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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The dolmens of Grosse Pérotte and Petite Pérot are megaliths located in Fontenille, Charente, at the edge of Luxé. These monuments of angoumoisin type, distant about fifty meters, are mentioned from the 15th century as terminals of the seigneury of Château-Renaud. They were described by Chaudruc de Crazannes in 1826 and by Abbé Michon in 1844, then called Pierres de la Perotte. Their first official search, conducted by Auguste-François Lièvre in 1873, revealed bones and funeral objects. Ranked historic monuments in 1900, they illustrate regional megalithic architecture.

La Petite Pérot, searched in 2012-2013 by Vincent Ard, presents a polygonal room covered with a slab of 39 tons, resting on nine orthostates. Its circular tumulus, about 15 m in diameter, had two concentric walls. The room, paved and equipped with a side cell, contained bones of six individuals, decorated cup-towers, and arrow frames dating from the Middle Neolithic. Recent consolidation has added a central pillar.

The Grosse Perotte, less studied, has a covered table broken in three pieces, resting on ten orthostates. Its rectangular chamber (3.40 m × 2.30 m) houses engravings: one axe and two hooks in bas-relief. Stunned in 1873, it delivered calcined bones of nine individuals, pottery decorated with chevrons, arrow frames, and ornament elements. These dolmens testify to the funeral and artistic practices of Neolithic in Charente.

The two monuments, typical of Angoumoisian megalithism, reflect a construction in two phases: bedroom and cairn, then adding a second wall of trimming. Their funeral furniture, attributed to the Middle Neolithic, Final and Campaniform, reveals a prolonged occupation. Their classification in 1900 and recent excavations underline their heritage importance, while asking questions about their symbolic and social functions in neolithic communities.

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