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Origin and history

The Dolmen de la Bajoulière, located in Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne in Maine-et-Loire, is an angevin-style megalithic building, dating from the Neolithic period. It is distinguished by its almost square burial chamber, covered with a monumental slab of Senonian sandstone (7.50 m side, 0.70 to 0.90 m thick), today broken into four pieces. According to a local tradition, this fracture would result from a lightning impact, although ancient representations (lithography of 1865) already show the broken slab. The chamber, slightly trapezoidal, was compartmentalized by a transverse bulkhead in flat slabs, and preceded by a double trilith at the entrance, a rare characteristic shared with the Dolmen de La Roche-aux-Fées.

The monument is mentioned as early as 1144 in a cartular of Saint-Aubin d'Angers Abbey, where it is reported that the nuns of Nyoiseau Abbey used it as a chapel. Ranked a historic monument in 1936, it was the subject of extensive excavations between 1979 and 1983, revealing traces of Gallo-Roman occupation and neolithic artifacts: human bones, flint tools (gratters, polished axes), a campaniform arrow frame, and high quality taped ceramics. These findings suggest an initial funeral use, although the found ceramic may date back to a period before the dolmen was built.

The cairn originally surrounding the room, now extinct, was partially reconstructed by excavations. Composed of parallel walls 2 to 2.50 m thick, it formed a structure in ove or elongated trapeze, probably used as a support for setting up the cover table. Traces of underweight dallet crushing attest to this function. In the vicinity, a 9 m long half-circle (horn-shaped) structure was identified, but it was not possible to determine whether it was anterior or post-dolmen. In addition, seven of the fourteen menhirs within a 7 km radius of the site could mark a "dead path" linking the dolmen to the Neolithic village of Thureil.

The building underwent major transformations in the Gallo-Roman era, where it was probably inhabited, as evidenced by internal changes. Despite this, the excavations found key archaeological elements, such as a human maxillary fragment and a Chalcolithic dagger. The covering slab, with an estimated weight of several tons, has snuffed pillars, and sizing blocks found on site confirm a careful construction. The dolmen, owned by the municipality of Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne, remains an emblematic example of an angeline megalithic architecture, both in its dimensions and in its complex history, mixing funeral, religious and domestic uses.

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