Grotte de Bara-Bahau

Trip No.203  Entry No.219  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: This cave (cave of the bears) was only discovered in 1951 features many engravings dated to 14000 years ago and also many bear claw marks. Up the hillside and well signposted from Le Bugue it was closed for lunch when I visited.

Grotte de la Mouthe

Trip No.203  Entry No.218  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 2nd Jun 2005

Log Text: Now closed to the public this cave was discovered in 1895 and was pivotal in the argument for the decorations being of ancient origin. Apparently there are artworks from many different periods of the prehistoric past in here from the Gravettian through Mousterian to the Magdelenian. This cave is up a very windy rough track from Les Eyzies which I very nearly got stuck up due to a narrowing of the track on the way down the other side between a couple of farm buildings through which a camper van won’t fit. I just about managed to turn round using a farm lawn and got to go back down the way I had come up!

Roc de Cazelle

Trip No.203  Entry No.217  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: This place has been inhabited since 40000 years ago right up until the 1960’s when the last farmer and his wife moved on. It is an overhanging cliff with several levels of caves and shelters and these days is a little visitor park showing life in the troglodytic fashion since prehistoric times with many little scenes recreated and artisans demonstrating their trades and crafts.

Grotte de Bernifal

Trip No.203  Entry No.216  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Cave or Rock Shelter Country: France (Aquitaine:Dordogne (24))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Access 4

Log Text: This was closed to visitors when I arrived but nevertheless it was a nice walk through splendid woodland with a little stream running nearby up to the entrance. The cave was discovered in 1905 and contains engravings of humans as well as the more usual animals.

Pierre Levée (Salles-de-Castillon)

Trip No.203  Entry No.221  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This one comes with its own wine! While driving from Peyre Lebade towards Clotte I saw this stone standing at the entrance to a farmhouse wine producer and noticed that the farm was called Chateau de la Pierre Levée.

I stopped to have a better look and a man on his tractor in the vineyard came over to me so I tried to ask him about the stone. Apparently somewhere in his garage he has an archaeological panel with some information on it which he intends to get erected by the stone but he couldn’t find it. He called his wife who told him it was in the garage and went to look for herself also to no avail ! At this point I enquired of their wine and got taken on a little tour of the place and a tasting or two (how could I refuse?) so of course bought a case of mixed vintages for a very reasonable price as a souvenir.

The menhir at the entrance is just over 2 metres tall but I have to say looks fairly recently erected there although the stone looks as old as the hills. I think I saw somewhere that the menhir after which the wine is named was in a corner of a field. Perhaps it has been fairly recently moved here. It’s a pity I couldn’t fully converse with the chap he had a thick accent which didn’t help and although we chatted well about simple things the details were missed.

Peyre Lebade

Trip No.203  Entry No.220  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: While looking at the village map by the Mairie to see if it marked any of the supposedly local ancient stones I noted an area called Peyre Lebade so of course I went to have a look. In the corner of the road junction here to the west of the village centre can be seen a small standing stone fenced in to a little grassy garden area. It cant be much more than a metre tall and is well weathered so I assume it’s a proper menhir.

Dolmen de Puy Landry

Trip No.203  Entry No.222  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: The old chap at Chateau Pierre Levée knew of this dolmen's existence but the chap at Puy Landry winery didn’t but he pointed me in the direction of a menhir on the top of Puy Landry hill about a kilometre to the north but ce n’est pas grand.. I initially thought it was too far to go walking to in the intense heat and suspected he was pointing me to the Clotte menhir on the ridge but having driven nearby to have a better look it didn’t seem so far. About 400 metres from the D21E road up a track between the vineyards to the top of the ridge and in the woodland can be seen a standing stone.

Closer inspection shows the stone to be about 1.5 metres tall with a fallen companion about a metre away to the north. These stones are on top of a mound running in an easterly direction and there are several other stones lying about in the vicinity which leads me to suspect that this is indeed the remains of a dolmen or allée couverte.

Pitray Allée couverte

Trip No.203  Entry No.224  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 1

Log Text: Well what a find this was. I found Pitray on the village map outside the Mairie and when I got there I found a long driveway up to a chateau with a couple of men working logging in the woodland who told me that they knew of the dolmen and that I should go and ask at the chateau. In the grounds surrounding the chateau a charming lady looking after her baby grandson came to talk to me who spoke good English and told me that she knew of the dolmen well and that she had known of it for many years but hadn’t seen it in a while and that we had best go ask her son in law the master of the chateau if I could go and see it. Another very pleasant man who seemed pleased that somebody was interested in the dolmen in his grounds. I was taken to the remains of the dolmen and on the way it was spoken about that they thought that they should probably clear them up as they are getting very overgrown and crumbling but they were not sure what they are allowed or are supposed to do with them. They are quite difficult to find being as overgrown as they are in some dense woodland and it took a while to find it. I was told that a couple of men from CNES had been round and taken measurements about 20 years ago and had told the owners that there was probably nothing of interest to be found as it would have been fully dug out last century.

The remains are 10 metres in length with large side slabs up to 1.7 metres high placed about 1.2 metres apart making a chamber with an orientation of 074° but there are no cover stones. The back stone is about 2.3 metres in width and the side stones are graded in height with the tallest at the back. There are 3 big and 2 medium sized stones on the northern side and 3 big 3 medium sized stones along the southern side with some smaller stones curving away towards the path into the woods. Some of the stones have strange holes in them which seem to be perhaps more than just weathering. Not far away towards the northeast is a strange arrangement of smaller stones in a double parallel row which align directly to the entrance of the allée couverte.

The owner has no idea what these are or whether they are related or not but interesting nevertheless. These stones are even more overgrown. I was told that the chateau often has Scouts stay within the grounds and that recently a lot of girl scouts had been staying there had found the allée couverte and had rigged up a shower within the chamber complete with makeshift shower curtain! They had not been too impressed when told that they had made their shower within an ancient tomb !

These megalithic remains are on very private land and I was privileged to be allowed into the woods and shown them. A visit should not be attempted without permission.

Curton Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.225  Date Added: 21st Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 2nd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: As I was driving towards Bellefond I saw a sign to Dolmen de Curton so I had to follow it but it’s a pity the large signs do not follow the one at the road junction up. There are one or two very small signs after this which I at first missed and these lead into a vineyard before they give up totally. Following the track on by foot for about 600 metres and you eventually reach the dolmen.

It is a little allée couverte on the reducing remains of its mound which has been ploughed right up to the edges and surrounded by vines. There are some nasty crackling power lines right overhead. One capstone remains on the two rows of sidestones which can be traced for about 8 metres facing an orientation of 110°. The end stone has some strange markings on it several short straight lines and a few horseshoe shapes but they are difficult to make out. Apparently 8 bodies were found within it when the chamber was excavated in 1904.

Sabatey Dolmen 1

Trip No.203  Entry No.227  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Not the easiest dolmens to find, but they are signposted from the village of Bellefond to some degree, although a fair bit of guesswork is needed at certain junctions. Just to the left of Sabatey Farm, a gate opens into a field, from where you walk across to the woods, where the two dolmens can be seen on the right.

Sabatey dolmen 1 is about 25 metres into the woods, and although it at first appears to be a similar jumble of stones, the remains of the allée-couverte on top are much more recogniseable. It is about 6 metres long by 1.5 metres wide, with one capstone in place and a couple more fallen, with the chamber oriented eastwards at 094°. The end closing stone has some cupules carved into it.

Sabatey Dolmen 2

Trip No.203  Entry No.226  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Not the easiest dolmens to find, but they are signposted from the village of Bellefond to some degree, although a fair bit of guesswork is needed at certain junctions. Just to the left of Sabatey Farm, a gate opens into a field, from where you walk across to the woods, where the two dolmens can be seen on the right.

The first you find is Sabatey dolmen 2, which seems to mostly consist of a large pile of moss covered stones, with the remains of an allée-couverte sitting on top. A single remaining capstone has fallen, and the rest of the chamber is difficult to make out, but there are lots of large edge on stones present, possibly aligned on about 050°.

La Motte a Poljeau

Trip No.203  Entry No.239  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Poitou:Charente (16))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 3rd Jun 2005

Log Text: To the north of the Couvoisier town of Jarnac, near the village of Métairies is marked a tumulus. I thought I'd found a massive tumulus in about the right place in amongst some trees, but a closer inspection didn’t show there to be an obvious tumulus there. It was getting late, so i didnt look too much harder, as its time to stop for the day.

Roquefort Settlement

Trip No.203  Entry No.230  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 3rd Jun 2005

Log Text: Not far from the Chateau, on a wooded promontary in the river, are the remains of a bronze / iron age promontary fort and settlement.

La Palanque de Peyre

Trip No.203  Entry No.232  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Jun 2005

Log Text: I had a look all around the region here, but with nothing marked on any of my maps, and nothing signed from the village, I gave up, as after all the time I had spent looking for Bignon I had to move on.

Pierre Folle (Négrignac)

Trip No.203  Entry No.235  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente-Maritime (17))
Visited: Couldn't find on 3rd Jun 2005

Log Text: This I couldn’t find, and I could find no mention of it in the village. It is somewhere to the southeast of the village.

La Pierre a Cerclet

Trip No.203  Entry No.236  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente-Maritime (17))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This dolmen is a complete wreck, and can be found beside the D.134 road south of Charnac. It has had a little area of field left unplanted around it, but there's not much to see. There is just what seems to be a broken capstone and a few other bits and pieces laying about. I have since found out that this dolmen was destroyed as recently as 1978,

Saint Fort Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.237  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente (16))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Signposted from the town of St Fort-sur-le-Ne, it is found about 1 kilometre to the east on top of a small hill amongst the Cognac vines. It is a real monster, looking like the skeletal remains of a dinosaur robot or something.

The chamber is 5 metres in length, by 2.5 metres wide, and the single, one metre thick capstone more than adequately covers that. It is held 2.5 metres high in the air by three large upright support stones, with the outline of the chamber having five more large stones in place.

Unfortunately, the poor thing suffers badly from graffitti, both written and carved, and it would seem to be used as a place for the local youth to come and drink, with empty bottles scattered all around. One of the side slabs has some strange carvings on it, perhaps a sort of window or entrance was once here, with the dolmen used as a house.

Courades Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.238  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Poitou:Charente (16))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Probably once very similar to the St Fort dolmen, but this one has collapsed, probably fairly recently, and the capstone is now in several fragments on the ground. The chamber was once 5 metres by 2.5 metres, with a big closing stone to the west, and the entrance to the east. It seems to have carved stones paving the floor area, with the side slabs fitted closely to these.

It is easy to find, and is signposted about 600 metres along a track from the DXXX road, and is adjacent to a small flying club which takes its name from the dolmen, Aeroclub de Pierre Levée.

La Pierre Folle (Montguyon)

Trip No.203  Entry No.234  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Poitou:Charente-Maritime (17))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This superb monument is signposted to the north of the town of Montguyon, and has its own parking and picnic area. It is a double monument, with an Aquitaine allée-couverte combined with a dolmen.

The allée-couverte part is massive, with a double chamber internally measuring 8 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and up to 2 metres high, facing east at 080°. The big capstone at the west end is 3 metres off the ground, 1.5 metres thick and is estimated to weigh 30 tonnes.

The dolmen part of the monument at the western end is much more complex to make out, at first seemingly being just lots of large stones all over the place. Looking in more detail however, suggests that it has a simple chamber with an entry corridor facing to the north, and incorporates the back stone of the allée-couverte as its eastern side.

These really are some impressive and lovely stones, and the angles of the capstones in particular are very striking. Some of the stones have fascinating holes and markings in them, many looking like they have been carved. And one of the stones at the entrance to the allée-couverte looks to be hollow, with a great big "chamber" within it. Quite a splendid place.

Pity the weather while I was here left a lot to be desired, and made getting good photographs difficult. Well worth a visit, and just as I was about to leave, a coachparty turned up. There is a sign which states that there are supposedly several other monuments nearby, including two more called Pierre Folle.

Pierre du Maine du Prieuré

Trip No.203  Entry No.228  Date Added: 22nd Apr 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Aquitaine:Gironde (33))
Visited: Yes on 3rd Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This is a big menhir stood at the edge of the roadside, at least 3.5 metres tall, and the top has been broken off. Not very well looked after, it is surrounded by junk, although by the marks on it, it looks to have been fairly recently re-erected.