Dolmen de la Pitchoune

The Dolmen de la Pitchoune, also called the Dolmen de la Pichone, is a Neolithic funerary monument on the commune of Ménerbes in Vaucluse, France. Together with the dolmen de l'Ubac at Goult and the dolmen called l'Autel du Loup at Sault, it is one of only three known dolmens in Vaucluse and one of the rare examples in Provence.

This is a small dolmen, about 1,50 m high. Its capstone rests on two parallel dry-stone walls built with overlapping courses, while two doorstones form the front. It was gradually buried by sand and partly buried in the ground, then uncovered by Gérard Sauzade in 1972.

Around 1860, the monument was emptied of its archaeological contents and used as a cellar by its owner. A dig conducted by Moirenc in 1909 recovered flint flakes and pottery sherds. Sieving material thrown out from the chamber also revealed an arrowhead, two disc-shaped shell beads, and some undecorated pottery sherds. It has been listed as a historic monument since 1910.

The Dolmen de la Pitchoune is dated by typological estimate to 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE. France has an unusually rich concentration of dolmens: about 4,500 are scattered across 60 French departments. Most date to the Late Neolithic, and many were originally covered with earth or smaller stones to form a mound.

Dolmen de la Pitchoune is a dolmen in Ménerbes, 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 Pichone", shown in the original language.