Fig. 131.—Dolmen at Assier.
These are the bare stones which have been taken for stone altars, being referred to the religious worship of the Gauls. The supposed Druidical altars are, in fact, nothing but ruined dolmens. The purpose, therefore, for which they were elevated was not, as has always been stated, to serve as the scene of the sacrifices of a cruel religion; for, at the present day, it is completely proved that the dolmens were the tombs of a pre-historic epoch.
These tombs were intended to receive several dead bodies. The corpses were placed in the chamber which was formed by the upper slab and the supports. Some of these chambers had two stages or stories, and then furnished a larger number of sepulchres.
Figs. 132 and 133 represent different dolmens which still exist in France.
Fig. 132.—Dolmen at Connéré (Marne).