2007 : The Pierre Fritte dolmen in Yermenonville (Eure-et-Loir) |
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The
objectives assigned in the initial program to the 2007 excavation
campaign on the site of the Pierre Fritte dolmen near Yermenonville,
Eure-et-Loir Department, were to finish excavating the monument
itself and its outlying areas. The discovery of the tip
of a large pit east of the dolmen prompted us to pursue
investigation of this sector. Initially, we would never
have believed that this structure would turn out to be so
extensive, both in surface and in depth.
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In 2007, we completed excavation
of the monument’s outlying areas, i.e., a surface
measuring 12 by 15 meters centering around the dolmen. The
peripheral pavement made of limestone blocks extends 6 m
to the north. There was not enough time for us to remove
this portion. Grave goods found there were similar to those
recovered previously. In the other sectors (south) the pavement
was totally removed, laying bare the underlying geological
layer. |
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Regarding the large pit in the eastern portion of the site
(Us B), we extended its excavation 4 m eastwards and 5 m southwards.
Although it was not possible during this campaign to reach
the deepest level in this part of the pit (the one containing
undisturbed Neolithic artefacts), prospecting with an auger
enabled us to delimit this hollow structure in its entirety. |
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On
site, a great deal of time was devoted to the vast amount
of documentary material derived during our previous campaigns.
All artefacts have been recorded in a computerized base,
all diagrams have been achieved their final form, and analysis
of the distribution of artefacts has moved ahead very substantially. |
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| In 2007,
we obtained the results of the palynological analysis and
of the C14 dating of bones from the ossuary trench (Late Neolithic).
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This very
considerable body of analyses has led us to call into question
some of the conclusions we proposed following the previous
year’s campaign. We have now come to believe that the
ossuary trench (the term we had been using through 2006) merely
represents the remains of a bone removal operation. We are
increasingly convinced that the Pierre Fritte dolmen had actually
been the primary site for the collective interment of the
19 individuals identified to date. The largest bones were
subsequently selected and removed from the dolmen to another
location. The splintered bones found in the rest of the burial
chamber are merely residual traces of their presence there.
Those bones that were smaller but still plainly visible were
retrieved (in a cleaning operation) and deposited in a trench
dug for the purpose in the chamber after the southern orthostat
had been overturned. |
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conclusions stated earlier are unchanged: the lateral pillars
were then tipped to the west, and we believe that the monument
was definitively rendered unusable by placing a large capstone
atop the whole. |
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Visibly, the history of this small dolmen in the Beauce region
provides us with heretofore undocumented information about
Neolithic burial rites and practices. |
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Summary
of the 2007 excavation report |
Text
: Dominique Jagu |
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