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Origin and history

The Dolmen de la Pierre-qui-Vire is a megalithic monument located in the commune of Colombe-lès-Vesoul in the Haute-Saône department. It is distinguished by its circular cover table, with a diameter of 1.92 metres and a thickness of 0.40 metres, an unusual shape for this type of structure. This slab, originally intended for funerary use, would have been re-cut later to make it a dormant wheel, but cracks made it unusable, leaving it on site.

Discovered and reported in 1835 by Sucheaux, the dolmen was searched in 1946 by J. Collot, without significant results. A survey carried out in 1975 confirmed that the funeral chamber, delimited by three orthostates forming a square space of 1.25 metres side, had been emptied in a distant past. Originally, the monument was covered with a pile of spears, leaving only the top slab visible when it was discovered in the 19th century.

Ranked as historical monuments on 24 August 1976 by the Vesoul Agriculture, Science and Arts Society, this dolmen is surrounded by local folklore. According to legend, her blanket would turn on itself every hundred years. This popular narrative adds a mystical dimension to this archaeological site, already remarkable by its atypical architectural features.

The studies carried out on this dolmen, particularly those published in 1976 in Gallia prehistory, underline its importance in the megalithic landscape of Franche-Comté. Although its history remains partially enigmatic due to the absence of major discoveries during excavations, its classification as a historic monument reflects its heritage value and the desire to preserve this vestige of the past.

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