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Origin and history

The archaeological site of the dolmen 3 of Saint-Martin-du-Larzac, located near Millau (Aveyron, Occitanie), is part of a prehistoric necropolis composed of five dolmens. This funerary monument, originally built at the age of ancient bronze, underwent major transformations until the age of the final bronze, before being reused as a necropolis in the High Middle Ages. Today destroyed, it was first mentioned in 1898 by Émile Cartailhac as dolmen de la Salvage, then studied by several archaeologists in the 20th century, including Louis Balsan (1927, 1939) and G. Costantini (1952). The excavations revealed rich furniture (covers, weapons, ceramics) and human bones, some of which bore traces of trepanation or cremation.

The dolmen was originally composed of a trapezoidal chamber of limestone slabs, facing east-west, covered with a tumulus of 12 to 13 metres in diameter. In the final Bronze, it was integrated into a paved elliptical platform, with a lauze-covered cover table and a stele in the east. Piled in 1937-1938 by a treasure hunter, the site was partially destroyed by its owner before the 1990 search. Discoveries include arrow tips, jais or bone necklaces, and bronze fragments, attesting to continuous occupation until the first Iron Age.

In the High Middle Ages, the tumulus was home to a necropolis of twenty graves in a vault, including a monumental grave containing four individuals. These graves, facing west-east as the dolmenic chamber, reused pre-existing structures. Dolmen No. 3 was listed in the Historical Monuments in 1998, although its current state no longer permits direct observation. Collections from the excavations are kept at the National Antiquities Museum (pinch, necklaces) and the Fenaille Museum (copper handler).

Studies reveal a double sepulchral vocation: first as a protohistoric collective grave, then as a medieval cemetery. The bones and furniture (pearls, pendants, weapons) suggest complex funeral practices, including cremations and offerings. The re-use of the site over more than 2,000 years illustrates its symbolic importance for successive communities, from the Bronze Age to the early medieval societies.

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