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Origin and history

The Dolmen des Mardelles, located in Barbonne-Fayel in the Marne, is a megalithic tomb of the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic type. Discovered in 1913 during agricultural work, it was searched by Émile Schmit, a correspondent of the Historic Monuments Commission. The structure, dug in the chalk, is 2.50 m long and is covered with a slab of 4 m by 4 m, partially damaged during its discovery. A drainage ditch surrounds the tomb, whose ground, hardened by heated stones, forms a primitive "concrete".

The tomb was home to the remains of about fifty individuals, some of whom were incinerated on site, as evidenced by 0.20 m thick ash layers. The bones, deposited in several phases, include squatting primary burials and secondary burials without anatomical connection. Archaeological furniture includes flint tools (haches, blades), ceramic fragments, shell amulets, and bones of animals (horse, badger, bird), suggesting ritual offerings.

Ranked a Historical Monument by decree of 17 May 1921, the dolmen illustrates the collective funeral practices of the late Neolithic. The household objects (wood needle, deer stew drill) and traces of fire indicate complex rituals, possibly linked to incineration and successive deposition ceremonies of the deceased. The slab, initially 5.50 m long, lay on two sandstone pillars, one of which was broken during the discovery.

Schmit's excavations also revealed traces of re-use of the grave, with funeral deposits spread over time. The presence of isolated skulls and scattered bones suggests postmortem handling practices of the remains, common in the collective burials of this period. The site, although partially altered, remains a key testimony of megalithic traditions in Champagne-Ardenne (now Grand Est).

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