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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The megalithic ensemble of the Aire des Trois-Seigneurs is located on the causse de Sauveterre, on horseback between the communes of Laval-du-Tarn and Sainte-Enimie, in the department of Lozère. This archaeological site, dated from Neolithic, is composed of a dolmen of a sewn type – the largest in the department – as well as two megalithic enclosures. The dolmen, called dolmen de Champerboux, is surrounded by a tumulus of 20 meters in diameter and has an east-west facing funeral chamber, accompanied by a perpendicular vestibule.

The first enclosure, located 20 meters east of the dolmen, forms a circle of about 90 meters in diameter with 53 erect stones. The second, to the north, more fragmentary, has only 6 stones over a distance of 40 meters, suggesting an incomplete state. Excavations revealed that the tumulus was reused at iron age, attesting to prolonged occupation of the site. The monument was restored in the 1980s by Gilbert Fages before being listed as a historical monument on 20 April 1990.

The site illustrates the funeral and ritual practices of Neolithics in the Grand Causses, an area marked by a dense concentration of megaliths. The speakers, probably intended for ceremonies or to delimit a sacred space, complete the device around the dolmen. Their layout and size make it a remarkable example of local megalithic architecture, studied in the 1960s by archaeologists such as Jean Maury.

Administratively, the site is referenced under the code Insee 48146 (Sainte-Enimie) and protected as historical monuments since 1990. Its exact location, between the gorges of Tarn and the causses, makes it a point of interest both archaeological and landscape, accessible from the neighbouring villages of Saint-Énimie and Laval-du-Tarn.

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