's about 2 metres tall, and made from a hexagonal block of crystalline volcanic basalt, the sort which they call orgues (organ pipes) round here. Very nice. If it weren't for all the trees, the views from here in many directions would be superb, with the Puy-de-Sancy mountain off to the west, across which are rolling lots of wet looking clouds ! Think I'd best get back.

Dolmen du Parc (Saint-Nectaire)

Trip No.204  Entry No.184  Date Added: 24th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 25th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This is a pleasant dolmen, sat on a hillside within a sort of sports activity park above the thermal spa and roman baths of St-Nectaire (of cheese fame). It can be found easiest by following the path up the hillside from near to the art-deco Casino, or from other footpaths in the area.

The dolmen has a 3.5m by 2.5m capstone sat up high on five support stones, with a rectangular chamber below, and is made of volcanic blocks. It faces towards the east, which is strangely looking straight into the hillside.

It made me think how people have been in this place for so long, probably due to the hot springs in the valley just a little below. And people still come here to this day to spend time at the thermal spa, even with hot and cold running water everywhere.

Dolmen du Lac (Le Cheix)

Trip No.204  Entry No.183  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 24th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Blimey, it was an effort to get here from Mont Dore, along miles and miles of windy narrow roads in the mountains. From the hamlet of Le Cheix on the D.978 road, take the small lane to the south across the river and then winding up into the hills. Despite some trepidation, the camper van got through the narrow gaps between the buildings, and up the ferociously steep windy lanes. Eventually I came to a junction signposted Le Lac, managed to find a place to park, and got out and walked along this other lane for about half a kilometre.

The dolmen is squashed between a football pitch and a big holiday home, near to a lake. It has got itself a mound, and on top of the mound a 4 metre by 2.5 metre capstone sort of sits on several other stones, but it is all sort of collapsed, and not very high off the ground. It is not very well cared for either, with all sorts of junk piled up around it.

This is a nice place to be, but was it worth all the massive effort to get here ? After visiting the dolmen, I went to look for the Jonas Caves troglodite dwellings, which are way up in the hills beyond the dolmen. This basically consisted of climbing up the cliff in the camper van, first gear for several kilometres. What an absolutely fantastic view from above, with the house and lake seen right below, nestling in amongst all the volcanic cones. Superb.

Farges Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.181  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Auvergne:Puy-de-Dôme (63))
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Take the little country road southwest from Herment, and after a while the dolmen will be signposted. Its in the middle of a field above the hamlet of Farges and easy to see in the field. Unfortunately it’s a complete wreck, having had trees growing in and around it, and probably its share of hits by the plough. The capstone sits at a steep angle on one high side stone and the ground at the other side. Two other support stones remain standing, plus lots of other broken bits of stone.

There is a superb view of the Sancy mountain range from here. There are many legends and stories of fairies, giants and monsters attached to this dolmen.

Dolmen d'Urbe

Trip No.204  Entry No.180  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Creuse (23))
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: In stark contrast to many places, the lovely medeival city of Crocq is proud of its dolmen, which I wasn’t going to bother with as it looks difficult to find on the big map. However, its shown on all the town maps, and clearly signposted along Route du Dolmen from the town. And they sell postcards of it !!!

Its a pleasant 500 metre walk from a parking place, slightly uphill and into the forest. The dolmen is a pleasant, pretty thing made of granite blocks. The massive capstone sits on six closely spaced support stones making an oval chamber about 2.5 m by 1.5 m in size, and about 1.5 m high. Unfortunately a seventh support stone at the back has fallen inwards, leaving a big opening. All the support stones have flat face inwards, and lean slightly in towards the top, a bit like the wonderful Pierre Folle de Saint-Priest-la-Feuille. The entrance to this dolmen is at the eastern end.

To find their husband here, the local girls have to jump over the dolmen - quite a hard task I would imagine !

Dolmen dit Pierre-la-Fade

Trip No.204  Entry No.178  Date Added: 21st Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Creuse (23))
Visited: Yes on 23rd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the west of Aubusson, go through the village of Blessac and take the road west to Sagnas. Continue right through the hamlet until the road runs out at a forest, and becomes a dusty trackwith some marked forest walk footpaths. Within 100 metres, down a little track into the forest, the dolmen can be found.

Its a pleasant enough dolmen, made of fairly rounded granite slabs, with a 3 metres by 2 metres capstone sitting on top of two side and one back slab, completely open to the south east. Unfortunately, as with many of these places, its been used for beer drinking and fires, with lots of litter around.

Pierre Bercé (Naillat)

Trip No.204  Entry No.177  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Creuse (23))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Signposted south from Colondannes, it was however only the one signpost and then 5 kilometers of guessing the way ! From the village of Naillat take the road out to the east at the back of the village, turn left at the cemetary, cross over the river and then go to the left. The Pierre Bercé is then to be found in a fenced off field about 40 metres from the road at a bend. It is on a little spur and looks out over the stream below, and is about 3 metres high.

Pierre Folle de Saint-Priest-la-Feuille

Trip No.204  Entry No.174  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Creuse (23))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: What a wonderful little dolmen this is, and so well kept and presented too. What a lovely surprise. It's a bit of a struggle to find from the village of Saint-Priest-la-Feuille (which is on one of the routes to Santiago de Compostella), but take the road towards Lizieres and eventually there are little signposts.

It is kept in a little parkland now, with a carpark, information board, and a windy path across a stream through a little wood and eventually to the dolmen on top of the hill, all in about 100 metres from the roadside. You can see the dolmen through a gap from the road, but then not again until you are nearly there, so well landscaped and routed the pathway is.

The dolmen itself is such a wonderful pretty thing, one of the nicest dolmens I have ever seen, if not the prettiest. The capstone has a flat bottom, but a very rounded top, and it is sat on top of six closely spaced side supports. The dolmen's entrance is at the west, as many of the dolmens round these parts seem to have, and there seems to be traces of an entry passage with stones in the ground. The supports are quite tall and thin, and are closely spaced without any real gaps, and all lean slightly inwards towards the top. Unfortunately, one of the side stones is broken. The chamber below is circular, and about 3 metres in diameter, and there is plenty of height to stand up inside. But for me, it is the shape that does it. It is a bit like a badminton shuttlecock, or a cartoon spider or crab, but to me it mostly made me think of a spaceinveder ro suchlike.

Of course, with a dolmen like this there are plenty of legends. One is that the stones all have a dance at midnight on Christmas Eve. Another has it that any girl who slides down from the top will be married before the year is out (whether or not in "birth knickers" I know not!). Yet another legend is long and complex, but involves the devil and dancing.

Strangely, it is not quite on the top of the hill, but just 30 metres from it. The hilltop, just to the north, looks to have a mound built on top of it, I wonder whether there was another tomb here, and perhaps was once another dolmen ? Fabulous.

Menhir des Fichades

Trip No.204  Entry No.173  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: At the hamlet of Grand Bagnols, on the D.7 Road, take the little side lane to the south (best to park and walk). The Menhir des Fichades is signposted and only a couple of hundred metres from the road. It stands in a field beside a wood, just above a little stream, and I suspect it was a natural rock which has been stood up, as there are many other rocks like this in the little valley above the stream. It stands about 3 metres tall, and is nicely shaped with a curved top.

Bagnol Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.172  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Just beside the D.7 Road to the east of the station at Fromental is found this nice little dolmen, with a parking space and picnic area. The egg shaped capstone covers an oval chamber about 3 metres long and 2 metres wide. The pointed end points to the west, sitting on four slide slabs about 1.8 metres above the ground. It is open to both east and west ends.

Rouffignac Dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.170  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: From the hamlet of Rouffignac, this little dolmen is signposted and easily found, about 400 metres along the track opposite the farm, first to the west, and then south (left) into a little recently cleared area amongst thet trees. The dolmen is a simple thing, with a 2.5 by 2.5 metre capstone sat on three upright supports, about one metre above the ground. The capstone has several 30 mm cupules carved into it, and also a fairly large diameter circle - or semi circle at least, which I think must be relatively modern.

Pierre a Cupules (Arnac)

Trip No.204  Entry No.169  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: On a green grassy area at the southern edge of the village of Arnac, is found this nice standing stone, standing about 2.5 metres tall. But the noticeable thing about this stone are all the cupules, or cupmarks, engraved into it.

Not immediately obvious in the mid day sunshine, but the first marks to stand out are on the southeast edge, where there appears to be a couple of rows of 35 mm diameter holes running in a line up the edge. Closer inspection shows a very flat southern face - possibly with checkerboard markings on it, and cupules running up the edges from top to bottom. On the northern face, also flattened, the whole stone is covered with these cupules, loads and loads of them. There must be at least a hundred. There does not appear to be anything on the two sides of the stone.

Ceinturat Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.168  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 22nd Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: "Megalithes" are signposted to the south of Montemart, and following these signs takes you first to a parking place from where a 700 metre walk to the Ceinturat Menhir can be taken. I was surprised by how big it is, as it is taller than 5 metres and looks like the top has been broken off. It has a flat north face, but a rounded southern face, which faces downhill. These days it is in a little woodland clearing, surrounded on one side by oak forest, the other by gorse and bracken. Shaded by the trees as it is, it looks like it is a stone tree trunk with branches growing out of it. A nice start to the day.

Betoulle dolmen 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.165  Date Added: 20th Aug 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Limousin:Haute-Vienne (87))
Visited: Yes on 21st Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is another nice dolmen, found just inside a fieldby the roadside a few kilometres south of Berneuil. You can find it by turning left at the crossroads near La Lue dolmen, and travelling a couple of kilometres until just past the big road on the right.

It is a nice tall dolmen with a nice capstone sat upon six support stones, covering a chamber 3 m by 2 m. Closer inspection again shows a reconstruction job, with some cemented together broken stones. Perhaps this was completely enclosed, but the entrance today is again to the west. A few other stones and chunks lie nearby.