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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen de Touls is a megalithic monument located in the municipality of Coltines, in the department of Cantal (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). Dated from Neolithic, it belongs to the category of simple dolmens, characterized by a structure consisting of two orthostats (vertical straps) and a bedside slab supporting a cover table. All the stones come from the local rock, typical of the megalithic buildings of the region. This dolmen, like many others in the Cantal, was erected in an open space offering a panoramic view, probably for symbolic or practical reasons related to its funeral or ritual use.

A rescue search conducted in 1969 by archaeologist Henri Masseix partially documented the site. The room, initially emptied at an indefinite time to serve as a shelter, delivered some prehistoric artifacts: fifteen black ceramic teasses without decoration, two flints of flint, a quartz fragment and a limestone blade. These remains, though modest, testify to human occupation and funeral or domestic practices during the Neolithic period. No trace of the original tumulus was identified, which limits the understanding of its original environment.

The dolmen was listed as historic monuments by order of 11 February 1986, thereby recognizing its heritage value. Its structure has technical features, such as the slope of the cover table (trapezoidal, 3.30 m long) due to the collapse of one of the northern supports. The east-west orientation of the chamber, as well as the use of the natural slope of the land to compensate for the difference in height of orthostats, illustrate the ingenuity of the Neolithic builders. These elements are rare evidence of the architectural and cultural practices of this period in Auvergne.

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