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Origin and history

The Dolmen du Bois de Hamel, nicknamed Chavatte Stone or Cuisine des Sorciers, is a protohistoric covered driveway located in the northern department of Hamel. This megalithic monument today consists of two orthostats (vertical pillars) supporting a cover table in pink sandstone, measuring 3.40 m long and 0.35 m thick. Originally, the building, described in 1805 by Mr. Bottin as a structure about 5 m long, had four support slabs, two of which were overturned by workers around 1830. The surface of the table presents a dozen cylindrical cavities, eight of which are extended by slugs, interpreted by some as a representation of the Great Bear.

Ranked a historic monument on April 18, 1914, the dolmen is associated with a rich local folklore. According to the belief, the stones were not carved by man, but would serve as food for sorcerers or shelter for evil beings called Caramaras. The name Chavatte stone could derive from the local chawatt patois (chouette) or savate, with reference to cavities evoking fingerprints. These legends, along with astronomical hypotheses, add a mysterious dimension to this protohistoric vestige.

The slabs, in hard and fine sandstone, probably come from local outcrops. Their arrangement and politeness suggest human work, although some jokes may be natural. The study of Léon Desailly in 1923 and the work of L. Quarré-Reybourbon in 1896 underline the archaeological importance of the site, linked to the funeral or ritual practices of Protohistory. Today owned by Hamel, dolmen remains a rare testimony of megalithic constructions in the Hauts-de-France.

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