Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Polissoir de Saintes is a megalithic vestige dated from the Neolithic period marked by the emergence of agriculture and the first polished stone tools. Located in Saintes, Charente-Maritime, this monument illustrates the artisanal practices of the era, where communities used stone blocks to sharpen and shape their tools in flint or hard rock. Its current location, at 140 Gambetta Avenue in the garden of the Prehistory Educational Museum, facilitates its access to the public and its preservation.

The polisher was officially recognized for its heritage value by a classification order for historical monuments, published on 15 July 1964. This ranking underscores its archaeological importance and its role in understanding prehistoric techniques in New Aquitaine. The site is referenced in the Mérimée base, a national tool for the inventory of architectural heritage, under the code Insee 17415 corresponding to the municipality of Saintes.

In Neolithic, polishers were essential elements of megalithic landscapes, often associated with places of life or passage. These blocks, shaped by the repeated wear and tear of the tools, testify to a social organisation where the transmission of technical know-how played a central role. In Charente-Maritime, a region rich in prehistoric sites, this polisher is part of a wider network of comparable monuments, reflecting a dense and structured human occupation during this period.

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