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Origin and history

The polishers of Bois de la Briche, in Souzy-la-Briche (Essonne), are two, discovered during archaeological explorations. The first, a 5 m long sandstone slab, has three polished surfaces and a bowl, while the second, inclined at 45°, has two smaller polished surfaces. These remains are evidence of prehistoric tool polishing activities, although their precise dating remains unknown.

In 1899, a slipstone in the same wood, improperly classified as a polisher, was protected by ministerial decree. This historical confusion was later clarified: the place known as the Polissoir actually corresponds to a stone partially exploited by quarryers. Real polishers were only identified at the beginning of the 20th century, thanks in particular to the work of G. Courty (1912) and recent research by C. Brossut.

Archaeological sources, such as the works of John Peek (1975) and Alain Bénard (2012), confirm the importance of these polishers in the megalithic heritage of Essonne. Their classification among historical monuments underlines their value, although their exact location in the park of the Château de la Briche is sometimes unclear. These slabs offer a rare testimony of prehistoric techniques of size and polishing in the Paris region.

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