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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen de Bagneux, also called La Grande Pierre Couverte or La Roche-aux-Fées, is a megalithic building located in the hamlet of Bagneux, on the town of Saumur (Maine-et-Loire). With a length of 17.30 m and a maximum width of 5.40 m, it is one of the largest dolmens of France, characteristic of the Neolithic period. Its funerary chamber, covered with four slabs, including a split, opens to the southeast and is preceded by a partial antechamber, making it a rare example of angeline dolmen to portico. The materials, local Senonian sandstones, come from deposits located 200-400 m from the site.

The documented history of the dolmen begins in 1775, when the naturalist Deodat Gratet of Dolomieu (mentioned under the name Dolomieu in the sources) searches the site without discovering any objects. In 1812, J.F. Bodin proposed a first description of this in his Historical Research on Saumur, followed in 1839 by a mention of Ampère evoking a skeleton and a stone knife found nearby. The Dolmen was listed as a historic monument in 1889 and was surrounded by the remains of a tumulus, still visible in 1847. Today his private property, his visit is paid.

Local folklore attributes its construction to mythical entities such as fairies, Druids or Goths, reflecting past questions about the origin of these megaliths. The slabs, transported from the nearby heights of Bournan and Terrefort, bear witness to a remarkable technical mastery for the time. The site also illustrates the evolution of neolithic funeral practices, with a collective chamber characteristic of this period.

Archivistic sources, such as 19th century engravings, reveal later changes: the narrower right entrance slab is not original. Michel Gruet, in Mégalithes en Anjou (2005), confirms his status as the largest angelevin dolmen with portico, stressing its importance in the regional megalithic heritage. The successive excavations and descriptions documented his condition, although his funeral content disappeared before the first scientific explorations.

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