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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen des Collets de Cotlliure is a megalithic building located in Argelès-sur-Mer, in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Discovered by Pierre Ponsich, it was first reported in 1950 by Lluis Péricot. This dolmen, considered by Ponsich as a ciste, has a trapezoidal chamber bounded by four orthostates in local slate schist. The largest bedside slab is 1.65 m in length, while the cover table (1.50 m x 0.90 m) has been moved north of the tumulus, not visible today.

The monument is classified as historical monuments by order of 3 November 1958. Its modest architecture, with an opening to the east and a split slab, suggests a funeral vocation typical of Neolithic. The tumulus, partially erased, keeps a slab erect on its southern edge, possible vestige of a peristalith. The excavations and studies carried out in the 20th century, notably by Ponsich and Péricot, made it possible to document this site among the many megaliths of the Pyrénées-Orientales.

The region, rich in prehistoric sites, illustrates the importance of collective funeral practices during the Neolithic period. Dolmens, like that of the Cotlliure Collets, served as burials for sedentary agro-pastoral communities. Their construction of local stones, here from the slate shale, reflects a technical mastery and a complex social organization, characteristic of this period of transition towards the age of metals.

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