Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

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 monuments, erected between 3000 and 2200 BC (final Neolithic 2a-Chalcolithic), illustrate three architectural types: bas-rhodanian, caussenard and Languedocian. Their implantation was determined by a natural depression and a local stony cluster, guaranteeing stability and materials.

The site, mentioned by the Bonnefont surveyor in 1837, was searched in the 19th century by Jules Ollier de Marichard and Léopold Chiron, who documented seven dolmens (including six later identified). Ranked a historic monument in 1900 under the name Dolmens des Joyandes, it reveals a continuous use of the ancient bronze age with recent bronze, with traces of modern visits in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The excavations of the 20th century, notably in 1972 and 1979, exhumed artifacts (t bronze, limestone buttons, pearls) and fragmented bones, confirming its prolonged funeral use. Restorations and university studies (2002-2013) clarified its architecture and its urgonian geological context, while emphasizing its role in the Dolmenism of Lower Vivarais.

The toponym Bois des Géantes (or variants like Jayandes) evokes local legends of giants, reflecting a popular interpretation of megaliths. Dolmens, associated with tumulus of varying sizes (9×6 m to 13×10 m), have trapezoidal or quadrangular burial chambers, some with antechambers or vestibules.

Recent research has highlighted a well-preserved stratigraphy under Dolmen No. 1, dating back 5000 years, revealing an environment conducive to agriculture before the present karstification. This site, a communal property, embodies the diversity of neolithic funeral practices and their adaptation to the ardèche limestone environment.

The dolmens, now protected, bear witness to a continuous human occupation and sophisticated megalithic engineering, integrating local materials and know-how transmitted over several millennia. Their ranking and contemporary study make it a key heritage to understand the prehistoric societies of south-eastern France.

External links