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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The dolmen of Saplos II is part of a wider archaeological complex, the necropolis of Surguières and Saplos, composed of five dolmens (and a probable sixth) distributed between the communes of Buzeins and Gaillac-d-Aveyron, in Aveyron. This prehistoric funeral site illustrates the collective burial practices of the time, although its precise dating is not mentioned in the available sources. The dolmens of Surguières, located nearby, have been partially classified or listed as historical monuments since 1933 and 1995, but official descriptions remain imprecise, notably for the dolmen of Saplous II, inscribed in 1995 under Parcel B 30.

The dolmen of Saplos II is distinguished by its partially preserved structure: two orthostats (vertical pillars) and a tumulus of about 9 meters in diameter, oriented on an azimuth of 100°. Close by, fractured slabs could be the remains of his cover table. Limited archaeological furniture – two points of flint arrows, flint fragments and pottery studs – was discovered on site and is now preserved at the Musée de Séverac-le-Château. A small chest construction, located to the west, remains unidentified, as does the exact period of its construction.

The location of the dolmen, some 20 metres south of the department D 155 and about 1,000 metres from the hamlet of Surguières, suggests a strategic settlement, possibly linked to old roads. The partial destruction of a sixth dolmen during the construction of D 155 bears witness to the threats to this heritage, while the imprecision of protection orders reflects the challenges of its preservation. The available, though fragmentary, sources underline the importance of this site to understand funeral practices and the spatial organization of prehistoric societies in Occitanie.

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