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Origin and history

The Dolmen du Pré d'Air, also known as the Dolmen de la Pierre Creusée, is a megalithic monument located in Pornic, in the Loire-Atlantique department. It is part of the transept dolmens, an architectural type present on both sides of the Loire estuary. This dolmen consists of three funeral chambers: two 2.75 m x 1.75 m lateral chambers and a smaller axial chamber (2.25 m x 2 m) at the bottom of the corridor. Today, only granite orthostats delimiting the contours, the cairn and the cover tables have disappeared.

The site was excavated in 1878 by de Wismes, who discovered a funerary furniture at the Dobbrée Museum in Nantes. This furniture includes fibrolith pendants, flint daggers from the Grand Pressigny, axes and pottery fragments. These objects bear witness to the funeral and artisanal practices of Neolithic in the region. The dolmen has been classified in the inventory of historical monuments since 15 March 1983, under the name of dolmen called La Pierre Creusée.

The dolmen is located in a field near the south coast of Pornic, halfway between the dolmen de la Joselière and the place called La Boutinadière. A particular feature of the site is the presence of a dug stone in the shape of a pond in front of the entrance, a characteristic mentioned by Pitre de Lisle du Dreneuc as common in local farms to water livestock. This stone also earned the dolmen the nickname of Pierre Creusée.

Due to its architecture and its dimensions, the Dolmen of the Pré d These similarities suggest common cultural exchanges or architectural traditions among the Neolithic communities of the Loire estuary. The site remains an important testimony of funeral practices and social organization of that time.

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