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The Dolmen of Oppagne
(aka southern gallery grave, Wéris II )
The Dolmen of Oppagne"
(Wéris II) ) was
discovered at the end of the 19th century by a farmer’s son.
Félix, the son of farmer Antoine Lambert, wanted to help his
father by removing several big boulders which were a nuisance as they
got in the way when they wanted to plough one of their fields.
However, young Félix was a thoughtful chap and before he set
to
on removing the boulders he inspected them more carefully. Upon close
examination he noticed a remarkable resemblance between the stones in
his father’s field and those which comprised the Dolmen of
Wéris about one mile distant!
Fortunately for us he was correct and his realisation of their
significance meant that the stones remained where they were.
Plan after restoration (©
Région wallonne)
The internal dimensions of the burial chamber are 5
metres
long by 1 to 1.8 meters wide and from 0.7 to 0.9 meter high. The walls
of the chamber are the rear slab or 'chevet)' (w), four upright slabs
(o-s-t & u), supporting three capstones that form the roof
(p-q-r),
and the port-hole slab (m).
The port-hole slab has an arched opening in its middle in the shape of
an 'n', this is the passage through which the bodies were passed into
the chamber. In front of this port-hole slab are two other slabs lying
on the ground (h & i) - these were probably meant to be set
upright
in order to close the chamber. Like the Dolmen of Wéris this
gallery grave has a short uncovered porch (b & e and a
& j).
On the ground near the back of the burial chamber lies a large slab of
puddingstone (x). This is slightly lower in the ground than the grave
itself; why it is here and what it means are unknown at present; a
further mystery to be solved.
The many small stones that can be found on the site were used as 'stop
stones'; i.e. stones to fill-in the gaps between the larger slabs so
that the chamber was completely sealed.
Outer tiles
(© Région wallonne) |
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These dolmens were built in the
Neolithic Period
some 5000 years ago by people of the SOM Culture. Human bone fragments
confirm that burials took place in the Dolmen of Oppagne of at least
ten individuals of different ages. The grave-gifts discovered, include
scrapers, hammer stones and six-tanged arrowheads dating from the
Neolithic Period. Pottery fragments, dating from the later time of the
Bell Beaker culture in the Bronze Age indicate the possible re-use of
the monument between 2200 and 2000 BC.
Manhirs
Nearby, at a distance of 25 metres
to the east of
the Dolmen of Oppagne, are five menhirs. Three of these were found at
the time of the original discovery in 1888 whilst the other two were
unearthed during archeological excavations in 1986. Further digs
uncovered the original pits of four of these menhirs into which they
were repositioned in 1997. However, a fifth original pit has not been
found and thus one menhir remains lying on the ground adjacent to the
four erect stones.
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