1The Villard dolmen was first reported in 1894 and classified as a Historic Monument in 1900. It is located at the confluence of the Durance and the Ubaye rivers, 25 km south-east of Gap. Established at an altitude of 1267 metres above the Serre-Ponçon reservoir on the edge of a small plateau sloping towards the Ubaye valley. It is dominated to the north-east by the Morgon massif. This funerary monument consists of a chamber extended to the west by a corridor and the remaining part of a mound of blocks and stones. The central part of the monument consists mainly of megalithic elements. The chamber has six orthostats and a covering slab. Six slabs aligned and arranged three by three facing each other form the corridor. The Villard was part of the origin of a small group of 7 to 8 dolmens, today destroyed, located in the Gap area. Its elevated location and isolated has helped to preserve it from destruction. that the few other similar monuments in the nineteenth century. Several characteristics distinguish it of the other Provençal dolmens with whom he shares yet the same westerly orientation. Indeed, at In contrast to the latter, which have a narrow corridor, the one with the of the Villard is the same width as that of the walls of the room, each consisting of two slabs. In addition, his orthostats are not organized in the same way… consisting of an overflow of the bedside and the pedestals on the side walls as is the case for dolmens and, more generally, for Provençal and, more generally, for architecture bas-rhodaniennes (Chevalier 1984).

2The archaeological contents of the tomb, protected by the collapsed north wall inside and the sediments, are remarkably well preserved. This good conservation has encouraged detailed study of the functioning of the tomb and the treatment of the remains deposited in the empty and hermetically sealed space originally. Analysis of the 2,690 bone and dental remains has made it possible to establish a minimum number of 25 individuals, i.e. 16 adults, and 9 immatures.

3The study of the spatial distribution of the bones was able to identify ten sets consisting of almost complete subjects and partial connections. Collage and matching showed that bone displacements were generally horizontal and sometimes of large amplitude. The vertical displacements were more especially the small bony elements. Against the slab at the bedside, a large group of bones, sometimes belonging to the same individuals, lay over almost the entire height of the filling. On this group of bones, a deposit of stones was observed, serving as a support, above which were placed two connecting beef vertebrae. Finally, the presence of fragments of a burnt skull, spread over the entire surface of the room, shows that he was burned outside, no evidence of fire was observed there. The questions that arise from this skull, but also from what concerns the deficiency of certain small pieces of bone hands and feet that may come from intakes of partially dislocated bodies highlight the complex scenarios inherent in the management of collective burials.

4The furniture specific to the Campanian culture of the chamber and the mound includes some fragments of campaniform vases, an archer’s armband, a copper dagger with a tongue and several circle segments of flint. This material, the operating mode of the tomb and the few similar examples of megalithic burials exposed in the second part of this study make it possible to envisage the construction of the Villard dolmen by the Campaniformes during the second half of the third millennium BC. Other factors, however, such as that attached to the radiocarbon date obtained from coal from the burnt layer underlying the mound, suggest the possibility of the monument being built in the Campaniform period. The analysis of the pastes of four fragments of Campaniform mud and a fragment of Middle Bronze mud showed that their constituent elements were probably taken from the environment close to the dolmen. The analysis of traces found on lithic pieces from the chamber and mound revealed that some of these tools were used for cutting animal and vegetable matter. A few fragments of the same vase and bronze rings dating from the Middle Bronze period deposited in the chamber or more likely from a deposit made in the mound revealed by the collages between the fragments of a vase located in the chamber and those from the mound were discovered in the upper part of the filling. In the tumulus, to the west and south, highly fragmented and altered human bone remains, campaniform goods and Middle and Late Bronze were also discovered. They show the use of the mound for at least three periods, without it being possible to specify the destination of these deposits.

5The brief account of the research, still rather undeveloped at the present time, on the funerary contexts in the Neolithic period in the Southern Alps highlights the importance of the results obtained from the work carried out on the Villard dolmen.

6Some reflections on collective and individual modes of burial at the end of the Final Neolithic in Provence complete this monograph. Through the study of the sepulchral furniture specific to the Campaniform or that used in contemporary or nearby eras, the management of reused traditional architecture or new funerary constructions, there is a gradual evolution towards a greater number of individual burials. This study also shows the abandonment, probably at the end of the Early Bronze Age around 1700-1600 BC, of the collective grave for the individual burial mode.