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Origin and history

The Dolmen de la Couture, located in Saint-Hilaire-la-Gravelle in the department of Loir-et-Cher, is a megalithic monument dated to the Neolithic. It consists of four vertical slabs (orthostats) supporting a single cover table measuring 2.90 m long by 1.70 m wide. All the stones, in glossy flint puddingue, come from the region. The original location of the entrance and bedside slab remains unknown due to the successive movements of the monument.

Ranked as historical monuments in 1965, this dolmen suffered several trips due to its proximity to major roads, including National Road 10 and Departmental Road 19. In 1974, an accident involving a van caused serious damage, resulting in further movement from the road. These disturbances altered its archaeological integrity, making it difficult to reconstruct its original structure.

According to local beliefs, the construction of the dolmen would be attributed to fairies or the Sainte-Vierge. A legend associated with the site, called Val d'Enfer, tells that the Devil appears there every Christmas night, offering men to descend into his den full of treasures. These folk stories illustrate the symbolic importance of megaliths in popular traditions, often linked to supernatural or religious phenomena.

The slabs of the dolmen, in glossy puddingue, bear witness to neolithic construction techniques using local materials. This type of collective funeral monument reflects the social and spiritual practices of the sedentary agricultural communities of the time. Although its present state does not allow its exact spatial organization to be restored, there is still a representative example of megalithism in the Centre-Val de Loire.

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