Pierre-aux-Fées, Neolithic dolmen in Reignier-Esery, France
Pierre-aux-Fées is a Neolithic megalith in Reignier-Esery featuring a massive covering slab held up by three stone pillars. The slab stretches approximately 5 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, creating a chamber space beneath it.
The monument was first documented in 1819 and initially described as a druidic altar. In 1910 it received official protection as a classified historical monument in France.
The dolmen's name reflects local legends about fairies who supposedly transported stones to this location. Stories connected it to a medieval knight named Aymon de Bellecombe and a celebration that required supernatural assistance.
The dolmen stands beside the road between the village of L'Eculaz and the rise of Saint-Ange, on the Rocailles plain, about twelve kilometres south-east of Geneva. The ground around the monument was lowered by 0.30 to 0.60 m after its 1910 listing to make it more visible, so the stones now sit in a shallow excavated area.
The 2007 laser scan measured the capstone at 15.04 m³, giving a mass of just under 40 tonnes. The same survey showed that the grooves cut into its underside do not align with the tops of the three uprights, suggesting the slab was first shaped for a larger monument and reused here.
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