Dolmen de la Gaillarde-sur-Mer, Neolithic dolmen in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, France

Dolmen de la Gaillarde-sur-Mer is a Neolithic burial chamber built from local schist and gneiss slabs. Its chamber measures 2.5 m long by 2 m wide and opens west through a damaged 1.5 m by 1 m passage. The covering slab survives but has collapsed inward, and one slab south of the head end has been torn away.

The dolmen is the only survivor of a group of three tombs; the other two were destroyed during construction of the Beaumont housing estate in the 1960s, leaving only their plans. Paul Raymond studied the tombs in 1908 and 1910, and V. Cotte excavated in 1924, but the results of these digs remain unpublished. The monument was classified as a historical monument in 1910, and Dolmen No. 1 was restored in 1995 under Hélène Barge.

The name Gaillarde may come from the nearby hamlet. Paul Raymond examined the site in 1908 and 1910, and V. Cotte in 1924, but the results of their digs remain unpublished. The two destroyed tombs may have been block graves rather than true dolmens.

The dolmen is located on Avenue des Tumulus and remains freely accessible throughout the year for visitors. You can approach the structure directly and explore the stone formation at your own pace.

The two lost tombs were studied by Paul Raymond in 1908 and 1910; he called them dolmens, though they may have been block tombs. Their excavation results, like those of V. Cotte's 1924 dig, were never published. Only plans of the destroyed tombs remain.