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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen de la Folatière is a megalithic monument located in the commune of Luxé, in the Charente department, in New Aquitaine. Dating from the Neolithic, it was erected on a small height overlooking a loop of the Charente river, near a tumulus distant about a hundred meters. This site, long known, was the subject of archaeological excavations, especially in 1958 by Étienne Patte, while the owner had begun to demolish it. A second excavation campaign took place in 2012, allowing to deepen the knowledge about this monument classified since 1957.

The dolmen is classified as an angoumoisin-type dolmen, although its exact architecture remains unclear. Its roof table, now extinct, was 3.60 m long for 1.60 m wide and 0.90 m thick. According to Auguste-François Lièvre's observations at the end of the 19th century, it covered twelve orthostats carefully equalized. The excavations revealed two fragmented layers of bones, including two reconstructed male skull boxes, as well as remains of at least four to eleven children, suggesting prolonged funeral use.

The funerary furniture discovered includes lithic objects, including a losangic arrow frame rare in the area, cross-cut frames, and flint tools such as a scraper and polished axe shrapnel. Two pieces with fragmented bases, one decorated with a checkered pattern and the other with triangles, were attributed to the Chassen or the Middle Neolithic. Limestone and callai beads, as well as a small bone tooling, complete these discoveries, illustrating the craft and ritual practices of the time.

The Dolmen de la Folatière was declared a historic monument on October 1, 1957, recognizing its heritage importance. The studies conducted by Lièvre, Patte and Joussaume have documented its history and archaeological context, while highlighting the disturbances experienced by the site over the centuries. This research highlights its role in neolithic funeral practices and its integration into the regional megalithic landscape.

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