Le tumulus des Mousseaux

The Mousseaux tumulus is a funerary monument built around 3500 BC. It is located to the west of Pornic, north of the "La Noëveillard" marina.

Composition of the Mousseaux burial mound

The Mousseaux tumulus consists of a quadrangular cairn measuring around 180 m², an imposing mass of stone surrounded by three stepped drystone walls.
The cairn contains two transept megalithic tombs (intersection of the quadrangular side chambers and the corridor) opening onto the south-east façade of the building.
The corridor to the south leads to four chambers, while that to the north leads to just two.


A little history

Studying and restoring this remarkable funerary monument will give us a better understanding of the appearance and originality of transept megalithic burials. This is a local type of monument, centred on Pornic, which developed around the Loire estuary during the Neolithic period.
This type of monument is part of the evolutionary trend that followed the single-chamber corridor tombs.

Long known as the "Druidic Stones", the Mousseaux tumulus, restored in 1975/1977, was part of a very large necropolis that is now partly ruined or has disappeared under the housing estates.

This dolmen is listed as a Historic Monument (listed in 1889, specified by order of 22 June 2006).

It is located 600 metres north of the Noëveillard beach.


The little extras :


It is possible to follow a presentation of the site with members of the AMER association (Association Mégalithes en Retz) as part of a tour entitled "Meetings with our enthusiasts" entitled Megalithic sites "If stones could speak...", organised from time to time by the Pornic Intercommunal Tourist Office.



You can discover the burial mound by following the Sainte-Marie hiking trail or by following the romantic seaside landscape heritage trail.