Restoration of dolmens 2 and 3 1992 (≈ 1992)
Work by Hélène Barge.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Georges Bérard - Archaeologist
Discoverer and searcher of the dolmens (1962).
Hélène Barge - Restaurant and archaeologist
Restoration of dolmens 2 and 3 (1992).
Origin and history
The dolmens of the Adrets form a megalithic set of four collective burials located in Brignoles, in the Var. Discovered in 1962 by Georges Bérard, they were searched in the same year (n°1 to 3) and in 1986 (n°4). Their simple architecture, with rectangular or square chambers and oval tumulus, reveals evolutionary funeral practices, from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. Dolmen No. 4, the most recent, is distinguished by its campaniform furniture and the absence of burnt bones.
The excavations revealed archaeological layers disturbed by subsequent occupations (Roman, medieval) and looting. Dolmen No. 1, used as a shelter from ancient times, preserves three strata dated from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. No. 2, restored in 1992, housed incinerated deposits protected by slabs. The number 3, violated in the sixth century, contained sigillated ceramics. No. 4, the best preserved, delivered 1,677 human teeth, suggesting 89 burials, and a rich furniture (flint handler, pearls, necklaces).
Classified or listed as historical monuments since 1988, these dolmens illustrate protohistoric funeral practices in Provence. Their furniture (campaniform vases, arrow frames) and their architecture (tumulus, covering slabs) testify to an organized society, where collective burials played a major social and symbolic role. The restorations (1992) and subsequent studies (Bérard, Barge) partially reconstructed their history despite the disruptions.
The dolmen n°4 is distinguished by its intact cover table (3.5 tons), rare in the Var, and its unique funeral practices: the bodies, deposited without burial, were disarticulated after decomposition, the bones classified by type along the walls. This methodical organization, combined with abundant furniture (60 ceramic teasses, ornament elements), suggests a site of regional importance, used over centuries.
Archaeological sources (Bérard, Roudil, Barge) highlight the exceptional concentration of remains (150 to 200 buried individuals) and the diversity of artifacts, from Chalcolithic to Iron Age. The Dolmens des Adrets, because of their state of conservation and their documentary richness, is a key milestone in understanding the megalithic societies of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
