Dolmen de Peyrelevade
Magnificent dolmen with its surrounding wall.
The dolmen of Peyrelevade of Salles-la-Source is one of the many dolmens present on the Causse Comtal. A restoration operation has allowed to give it back its original aspect. The furniture found during excavations attests to a long period of use covering practically the entire Copper Age
It should be noted that Homo Erectus was present in the commune of Salles-la-Source as attested by a flint biface dated between 100 and 120,000 years ago found on the Causse. At that time, it was alongside the first rhinoceroses and large primitive elephants (bones discovered in the Commune). This implies a warm climate (alternating with glacial episodes), in a semi-forest setting. Then, man became a mammoth and bison hunter, a gatherer, then a farmer and a breeder.
The first dolmens were erected 4500 years ago. The Commune of Salles-la-Source counts 67 according to a last inventory, and more than 200 tumulus o as well as three menhirs were counted.
The Causse Comtal has the largest concentration of megaliths in the Aveyron department and in France.