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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The dolmen des Courades, nicknamed the Pierre Levée, is a megalithic building located in the commune of Saint-Même-les-Carrières, Charente (New Aquitaine). Dated from Neolithic, it was reported in 1835 by François Marvaud, who described it with his already overturned cover table. This funerary monument, classified as historical monuments by decree of 22 December 1926, illustrates the sepulchral practices of the period, although looted very early.

The dolmen chamber, rectangular in shape and open to the east, is bounded by five orthostats (some of which reach 1.90 m height) and was initially covered by a single table of 5 m long, now broken into ten pieces. Its particularity lies in a massive slab (4 m x 2.70 m, 18 tons) dug in age, covering the entire ground. This slab, which may be placed to protect the burials from moisture associated with the nearby spring (Smaronne River), has a double-basin dug later, possibly to store grapes.

The site, close to the Roman Way of Saintes at Périgueux (Boisné Road), could have served as a landmark. The excavations revealed only a thin gold leaf, a modest remnant of an ancient looting. Robert Delamain's hypothesis suggests that the water was dug in recent times, with metal tools, for agricultural use (in the surrounding vineyards). This dolmen remains a rare testimony of the regional megalithic constructions, alongside the dolmen A of the Sauzaie in Soubie.

Ranked in 1926, the Dolmen des Courades is today a protected monument, accessible in a landscaped setting marked by its multi-year history. Its architecture, combining orthostats, dry stone walls and monumental slab, reflects the ingenuity of neolithic communities in the management of collective burials. The proximity of the Roman Way adds a later historical dimension, highlighting its persistence as a landmark in the landscape.

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