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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen du Bois-Plantaire is a megalithic building dating from the Neolithic period, located in the Indre department. Although classified as a historical monument in 1914 under the name of the commune of Lourdoueix-Saint-Michel, it is actually located in the territory of Orsennes. This dolmen was the subject of two excavations: the first in 1877 by the owner of the site, who discovered no objects there, and the second in 1905, during which a flint hatchet and Gallo-Roman coins were exhumed, attesting to a subsequent reuse of the site.

The dolmen structure is marked by an imposing granite roof table, measuring 3.50 m long by 3.10 m wide, partially resting on a triangular pillar and a stone wall. Originally, the monument was perhaps partially buried, and the blocks visible today could come from dry stone walls delimiting the funeral chamber. All slabs, extracted locally, are granite, typical of the megalithic constructions of the region.

The 1914 classification order contains a geographical error, wrongly attributing the dolmen to Lourdoueix-Saint-Michel instead of Orsennes. This administrative confusion persists in some sources, although GPS coordinates and subsequent searches have corrected this location. The site remains an important testimony of neolithic funeral practices and their re-appropriation to other periods, as evidenced by the Gallo-Roman artifacts found.

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