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Origin and history

The dolmen of Las Tombas de Las Fadas, located in Mazeyrat-d'Allier in the Haute-Loire department, is a covered alley dated from Neolithic. Ranked as historic monuments in 1862, it was first described in detail in 1880, then searched for life in the 1970s. This monument, damaged over time, consists of basalt slabs forming a chamber oriented north-west/south-east, measuring 6 meters long for a width ranging from 2.60 to 3 meters.

According to 19th-century observations, the dolmen had an internal pavement made up of large slabs laid on a bed of flat stones, as well as dallets placed directly on the basaltic base. Although the existence of an original tumulus is not confirmed, the site delivered archaeological artifacts, including two arrow frames (one losangic, the other peduncle and aileron) and ceramic coats attributed to the hallstattian period, after Neolithic.

A local legend tells that the fairies gathered there to spun white and black wool, using colossal stones as seats. One night, these stones would have crashed on them, forming their grave. This folk tale illustrates the imagination associated with megaliths, often perceived as mysterious places linked to supernatural creatures.

The dolmen was studied by several researchers, including Henri Delporte, who mentioned the site in Gallia prehistory in 1976. Frédéric Surmely and Marie-Charlotte Delmas also contributed to his documentation, stressing its importance in the megalithic landscape of the Haute-Loire and its anchoring in regional oral traditions.

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