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Origin and history

The Dolmen de la Maison Trouvée, also known as the Dolmen de la Ville au Voyer, is a megalithic monument located in the delegated municipality of La Chapelle-Caro, now integrated in Val d'Oust (Morbihan, Brittany). Dated from Neolithic, it was mentioned in the 19th century under the names of Maison Trouée or Maison Found by local scholars such as Abbé Mahé (1825), Cayot-Delandre (1847) and Rozensweig (1863). This dolmen, of an angelvin type, consists of a rectangular sepulchral chamber (4.30 m x 2 m) covered with a colossal slab of 5.90 m long, surrounded by a circular terter 12 m in diameter bounded by quartz blocks. A local legend combines the site with Folliards, supernatural beings supposed to substitute newborns, a practice that was conjured by throwing nine red apples into boiling water.

The monument was classified as Historical Monuments on August 28, 1934, recognizing its archaeological value. According to Cayot-Délandre's descriptions, the dolmen was originally girded with a wall of stones that had now disappeared, and its access corridor (1 m wide) showed traces of a door, suggesting a ritualized closure. All tiles, in purple shale, support a split cover table, a rare feature. The excavations and studies, like those of Jean L-Helgouach, highlight its typical architecture of the angeline dolmens, while bibliographical references (Briard, Gouézin, Hamon) document its integration into the Breton megalithic landscape.

The surrounding folklore reflects popular beliefs related to prehistoric sites, where these monuments were often perceived as places inhabited by evil entities. The practice of offering (like apples) illustrates the apotropaic rites intended to protect families. Today, the dolmen remains a major testimony of the funeral and symbolic practices of Neolithic in interior Brittany, while asking questions about the construction techniques and social organization of the communities that have erected it.

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