Nécropole de Robinson (Malausette): Group A
Lineal cairn cemetery here with a line of five tumuli - three of which are clearly visible in the shot. I've added Flickr text boxes for date details.
The local rock is a vivid and luminous micaschist rich in squared nodules of white and, at times pink quartz. Today cemeteries can be aside churches near urban centres, here the soil could not support large populations and the long term use of the site was probably due to a belief in qualities associated with the geography - a vivid rock, and once again white quartz (see other posts for sites associated with this vein). Bodies taken up to a sacred loci.
Jean Salles named the site 'Robinson' in the early 60s - after an adjacent local name. Further excavations by the G.A.R.A. between 1993 and 1995. The site has a second name (Malausette) and a second set of ID numbers (A5 is thus Robinson 10)...
380-350m altitude. The axe of the 58m long total 'line' is north by north west - south by south east. The two other clusters of the nécropole seem to be amorphous.
Central box graves are smaller than extended human bodies. Several tumuli did not provide grave goods which is not atypical. The site is towards the edge of the Cevennes and sits back from today's city of Arles. The age of large megalithic dolmens is here fading out with a slow and sure style.
Thanks to Jacques Gauthey and Bernard Dedet for their paper and to Bruno Marc for his expose.
AJM 9.5.19
Nécropole de Robinson (Malausette): Group A
Lineal cairn cemetery here with a line of five tumuli - three of which are clearly visible in the shot. I've added Flickr text boxes for date details.
The local rock is a vivid and luminous micaschist rich in squared nodules of white and, at times pink quartz. Today cemeteries can be aside churches near urban centres, here the soil could not support large populations and the long term use of the site was probably due to a belief in qualities associated with the geography - a vivid rock, and once again white quartz (see other posts for sites associated with this vein). Bodies taken up to a sacred loci.
Jean Salles named the site 'Robinson' in the early 60s - after an adjacent local name. Further excavations by the G.A.R.A. between 1993 and 1995. The site has a second name (Malausette) and a second set of ID numbers (A5 is thus Robinson 10)...
380-350m altitude. The axe of the 58m long total 'line' is north by north west - south by south east. The two other clusters of the nécropole seem to be amorphous.
Central box graves are smaller than extended human bodies. Several tumuli did not provide grave goods which is not atypical. The site is towards the edge of the Cevennes and sits back from today's city of Arles. The age of large megalithic dolmens is here fading out with a slow and sure style.
Thanks to Jacques Gauthey and Bernard Dedet for their paper and to Bruno Marc for his expose.
AJM 9.5.19