South Mauvans tomb
DatedEst. 4500–3300 BCE
Photo MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 4.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
The South Mauvans tomb (tombe en blocs de Mauvans Sud) is a prehistoric tomb at Saint-Cézaire-sur-Siagne, in the department of Alpes-Maritimes, France. It has been inscribed as a historic monument since 26 April 1989.
The tomb lies within a tumulus 9 m in diameter and contained ten human skeletons. Its contents were dated to the Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age, while the catalogue record gives a typological estimate of 4500 to 3300 BCE.
Read on Wikipedia2 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
South Mauvans tomb
It is formed of blocks that outline an oval shape and measures about 1,70 m by 1,50 m, with a depth of 1 m.
DescriptionSources for this section
Sources for this section
The tomb is set inside a tumulus 9 m in diameter. It is formed of blocks that outline an oval shape and measures about 1,70 m by 1,50 m, with a depth of 1 m.
FindsSources for this section
Sources for this section
Ten human skeletons and three hundred and thirty teeth were recovered from the tomb, together with fragments of flint and a bead.
DatingSources for this section
Sources for this section
The assemblage as a whole has been dated to the Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age. The catalogue record, by contrast, gives a typological estimate of 4500 to 3300 BCE, so the two indications differ.
ContextSources for this section
Sources for this section
The general megalith records for France cover a range of monuments: dolmens and covered alleys (allées couvertes), menhirs, cromlechs, tumuli, groups of stones and polissoirs. Some of the oldest monuments in Europe are in western France, and the Carnac stones in Brittany, with more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones, are the largest collection in the world.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
French megaliths
The Atlas's general "megalith" records for France cover a range of monuments: dolmens and covered alleys (allées couvertes), menhirs, cromlechs, tumuli, groups of stones, and polissoirs. Some of the oldest monuments in Europe are in western France, and the Carnac stones in Brittany, with more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones, are the largest collection in the world.
A polissoir, "polisher", is a Neolithic stone tool used for polishing and sharpening stone objects, especially axes, adzes and chisels. They date to about 5,000 years ago. Polissoirs are typically large stones with smooth, concave surfaces or grooves, made of hard and abrasive rocks such as sandstone, granite or quartzite, and the surface often shows distinctive wear patterns from the back-and-forth motion used to refine the edges of tools. They come in two types: earthfast, large and immovable and found in their original position, and portable. A polissoir is not strictly a megalith, but it is recorded with them because it is a large stone of the same period.
In the Atlas a record with an unspecified type receives a broad Neolithic range, since it cannot be tied to a particular phase. Many small dolmens survive only as a few stones in a field and cannot be dated closely.
Folklore: La Roche-aux-Fées near Essé takes its name, "the fairies' rock", from a legend that fairies placed the stones.
When visiting, look for the polished grooves on boulders near dolmens, and for the way a capstone is propped.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Dolmen, Wikipedia: Menhir, Wikipedia: Carnac stones, Wikipedia: Polissoir, Wikipedia: La Roche-aux-Fées · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 1989
Cette tombe en blocs fait l’objet d’une inscription au titre des monuments historiques depuis le 26 avril 1989.
Source
Photographs
1 photograph, each with its author and licence
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 4500–3300 BCEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypical range for megaliths in France; this site has not been dated itself. The megaliths of north-west France are among the oldest in Europe; the Carnac stones date from 4500-3300 BC.Source for this date
Where it stands
France
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 43°40′24″ N, 6°48′31″ EFor a GPS or map app: 43.67320, 6.80850
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
South Mauvans dolmen4000–3000 BCE- DolmenSouth Mauvans dolmen and tomb4000–3000 BCE
Les Puades dolmen4000–3000 BCE- Megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones)Tumulus du Prignon5000–3000 BCE
- Dolmendolmen du Prignon4000–3000 BCE
- Dolmendolmen du Dégoutay4000–3000 BCE
Dolmen de la Graou4000–3000 BCE
Colbas 1 dolmen4000–3000 BCE
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q3531135wikidata.org
- 02Source for this dateen.wikipedia.org
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Tombe en blocs de Mauvans Sud" (French), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors