Gaoutabry dolmen, Neolithic tomb in La Londe-les-Maures, France
The Gaoutabry dolmen stands as the largest monument of its kind in Var department, measuring approximately ten meters long and built from local schist slabs arranged to form a burial chamber and antechamber.
Discovered in 1876 by Baron Gustave Charles Ferdinand de Bonstetten, this monument was initially thought to be three separate structures before being confirmed as a single construction dating from 2800 to 2000 BC.
Archaeological excavations in 1975 uncovered remains of at least 34 individuals along with pottery fragments, flint arrowheads, crystal beads, and daggers, now preserved at the Archaeological Museum of Saint-Raphaël.
Located at 198 meters altitude in the Massif des Maures, the site is accessible via a marked blue trail from Notre Dame des Maures parking area, closed between June 21 and September 20 due to fire prevention measures.
The vertical stone slabs separating the chamber from the antechamber display notches suggesting they may have supported a wooden or stone roof, a construction technique rarely documented in Provençal dolmens.
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