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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Dolmen d'Amenon, also known as the Dolmen d'Amnon, is a covered driveway located at the place called the Ronce room, on the commune of Saint-Germain-d'Arcé, in the department of Sarthe. This megalithic monument, today very damaged, retains a single cover table in place. Its floor is lined with sandstone pads and an imposing slab. The excavations revealed a limited funerary furniture: an arrow frame, a scraper, flints and unidentified ceramic teasses.

The building has been classified as historical monuments since 21 May 1976. Its use as a collective grave dates back to the Neolithic period, towards the end of the fourth millennium BC, as attests to the archaeological material discovered. This dolmen illustrates the funeral practices of this period, where megalithic structures served as places of collective burial.

Archaeological research, in particular by Serge Cassen and Jacobo Vaquero Lastres in 2004, has improved the chronological and functional understanding of the tumular structures of the Bois d'Amenon, located nearby (La Chapelle-aux-Choux, Sarthe). These studies highlight the importance of this sector for the study of local neolithic societies and their funeral rituals.

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