Le Dehus, Megalithic Chambered Tomb

First of all, my thanks to Pat Straw of the Society Guernesiaise for giving her time freely to share some of the outstanding archaeology of Guernsey with us. My personal thanks also for Pat’s gift of ‘Prehistoric Monuments of Guernsey’ by J. Stevens Cox, FSA, published 1982, Toucan Press. This small, informative paperback gives brief details of excavations and finds from Guernsey’s major monuments and provides a nice link with ‘home’ as the author was one time Vice-President of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society. Thanks also to Nigel for getting to grips with his scanner and E-mailing a useful information sheet, which I missed from the Guernsey Museum on ‘Chambered Tombs of the Bailiwick of Guernsey’.

Le Dehus (Grid reference: WV358831;Perry 7H4) is situated on the west side and adjacent to La Rue de Dehus (King’s Road), Paradis, Vale and is best approached from Bordeaux. Our first indication that the tomb was near was an arrowed sign pointing to ‘Druid’s Temple’, a somewhat misleading description of a Neolithic chambered tomb. I assume that once the tourist’s initial interest has been attracted, the notice board will do its job and correct any misconceptions.

The tomb, covered by a grassy mound some 20m in diameter and edged by a circle of standing stones (some original) is accessed through a gate directly from the side of the road and down a couple of steps. The gate is kept locked during certain times of the year and the key kept in the local Market Garden Centre opposite. The main chamber is immediately approached by a passageway some 3m long and 1m wide. The proximity of the road to the entranceway makes it difficult to imagine the tomb in its original context within the landscape, confined as it is within its locked area.

One of the most challenging and for me rewarding aspects to understanding prehistoric monuments is the attempt to strip away millennia of human activity, to put the landscape ‘back’ to where it was. In its day, the land would have been densely forested with still familiar trees such as oak, birch and elder although much tree clearance would have been in evidence. The monument would have been carefully positioned within the lie of the land to take account of other contemporary structures and a concern shown for important landscape features.

Understanding how fluctuating sea levels altered the coastal outline also has much bearing in working out the puzzle. Barbara Bender with Robert Caillard writing in ‘The Archaeology of Brittany, Normandy and the Channel Islands’ explain that Le Dehus lies on the 15m raised beach level. I’m a bit puzzled by this as the excellent book ‘The Rocks and Scenery of Guernsey’ co-written by Mick de Pomeroy and Andy Robinson explains that Guernsey provides evidence of three raised beach levels, 30m,18m and 8m. I assume the 15m beach level refers to the 18m level formed during an interglacial period some 120,000 years ago. Anyway, bucket loads of limpet shells were removed from the tomb during its first excavation by the eminent antiquarian FC Lukis in the 10 years from 1837 – 1847 and he concluded that not only did the quantity of shells display evidence of ritual disposition, there was probably a shell midden nearby.

Le Dehus was bought in 1775 by Mr John de Havilland for today’s equivalent price of £4.50 and later acquired for the island. Lukis’ excavation discovered that many of the stones were lying cumbent and others missing. One of his plans from this early excavation shows a circle of 30 stones, another 19. Another complication in understanding an excavated prehistoric monument is that allowance has to be made for the archaeologist’s interpretation in reconstructing it in the first place.

Le Dehus megalithic tomb

The tomb is aligned on a roughly east / west axis, a common feature of most megalithic tombs, showing some concern for a positional relationship between the conjunction of the sky and the dead. The main chamber some 6m long and 3.5m wide gives access to 4 side chambers, 2 on the north side, 2 on the south. Seven capstones originally roofed the tomb and entrance passageway. The seventh and east most capstone had collapsed in an earlier century and was replaced in 1898. Capstones from the southern chambers are missing. The height of the main chamber at the western end is approx 2m, the first capstone here a massive 5m long, 2m wide, 1m thick weighing some 54 tons. This capstone differs from the rest in that it is constructed of syenite, a crystalline rock apparently allied to granite. The rest of the monument is constructed of a local grey granite.

Le Dehus’ most famous claim to fame is an incised carving of a ‘bearded’ human figure on the under surface of the second capstone. The figure capstone was supported in prehistoric times by a squarish granite pillar tapering at both top and bottom and measuring some 1m at its centre. The figure capstone had cracked and about one quarter had collapsed at an earlier period, being replaced in 1898. Curiously, Lukis makes no mention of the carved figure during his 10 years of excavation and no mention was made in 1898. The figure, known locally as ‘Le Gardien du Tombeau’ was not ‘discovered’ until 1918 when a Lt. Col. De Guerin undertook repairs for the States of Guernsey. Who am I to draw judgement from this? Debbie (a fellow cynic – I like Debbie ) did see some resemblance between the figure and those faces from stone jars popular in earlier times. Whatever the truth, such a carving is indeed, as claimed, a unique find from a Neolithic tomb.

Much debate has taken place over the gender of the figure. Barbara Bender recalls a Miss Collum who in 1933 described the figure as male with ‘hair on the face’ and corrects her saying that the figure is ‘definitely female’. A face, arms, hands, a crescent shaped symbol that some say is a bow, straight lines and a circle have all been identified. Barbara Bender allies the carving to other statue menhirs found on Guernsey. I assume she means those such as ‘La Gran’mere du Cimquiere (the grandmother of the Churchyard) still to be found standing guard between the gates of the Parish Church of St Martin).

Lukis’ excavation revealed many finds (apart from 1,000s of limpet shells) on different ground levels. In the main chamber, the upper level produced human bones and Bell Beaker pottery and beneath another layer of limpet shells, more inhumations resting on a level of imported yellow clay. The clay itself lay directly above the land surface. The main chamber appeared to have been cleared and re-used through time. Side chamber (a) however revealed only one layer of bones on the original land surface and the pottery there was noted as being different from that found in the main chamber. Bone points were excavated and a polished serpentine axe found on a ledge to the right of the entrance.

Lukis recorded having found 2 skeletons in a vertical kneeling position in side chamber (b) among a mass of limpet shells. He recorded that it could be deduced that these 2 persons had been buried alive. Side chamber (c) had a paving of flat irregular slabs on which lay 3 groups of bones. Side chamber (d) like the main chamber revealed several layers of use. An upper layer of bones rested on a pavement of small granite slabs; the next layer again on a paving. The final layer on the soil surface revealed 2 crouched inhumations and part of a third. An inverted bowl had been placed over 3 pieces of stone, obviously significant, but why? A copper dagger and 2 small bronze rings, possibly Iron Age or Roman, were also excavated from the site, demonstrating an interest over long periods of time.

Above all, it’s the unanswered questions that I love about prehistoric archaeology. So little evidence remains and the picture forever lacks completeness. Wood, material and other organic materials rarely survive, leaving us with an impression of a ‘stone age’ that probably existed only in part. I started with thanks to Pat and would like to finish with thanks to Sheila for organising and including archaeology in our OU Geology trip to Guernsey. As always, my understanding of archaeology has been enriched by the company of such an informed, enthusiastic and friendly group of geologists. hanks to you all.

Yvonne Farrell