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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen de Nuisy, also known as Pierre de Sainte-Geneviève, is a megalithic monument located in Fontaine-Denis-Nuisy, in the department of Marne (Grand Est). Dating from recent Neolithic and Chalcolithic times, he testified to the funeral practices of that time. Ranked as historical monuments in 1889, it was restored in the early 1930s by Abbé Favret, who helped stabilize its structure and discover archaeological artifacts.

The dolmen consists of two orthostats (vertical pillars) and a bedside slab, topped by an imposing cover table. The sepulchral bedroom, facing south, is 2.25 m long, 1.35 m wide and 1.40 m high. During the restoration work, Favret collected fragments of ceramics and flint tools, including a spear tip, a punch-push and three sharp-armed arrows, confirming its funeral and ritual use.

This site illustrates the importance of megaliths in prehistoric societies in the region, where they served as collective burial sites. These monuments also marked the landscape and probably played a symbolic role in the territorial organization of neolithic communities. Their presence in the Marne, as elsewhere in Europe, reflects an architectural and cultural tradition shared over vast territories.

The early protection of the dolmen in 1889 underscores its heritage interest, while the excavations of the 20th century enriched the knowledge of the funerary and artisanal practices of the Chalcolithic. Today, the site remains a tangible testimony of this pivotal period between Neolithic and metal age, accessible to visitors in a preserved rural setting.

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