It was common knowledge in Usson-du-Poitou, at least for the oldest inhabitants, that several dolmens appeared in the register of curiosities of municipal heritage.
Béatrice Guyonnet, coordinator of architecture and heritage for the Vienne and Gartempe community of communes (CCVG), reported this in a richly documented work entitled Usson over the centuries. This, well after Pierre-Amédée Brouillet, archaeologist, painter and sculptor, born in Charroux in 1826, who carried out numerous researches in the south of Vienne. This described, as early as 1864, the presence of five megaliths not far from the stronghold of Artron. These were initially an integral part of a tumulus (covered with stone and earth).
From five megaliths to two today
Built between 4,500 and 2,500 BC, only two remain today.
Buried for many years in the bushes, out of sight of passers-by, two of these last testimonies of human presence, established at the place aptly named the Lifting Stone, were brought to light by municipal employees on Tuesday November 5, 2024.
Following the cessation of agricultural activity, the plot where these old dolmens are located, halfway between the Logis de la Vau and the hamlet of La Plaine, is in the process of being purchased by the municipality. “It remains to make the place suitably accessible and easy to maintain at a low cost. We requested help from Sorégies patrimoine (1)enthusiastically indicated the mayor, Michel Jarassier. The attribution file seems to me to be on track. »
The development of the site is now underway and, there is no doubt that walkers using the Chêne Tremblant hiking trail will now be able to add the discovery of this historic and inspiring space to their walking diary.
(1) The Vienne departmental energy union, electricity and gas supplier, opens each year, through its subsidiary Sorégies Patrimoine, a competition intended to support local projects to safeguard small rural heritage.
