The 5 dolmens of Les Oeillantes

Mas de la Fontenette 20/01/2025 Activities and leisure from the Mas de la Fontenette, Activities in the Ardèche, Dolmens in the Ardèche, Hiking in the Ardèche, MOUNTAIN BIKE

The Oeillantes dolmen is one of around twenty accessible from the Mas de la Fontenette in the Ardèche gorges. Mas de la Fontenette is a 4-star gite with heated swimming pool and wellness area.

Dolmens dating back to the Neolithic period

Megaliths are large blocks of stone (from the Greek mega = large and lithos = stone). These stone monuments can be found all over the world. Europe is particularly rich in megaliths, especially England, France, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia… .
A dolmen is a prehistoric megalithic structure consisting of one or more large slabs (tables) resting on vertical stones (orthostats).
The term dolmen comes from the Welsh language and means a stone table. Today, it encompasses the majority of megalithic monuments.
More than 50,000 have been counted in France. These were covered with earth and stone to form burial mounds. In most cases, this protection has disappeared, leaving visitors with nothing more than the apparent superimposition of stones.

The main dolmen at Les Oeillantes

One of the side stones and the top stone of the main dolmen at Les Oeuillantes have collapsed. This monument dates back to the Neolithic period, around 3,000 BC, shortly before the start of the Bronze Age.

The 4 other dolmens at Les Oeillantes

Not 1 but 5 dolmens are grouped together at the Dolmens des Oeillantes. There are many other dolmens in the vicinity of Mas de la Fontenette. For example, the champagnac dolmen, the font du loup dolmen, etc. The Ardèche is one of the departments with the most dolmens in France.

Historical background

Here are a few dates to put the Neolithic into historical context:
– 300,000 years Palaeolithic: first human traces in the region :
discovery of bifaces (La Prade)
– 30,000 years Upper Palaeolithic: numerous carved flints (Rieusset,
Lassagne,Vausservière)
– 10,000 years ago Neolithic: the first shepherds and farmers: walls and capitelles (La Chanau)
– 3,000 years Neolithic: the perfectly preserved Champagnac dolmen
– 2,000 years Metal Age: weapons found at the entrance to Foussoubie
– 600 years The “Greek” Mediterranean-Auvergne route, probably a fortified post on the edge of the Orgnac woods, marks the beginning of the village
– 125 years Foundation of Transalpine Gaul by the Romans, of which Helvie is a part.