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Origin and history

The Thirteen Menhirs of the so-called Maisonnette group are part of an exceptional megalithic ensemble located on the Cham des Bondons, a limestone plateau of the southwest of Mount Lozère, in Lozère. This site, integrated into the Cevennes National Park, houses 154 menhirs in several groups, constituting the second concentration of megalithic monuments in Europe after Carnac. The menhirs, carved in granite despite local limestone soil, bear witness to a careful transport and installation by Neolithic populations.

The first inventory of menhirs was made in the 1940s by Dr. Charles Morel, who recorded about 120. In the second half of the 20th century, Gilbert Fages, of the service of Antiquities of the Lozère, completed this research. Many menhirs, found lying down, were straightened between 1980 and 1990 through joint operations between the DRAC Occitanie and the Cevennes National Park. The group of La Maisonnette, registered to historical monuments since June 5, 1941, is distinguished by its fusiform menhirs at often ogival or conical peaks.

Menhirs of the Cham des Bondons are generally fusiform, with polished edges and peaks in warhead or flattened cone. The group of the Maisonnette stretches on two parallel ridge lines, facing north-south, separated by a ravine. Among the notable menhirs, the Pierre des Trois Parosses marks the boundary between the communes of Bondons, Ispagnac and Saint-Étienne-du-Valdonrez. This monolith, long lying down, was straightened and measured today less than 3 meters, although it had to exceed 5 meters originally.

Two granite quarries, identified near Fontpadelle and Pranleri, confirm the distant origin of the materials. Fontpadelle's career still reveals slabs ready for transport, as well as a block whose fragment was used to erect a stele in homage to the Dupeyron sisters, teachers who died in 1941. Menhirs, often associated with nearby tumuli or dolmens, illustrate the funeral and symbolic importance of this site during the Neolithic period.

The plateau de la Cham des Bondons, in addition to its megalithic heritage, presents geological peculiarities such as the puechs (Jurassic controls) and the Malaval cave, explored from the 1950s onwards. This cave, known for its daragonite concretions, adds a speleological dimension to the site. The whole, protected and studied, offers a rare testimony of the practices and beliefs of neolithic societies in the Cevennes.

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