La Pierre-Levée, Neolithic dolmen in Poitiers, France.
La Pierre-Levée is a Neolithic dolmen in Poitiers situated on a small square along Rue du Dolmen and supported by pillars. The limestone structure marks an important archaeological site within the city.
The monument received its first written mention as Petra-Levata in 1299 and lies near an ancient Roman road connecting Lemonum to Lugdunum. This extended presence shows the site held significance across millennia.
The megalith appears in Rabelais' writings, where Pantagruel moves the stone to create a banquet table for students in Poitiers. This literary connection shows how the monument has captured the imagination of artists and writers for centuries.
The archaeological site offers free access throughout the year and sits at the intersection of several historical walking routes. These pathways make it easy to combine the visit with other nearby monuments.
The sources do not confirm carved signatures; they say only that Mercator, Ortelius, Hogenberg, Galle and Sadeler are said to have engraved their names in 1560. What is documented is a carving of a double-branched axe on the top face of the capstone, recorded in an 1862 plan by Alphonse Le Touzé de Longuemar.
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