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Origin and history

The tumulus of the Hogue is a megalithic monument dated to the Neolithic, located in the Caen plain, in Fontenay-le-Marmion (Calvados). Discovered in 1829 by workers extracting stones, it was partially destroyed before being saved in 1840 by M. le Hardelay, owner of the local castle. Its name, Hogue, comes from the old Norman Haugr (bout or tumulus), from the old Norse, reflecting its Scandinavian origin.

The first excavations, conducted between 1830 and 1831 by the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, revealed twelve subcircular burial chambers accessible by dry stone corridors. Human bones, dispersed and sometimes burned, were accompanied by trimmings (perforated canines, ivory or amber pendants) and rudimentary tools (bone needles, flint flakes). Léon Coutier undertook restoration and excavation campaigns between 1904 and 1917, confirming the absence of intact skeletons.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1905, the tumulus, initially 8 to 10 meters high, lost part of its structure (including its northwest quarter) due to stone extractions in the 19th century. Room A, excavated in the 1960s by Édouard Laignel, contained an internal compartment of limestone Dallet. A local legend, overturned by archaeologists, evoked a Roman cemetery and a treasure hidden under the hill.

At 500 metres from the site, the tumulus of the Hoguette, of similar typology, bears witness to the funeral importance of this area during the Neolithic period. Subsequent studies, such as those of Léon Coutil or Jean-Luc Dron, emphasized the role of these collective graves in prehistoric funeral practices, before 3500 BC, in Lower Normandy.

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