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Origin and history

The necropolis of Bois des Géantes, located in Bourg-Saint-Andéol en Ardèche, is a megalithic funeral site composed of six dolmens spread over 750 metres. These structures, erected between 3000-2900 and 2200 BC, belong to three architectural types: bas-rhodanian, caussenard and Languedocian. Their location was chosen for its natural stability and the availability of limestone materials.

The dolmens were first mentioned in 1837 by the Bonnefont surveyor, then studied by Jules Ollier de Marichard and Léopold Chiron in the 19th century. Ranked Historical Monuments in 1900 as the "Dolmens of the Joyands", they were searched sporadically in the 20th and 21st centuries, revealing artifacts of Neolithic and Bronze Age.

The site, used continuously from the Ancient Bronze Age to the recent Bronze, was regularly visited in the 19th and 20th centuries, as evidenced by the modern objects found. Recent excavations (2002-2013) have helped to better understand its architecture and funeral use, while highlighting traces of karstification and erosion after its abandonment.

The toponym "Bois des Géantes" (or variants like "Jayandes") evokes local legends combining dolmens with giants. This site illustrates the diversity of megalithic funeral practices in the Midi de la France, with sepulchral chambers of varying sizes and partially preserved tumulus.

The dolmens, built on a limestone substrate dated to the lower Cretaceous, were partially restored in the 21st century. Their study revealed funerary objects (pearls, alenas, buds) and fragmented human bones, confirming their prolonged use as a collective necropolis.

Today, the site is protected and valued by the commune of Bourg-Saint-Andéol, as part of a restoration project initiated in the 2010s under the supervision of the DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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