Dolmen de la Pierre Cesée

The Dolmen de la Pierre Cesée is a dolmen at Soucelles in the French département of Maine-et-Loire. It belongs to the type known as “Angevin” and is built from sandstone. Its estimated date is 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE, based on a typological estimate.

The burial chamber is more than 7 metres long and 3 metres wide. It is covered by a single capstone measuring 8,80 m long and 3 m wide; the stone is broken in two, but both pieces remain in place. The head slab is deeply notched. The north side has two slabs separated by an interval of 1,55 m, while the south side includes an upright slab 2,90 m high, of which 1,10 m is buried in sandy soil. The southeast pillar remains in position with a visible offset between its two halves.

Partial excavations by G. Denizot and Desmazières in 1929 exposed features including a former entrance at the southeast end and remains of a porch that once preceded the chamber. The monument was partly restored in 1958, although the work was considered rather unorthodox. Sieving the excavated material produced many ceramic and flint fragments, including only one small, shaped scraper.

The monument was classified as a historic monument in 1910. According to tradition, a fairy who built the dolmen left the marks of her heel and staff on the upper surface of the capstone before jumping into the Loir. Another tradition says that Pierre Césée was broken by lightning. A further explanation treats the name as a corruption of César, who is associated nearby with the menhir des Foucronières, also called Doigt de César.

Dolmen de la Pierre Cesée is a dolmen in Soucelles, France. A typological estimate: 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the French article "Dolmen de la Pierre Cesée", shown in the original language.