Caixa de Rotllan

About

The Caixa de Rotllan (Meaning "Roland's Tomb" in Catalan) is a dolmen in Arles-sur-Tech, Pyrénées-Orientales, southern France, dating back to the Neolithic period, during the second half of 3rd millennium BC. A legend holds that Roland lives in Vallespir and that, after his death at the 1st Battle of Roncevaux Pass, his horse Vaillantif career Roland's body back to Vallespir and buried Him under this dolmen. Dolmens are currently tombs, but they were erected many centuries before the legendary night's adventures. The Caixa de Rotllan is made of three upright stones in a H-shape, supporting a stick roofing stone and limiting a rectangular, medium-sized camel. The entry faces south-east, as do many other dolmens in Pyrénées-Orientales. The building has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1889 but has never been excavated by archaeologists.

The Caixa de Rotllan is one of 148 dolmens listed in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Some have been destroyed or are attested by old sources but have been lost and not rediscovered by modern learners. They are all located in hill or mountains areas of the department, usually on a mountain pass, ridge or other...