Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Southern France. DOLMENS OF THE LANGUEDOC.

In the UK we are rightly proud of our megalithic heritage, but we often see our monuments as sparse, individual and isolated. Down in the Languedoc region of France there is something else going on - something that can tell us much more about what was really happening in the Neolithic.
Dolmens of the Languedoc is Rupert Soskin's exploration of just a few of the amazing megalithic monuments of South West France. There are wonderful sites to see, but the most illuminating thing about them are the sheer numbers.
Written & presented by Rupert Soskin
Produced & Directed by Michael Bott
SITES VISITED:
* Dolmen des Fades
* Le Grand Dolmen de Lauriol
* L'Allée couverte de Saint Eugène
* Necropolis de Bois Bas
* Palet de Roland
* Menhir de Malves
* Necropolis de la Clape
🔴 PATREON: / theprehistoryguys
We have a friendly and enthusiastic Patreon community helping us create our content through monthly subscription. Get access to exclusive (ad-free!) content, be on the inside track of what we're up to and help us build the channel.
🟡 BUY ME A COFFEE: www.buymeacoffee.com/prehisto...
If you want to show some love to the Prehistory Guys but don't want the commitment of a monthly subscription, you can make a on off donation by following the link below. NOTE: all single donations go forward to a special fund for our next location movie.
WEBSITE: theprehistoryguys.uk
Facebook: / theprehistoryguys
Twitter: / prehistoryguys
Instagram: / prehistoryguys

[@glenchapman3899]

I know you comment on how well such ruins are maintained in the UK, but I have got to say there has to be something truly magical about scrambling through scrub and brambles to 'discover' such monuments.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Hi Glen, Rupert here. You're absolutely right, it's amazing when you find something that hasn't been seen for years, and even then, when you know that a site has only been visited by a handful of people in thousands of years - love it:)

[@erniefrates1376]

@@ThePrehistoryGuys Rupert, I'm so jealous!😀 I'd give anything to get a chance to explore in such a way. It must be more exhilarating having to hack your way to the sites. I just wanted to mention how much I love this film! It's definitely my favorite of your shorter films. You know how stuck I am on the U.K. because of my ancestry, so thank you and Michael for showing me the wonders of some of the French sites. Absolutely stunning!

[@TIMTalksCooking]

Very nice! I kept thinking it must have been a lot of fun to film this. The photography and editing are brilliant!

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Very kind of you to say so! We certainly did enjoy our filming thank you - but my, IT WAS HOT! Hope you enjoy our other films too. 😊Best wishes from Michael

[@victoriawhite3662]

Wish I could “like” this more than once!

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Many thanks from Michael! So glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@CRMayerCo]

Fascinating video. Even though I’m separated by an ocean and thousands of years, it is utterly fascinating to be reconnected by your videos with people who were, most certainly, my ancestors.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@robaire.b]

Very much enjoyed this episode. More explorations of prehistory etc in France in this format would be much appreciated

[@lazenbytim]

Loved this. I really fancy a walking holiday in France now, does anyone do a pre-history hiking holiday in France? I think there would be interest.

[@erniefrates1376]

Rupert, I'm so jealous!😀 I'd give anything to get a chance to explore in such a way. It must be more exhilarating having to hack your way to the sites. I just wanted to mention how much I love this film! Thanks to you and Michael for showing me the wonders of some of the French sites. Absolutely stunning!

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Thanks Ernie, you’re so right, the exhilaration of finding something long forgotten - there are loads down here, some barely visible. I’ll try to show you some more before too long

[@k8eekatt]

Rupert, I am impressed with the nimbleness of your step.

[@CoopBox2014]

Informative, amazing cinematography, very well presented and totally awesome video - work very well done guys

[@zelly8163]

Thanks so much, oh dear the larks we have. So enthralling to go on a another journey with you. Living in Australia and haven taken every one of Tony Robinson's walks I am now waking with you in spirit. I look at my walking shoes and sigh how I wish I could tread these ancient paths. So, I just bought you groovy guys a coffee and promise to become a Patreon supporter to help with your work.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Thank you very much Gezelle, that's a lovely message and we really appreciate the support. You can't beat happy walking on ancient paths! R

[@care4ajellybaby403]

Great video as always gentlemen. Keep up the great work!

[@faramund9865]

This is a great video! I hope more people will find your content like I did today!

[@kariannecrysler640]

This is my favorite one! You truly make the audience feel like they are right there with you 😊

[@elainerichards6406]

Fascinating! Well worth the ramble through the brambles!

[@Tipi_Dan]

A joy. Watching is nigh participating. Scenery without parallel. Breeze in the boxwood.

[@amberliseleger900]

This was so so much fun to watch 😊 Thank you

[@paullee5449]

Rupert I was half expecting you To bump into David Bellamy At some point there ! Intrepid my man

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Haha, gwapple me gwapenuts Paul, we never knew what we might find in all that undergrowth:) Rupert

[@vincentrandles8105]

I hear ya! Being from where I'm from; (Coshocton county, Ohio) I hunt for artifacts in the fields and out of the way places. And every so often I, or someone else finds something really extraordinary! People will ask; "This was an Indian town, (however much I hate that term!) Where was it? Huh?" "Well it's under your feet!" We; as you pointed out, live where our antecedents lived. A guy some years back, (and some distance from the river) thought he'd enlarge his basement; (only half of the house had basement under) and his first two shovel thrusts were enough to dislodge a cache of just over 300 thin leaf knives of local (within the county, the city bares the same name) flint! At least he donated them to the local museum, for all too marvel at! Each one called a "blank" because they were pre-worked in the form of "leaf-blades' 6" long, but very thin. One can see how all flint points where at one time like these, and as they would be broken as knifes, then being used over again as something else in the "toolbox", because these were expensive items! (Which is also why they were cashed. (Probably, maybe....)

[@allthedeadhorses]

You guys should collate these shorter clips into another feature length super cut. I've probably watched Standing with Stones 20-30 times, I'd really enjoy an extended version of these smaller adventures. You'd get a ton of views. Mostly from me :D

[@The_Hero_Is_Back]

This was fascinating. Thanks.

[@Misses-Hippy]

This was a wonderful video. I just moved to this region and am exploring - so much history! Thank you very much.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Hi Misses Hippy, Rupert here. Glad you enjoyed it, whereabouts are you?

[@Misses-Hippy]

@@ThePrehistoryGuys I live in Elne, where Hannibal stopped on his way to the Alps.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Only a couple of hours from me then!

[@Misses-Hippy]

@@ThePrehistoryGuys Where are you? We bought an old stone house in the town of Elne, an unusual property for a village house, in that it has a good front yard, and a surprisingly deep barn. I invited the archaeology people to have a dig before we paved it over. In the 2 meters plus they dug out, they found a big pot, a house that was burned in the 1300s, and lot of bits and stuff. This village was burned to the ground twice, so the burned house might be related to that. Our bunnies keep digging up chunks of pottery. Although there are many Roman things around Elne, there were no Romans in our barn. We skipped over the Romans and the carrot hit the Iron Age, then the Bronze Age! There were foundation walls and more that continued beyond the dug-out area and remained covered. My life is complete now, I can die. Thud.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Best to email me: [e-mail]

[@Nyctophora]

What a beautiful site! At the start, but all of them :)

[@andanssas]

12:45 "they did like to give their dead a good view..." **📷 points to 🌄** 🤣

[@Misses-Hippy]

I think it may be they wanted the graves to be a challenge to find by strangers.

[@catherineoconnell3213]

👍🏻@19 Graves well protected by time ..........green over growth

[@stuartmarshall1966]

Gentleman - any link to the music you have used at the start of the video?! Thank you!

[@anapoda3081]

oh my, didn't expect this channel to talk about the litte corner of the word i'm from lol

[@MelissaBrownapt215]

Beautiful. This underscores for me that these stones had been dropped as glacial depositions, which would explain the presumed distances many are thought to have been transported. Locals merely took advantage of the bounty. Some may have been in positions making construction that much easier. For instance, if a stone is laying to the horizon, you can dig under it. No bother lifting it. We know our ancestors knew the concept of levers, so that we don't have to imagine aliens doing the work. Hahaha.

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Hi Melissa, Rupert here. In many cases you are probably right, but there are also many examples where the known site of origin is well below the megalith's final location, which glaciation couldn't do. So we do still have lots of places where we know people really were putting in a great deal of effort:)

[@18daisydoll65]

Brilliant

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Very kind of you to say so! 😊So glad you're enjoying all our stuff Daisy! Best wishes from Michael

[@RalphEllis]

You should also look at the Dolmens in Holland - they are quite interesting. RE

[@richardsleep2045]

That's really interesting. And yea, What Larks;)

[@stufour]

“La clape” is Occitan for “stoney place” :)

[@yodasmomisondrugs7959]

Oh my goodness that country side!

[@daniloarq]

GIANTS MAN, GIANTS!

[@nancythomas-wardm.b.a2993]

Dear Boyo,s. I had an anchoring to live in this region when very young for some reason however I ended up in Turkeye decades later where I felt the right place to be!!. Do you have any information I can study Celtic and stone history here please? I have seen Celtic standing stones and met A Celtic Professor!! Best from a welsh woman up a big mountain in TR xx

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Hi Nancy, Rupert here, only just seen your comment. When you say 'here', are you asking about Turkey? The megalithic sites predate the Celts so it depends what you line of research you want to follow.

[@DoctorCymraeg]

15:36 People only visit England, right? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿?

[@amberann1229]

Of course people don’t just visit England.He was comparing visitors to this region as those who go to England to visit Stonehenge. Many casual tourists who do the ‘Britain Tour’ and go to Stonehenge don’t realise that all four corners of our beautiful islands are crammed with pre historical sites.

[@rebelyell2741]

We’re the tombs with large number of individuals show signs of burial. Or were they in a “Pompeii” type state? Entombed in sedimentary layers?

[@deormanrobey892]

👀👍👍

[@leutiagrey8030]

How did they perfectly drill the holes?

[@torishequine8544]

Will be traveling to the area in June 2023. How do I find these? Can you suggest a guide?

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

I'd have shown you around myself but will be away in June. There are a couple of guide books you might find useful, 'Dolmens et Menhirs en Languedoc et Roussillon' and 'Statues-Menhirs et Dolmens des Causses et du haut Languedoc', both by Bruno Marc. Dm me if you want more help. All best, Rupert

[@torishequine8544]

@@ThePrehistoryGuys Thank you so much! I will try to find a copy. I can't wait!

[@JohnDelong-qm9iv]

It was darque in the arche made of bark.

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

Nice video, thank you. Please pronounce it "Kalkolithic" not "Chalk-olithic", as you don't say "char-acter", but "karakter" like other words that come into English with the Greek letter Khi. So that there be no confusion: the period of chalk is the Cretacious, not the Chalcolithic which means Copper-Stone.

[@mons.romerodurante8086]

The whole _tomb_ narrative is kind of hard to reconcile as anything other than later, disconnected improvisation. Some of the biggest dolmens in the world are found in the USA, where they have contained precisely _zero_ human remains. This is most logically explained by the fact that only post Ice Age cultures perceived these structures as tombs. The passage alignment with telluric currents has a very specific purpose in terms of seed health and germination potential. Greater nuclei resistance to free radicals or something, the exact botanical details make for quite dry reading. But one thing is for sure, put your seeds in a dolmen and you will get greater crop yield.

[@samgrimshaw388]

Completely different kettle of fish......

[@samgrimshaw388]

Thoso are natural rock formations not painstakingly built tombs

[@mons.romerodurante8086]

@@samgrimshaw388 If you see a glacial erratic when you look at the Tizer Dolmen, then surely there must be other examples of such things happening in the many other glaciers still active.

[@litogor]

Ridiculous...

[@JohnDelong-qm9iv]

The preflood men were extremely large and fit.( giants) . Thier post flood children gradually decreased in stature to thier current size.

[@19Edurne]

And you know that how exactly? Where are the fossils?

[@JohnDelong-qm9iv]

When the sons of Noah dispersed, during the Bab el diaspora, They commemorated the ark ( barque) by building these. The barge was effectively a coffin since the passengers were in a state of torpor. Every nation has its version of the ark memorialized this way.

[@StevieMc23]

Have bodies actually been found in these "tombs" or near them, as in people running for cover. Considering the level of celestial threat during the neolithic I suspect these had a protective purpose in this life.

[@blackaliss9488]

Am sure that those that have had remains in them were used are burial place much later than what these structures have been built

[@semperfidelis2970]

You need a drone

[@princessdrawing291]

When you visit Indonesia?

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

PrincessDrawing What would the film be about Princess?

[@princessdrawing291]

Dear Grandpa, this my video about a megalithic heritage site in Indonesia, kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4vLhomAmd2coMU

[@nodigBKMiche]

I believe that "Grandpa" is the honorific title for Rupert & Michael....I bet you would at the very least, have translators for your tour! Come on Pre-history Guys, take us to Indonesia 😁 👍🏼

[@vondahartsock-oneil3343]

I couldn't help but think the overhead view looked very much like the birth canal. Any significance? Birth/death=returning to the womb, rebirth? IDK..thinking out loud again.. Could be a peek into their world view of life and death. I'm not big on if's and maybe's. I like facts, no matter what they are. However when dealing with the ancient past, I know we have to "think tank" these things, along with the archaeological evidence. So there's always going to be if's and maybe's grrrr. I do love a good think tank tho. I prefer Occam's Razor as a general rule of thumb. These people were geniuses IMO. I think all our ancient ancestors were genius. We wouldn't be here today if they were stupid bumbling fools! WE are the ignorant ones. Proving that is simple. Who among us could be dropped off buck naked, and with absolutely NOTHING, into the middle of the woods or a valley, open meadow etc....and SURVIVE long enough to find a mate. Start a family. Suddenly you have more mouths to feed, clothe and shelter and protect. This must go on repeatedly for us to be here today. Yet FIRST YOU HAVE TO figure out how to clothe yourself, feed and shelter yourself and all that it implies...making tools, fire, etc... We have an advantage over them, as they had advantages over those before them. Handing down of knowledge, adding to it and passing it on. We have the entire known history of the worlds knowledge, they had what they could see, touch, smell etc....Great observers of nature! For sure! Loved this. You guys are just excellent at this stuff. Shows what a couple of guys with great passion for a subject can really do. I know your in planning, if not working on the next Standing with Stones sequel. I CAN'T WAIT, and I will be contributing once I figure everything out. Anyways.....GREAT SOUNDTRACK AS WELL ;)

[@ThePrehistoryGuys]

Thank you Vonda!

[@i.schmitt2322]

it’s all connected to 411

[@Robin-jk6wz]

Bush did that too?

[@rjmun580]

Please tell us the story, it hardly sounds credible. Perhaps for a very good reason.

[@lamontcranston3177]

NEVER SIT ON A DOLMAN.

[@TomFynn]

This is the definition of "suffering for your art". I fail to see any BBC presenter doing this.

[@secretbeast]

Dolmens are not tombs.

[@Nobious2]

This guy sounds like he suffers from COPD.

[@anapoda3081]

this guy isn't a young man anymore

[@Appophust]

Maybe someone in England should take it away and put it in a museum since France can't take care of it. 🤣