Images (4)
Fieldnotes (2)

Images

Image of Dolmen 1 de Coste-Claude (Passage Grave) by Moth

Wednesday 5 September 2007 Weird ‘double-decker’ effect of the passage and chamber – the top part of the chamber basically just projects strangely far above the passage

Image credit: Tim Clark

Moth Sep 21, 2007

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Image credit: Tim Clark

Moth Sep 21, 2007

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Image credit: Tim Clark

Moth Sep 21, 2007

Wednesday 5 September 2007 Jane gives scale to the dolmen and its mound

Image credit: Tim Clark

Moth Sep 21, 2007

Articles

Dolmen 1 de Coste-Claude

Passage Grave

Jane Sep 21, 2007

It’s signposted from the road. Near to it is a stupid statue that looks like a menhir that’s meant to look like prehistoric man, just next to where you park but don’t bother with it. It’s shit. Instead walk past to the dolmen – it’s not far and it’s another double decker dolmen, but with no concrete slabs, just really nicely proportioned well cut blocks making a really pleasing monument. It has a nice little passage and plenty of mound.

Dolmen 1 de Coste-Claude

Passage Grave

Moth Sep 21, 2007

Access: A walk of a few hundred metres along a decent dirt path (might be muddy in the wet). Take the A75 motorway to the Lodève area (see also Dolmen de Coste-Rouge and Dolmen de la Bruyère d’Usclas).

For this one and others very near by, leave the A75 at junction 52 and take the D25 through St Etienne-de-Gourgas and St Pierre-de-la-Fage. From St Pierre, continue for around 3km and take a left turn (north) on the small D152. The dirt path to the dolmen is reasonably easy to spot on the left (west) after around 1.5km.

As you set off on the path, you should be able to see what looks like a menhir a few metres away on your left. This is actually (allegedly!) a sculpture by Paul Dardé, representing prehistoric man. Hmmm. Ignore it (or have a quick look!) and continue on the path which goes through scrubby trees, bending round to the left. After around 150 metres, you should be at the passage grave, on your left I think.

Visited Wednesday 5 September
This one had been fascinating us ever since we saw a photo, as it looks like a double-decker dolmen! (The nearby Grand Dolmen de Ferussac is similar but has a nasty concrete sideslab.)

In both cases, what you actually have is simply a passage grave where the chamber is considerably taller than the passage. The remaining mound is just to the height of the passage, all of which creates an unusual appearance. They do look cool though!

The monument is smaller than I expected from photos, but I guess if the whole thing was covered, being so tall it would have been a pretty large structure incuding its full mound. Restored to its current gorgeous condition in 1978, without a nasty concrete replacement stone....

The ruined Dolmen 2 de Coste-Claude is around 85 metres to the SE, but I only just found it with a compass. According to Bruno Marc in Dolmens et Menhirs en Languedoc et Roussillon there is also a third, even more ruined tomb 265 metres to the SW but I didn’t even try for that one. (I’m also not sure whether it’s 265 metres from Dolmen 1 or Dolmen 2.)