Dolmen de Ferrières

The monument was built on the south-west flank of an elongated hill overlooking two depressions. The tumulus is 20 m in diameter. It follows the natural relief, with a flat top but steep sides, which helps to conceal it in its surroundings. It contains the dolmen, called the grand dolmen or dolmen no. 1 by Arnal, and a second burial chamber.

The dolmen is preceded by a corridor built of dry stone, more than 7.5 m long and about 0.70 m wide, reaching more than 1 m in height at the entrance to the dolmen. The chamber is sub-rectangular, 3.5 m long by 2.5 m wide, and is bounded by orthostates. Its corners were carefully filled with dry stones. The west side of the chamber is formed by two orthostates, one of which has an arc-shaped slit 0.80 m in diameter, the only opening now visible. The original entrance to the chamber was blocked by later alterations.

A second chamber, built of dry stone in the form of a long corridor 2.5 m long by 0.6 m wide, was added later at right angles to the axis of the original dolmen.

The original dolmen was built around 2500 BCE by a population of the Ferrières group. It was reused around 2000 BCE by a Fontbouisse population (fontbuxienne), which used the access corridor for its burials. The second chamber is thought to have been added in the Early or Middle Bronze Age, between 1800 BCE and 1400 BCE, closing the corridor 2 m from the entrance. The whole monument is thought to have been reused from time to time in the Late Bronze Age.