Dolmen de la Pierre Virante
Dolmens dits la Pierre Virante · Soullans Pierre Virante
Middle Neolithic·Vendée Atlantic·🇫🇷 Pays de la Loire, Vendée, Soullans, France
About
About Dolmen de la Pierre Virante
Neolithic dolmen group at La Pierre Virante near Soullans, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, comprising two adjacent dolmens (Virante I and II) built c.3500–2800 BCE. The dolmens share a common mound remnant and show Vendée's paired-dolmen phenomenon. Scheduled Monument historique, standing in flat marais hinterland near the Atlantic, illustrating coastal plain megalithism.
Why it mattersNeolithic dolmen group at La Pierre Virante near Soullans, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, comprising two adjacent dolmens (Virante I and II) built c.3500–2800 BCE. The dolmens share a common mound remnant and show Vendée's pa
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Paired versus single dolmen evolution
Theories
- 01Marais coastal plain siting
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3500–2800 BCE
- Period
- Middle Neolithic
- Culture
- Vendée Atlantic
- Purpose
- Paired dolmens on shared mound
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 3500–2800 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1041 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
46.7869° N · 1.8912° W · 15 m · 2 mapped features
Pierre Virante I
dolmenEastern dolmen with chamber and capstone, paired with II
46.7869° N · 1.8912° WPierre Virante II
dolmenWestern dolmen adjacent to I, shared mound
46.7869° N · 1.8913° W