Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Dolmen de Ponsat is a megalithic building located in Saint-Georges-la-Pouge, in the Creuse department of New Aquitaine. Dated from Neolithic, it consists of nine orthostates (vertical pillars) supporting a triangular cover table of 4.75 m long and 3 m wide. The funeral chamber, of oval shape (3 m x 2 m), opens to the east and is surrounded by a tumulus today collapsed, measuring about 12 m in diameter. All slabs are granite, and the pillars sink to 2 m in the ground.

The site was studied in the 19th century: J. Cancalon searched it before 1842, M. Bonnafoux mentioned it in 1843, and Pierre de Cessac gave the first detailed description of it in 1881 in the Revue archéologique. No archaeological material was reported by Cancalon, but surface collection in 1972 revealed pottery studs on the tumulus. The dolmen is classified as historical monuments by decree of 14 June 1929, recognizing its heritage importance.

The historical descriptions highlight the evolution of the tumulus, initially measured at 9.80 m in diameter and 1 m in height by Pierre de Cessac, but now extended to 12 m east to west and 10 m north to south due to its collapse. Orthostats, with varying heights (1.40 m on the room side, 0.65 m on the outside side), define a funerary space characteristic of neolithic practices. The site thus illustrates the megalithic construction techniques and funeral rites of this period in Limousin.

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