Kerarmel Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.39  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This nice pointed deltoid menhir must be over 5 metres in height, and is easily found just beside the D.778 road south of St Jean-Brévelay by the farm of the same name. It seems a strange position to me, on a hillside. It has a chestnut tree growing beside it, and from many angles it looks like the stone is the trunk of the tree.

Lann Doaur menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.38  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This menhir, more than 4 metres tall (4.5m), is right beside the dirt track between Kertuhet and Kercado. Its almost 3 metres in width, but less than a metre thick

Kerherne-Bodunan dolmen

Trip No.204  Entry No.37  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: This lovely monument is to be found in some lovely oak woodland high on top of a hill overlooking a stream. It is signposted from nearby, but there is nowhere really to park, and it’s a fair walk along a track and then up a woodland footpath.

The monument is a strange one, which uses a natural rock outcrop as its base. The first thing you reach is a massive chamber, 4 mtres long by 2.5 metres wide covered by a single massive slab. It would seem that the chamber has been made by splitting the rock outcrop and pushing some of it outwards, but leaving the top of the stone in place to act as its cover. The cover slab is 5.5 by 3.5 metres in size. To the north of this main chamber has been made a passage, running off for about 10 metres, and again using many natural rocks. A few cover stones are in place still, but most have fallen. Oddly it runs away from the large main chamber and I doubt the two would have originally connected on the inside. Perhaps its either two seperate chambers, or like the passage and antechamber in many other allée couvertes. Lovely, and well worth a visit.

St Jean-Brévelay stèle

Trip No.204  Entry No.33  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Right out the back of the church, is the remains of an iron age stele, almost used as a roadsign.

St Jean-Brévelay menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.32  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Right outside the church is a splendid 4 to 5 metre tall menhir. It looks like an original, but I couldn’t find it mentioned in any of my books.

Larcuste cairns 3

Trip No.204  Entry No.45  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: To the south of the two restored cairns, it is clear to see that there is a very faint raise in the adjacent field which is the ploughed out remains of a further cairn. In fact there were once two more cairns here.

Kermarquer menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.47  Date Added: 11th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: This superb menhir can be found in a little woodland clearing, not far from the roadside to the southwest of Moustoir-Ac. It is signposted, and there is a little parking area.

The menhir, which is slightly leaning, must be getting on for 7 metres tall, and it has been mostly shaped and smoothed, although one face is fairly rough and has probably had bits fall off over the millennia. Not only has the menhir been shaped and smoothed, but there are also carvings on it, which are quite difficult to make out in the strong mid afternoon sunlight, but at other times may be quite clear. I counted at least four crook shapes on the stone, two on the southwest side, one on the southeast face and one on the north east side, but there are probably more. These carvings are not engravings, but are in relief, and they face in both directions.

Larcuste cairns 2

Trip No.204  Entry No.44  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairn 2 is a slightly bigger mound, with only a single eastern facing entrance. From this entrance, the passageway continues for about 10 metres into the cairn, and from which 6 chambers open out onto the sides. Each chamber is topped with a capstone, 4 of which remain today. Most of the walling is made with dry stones, very few large slabs are in place. Some of these chambers are quite round, while others look sort of squareish, and all are about 1 to 1.5 metres in dimension.

Larcuste cairns 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.43  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairn 1, the northern of the two, contains two dolmens with entry passageways, which both open to the east. The chambers are made up of alternating slabs and drystone walling. Only the northern chamber has its capstone in place, along with one of its passageway covers.

If the reconstruction is accurate, then it looks to me as if this was built in two stages, the southern single dolmen built first in a smaller cairn, with the northern chamber being added at a later dateto the outside of the original cairn. Each chamber is about 3 metres by 2.5 metres, with a 3 to 4 metre long entry passageway.

I have read that there are some very faint engravings and carvings of crooks and serpents on a few of the large stones inside this cairn 1.

Larcuste Cairns

Trip No.204  Entry No.42  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: The remains of these chambered cairns are easily found by following the plentiful roadsigns a couple of kilometres to the south of Colpo. This well known and important site occupies a hilltop position in open countryside, but has a large area set aside around it. What it consists of these days are the remains of two cairns, but once there were several more lined up with them. Looking around, a bit further to the south on the top of the hill it is easy to imagine there being another large cairn or two, with undulations in the ploughed fields suggesting their position.

The two cairns we have today are largely made up of dry stones, and sit beside one another, with their eastern entrances aligned with one another. The site has been dated to about 4000 BC. Both of the cairns have had major restoration work carried out on them after excavations in 1968 to 1972, and its a shame to report that, although lots of concrete and cement has been used to hold them together, much of this work is now falling apart. I guess its due to the number of visitors this place must get, but its in need of further work to prevent deterioration. This is what prevents me giving a 5 for the condition of the place.

I have since read that there were indeed once 4 cairns here originally, the other two of which have been completely ploughed out. I have also read that there are some very faint engravings and carvings of crooks and serpents on a few of the large stones inside cairn 1.

Dolmen dit Lannek-er-Men

Trip No.203  Entry No.327  Date Added: 4th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 10th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a little dolmen sat on a green area outside a very pretty house. It has a little oval chamber, 3 metres by 2 metres, with an entrance to the east where there was perhaps once an entrance passageway. The two capstones sit on several side slabs, and the floor is paved with large stones also, but it is only about half a metre in height.

Kervehennec Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.364  Date Added: 11th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the north of the D781 road, in a little area behind Kervanhennic farm can be seen the remains of this fairly wrecked dolmen on top of a little granite hillock. There is not much more than a single 3 m by 2 metres capstone and a few support stones to be seen. It looks to have had a wall built into it in the past, and it is becoming overgrown.

Kervéresse Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.359  Date Added: 11th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 12th Jun 2005

Log Text: I couldn’t be sure that I found this dolmen, what I did see was a bit of a mound covered in thick undergrowth in a private garden beside the D718 road to the north of Locmariaquer.

Dolmen de Rosnual

Trip No.203  Entry No.388  Date Added: 14th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 13th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: A couple of kilometres north of Carnac along the D119 road, turn right towards Rosnual. Just beyond the campsite of the same name, go left up a farm track as the lane goes to the right. After about 50 metres, just beyond the first field wall on the left is the dolmen. You wouldn’t know it though, as its completely overgrown and used as a farmyard dump. I cant say a thing about the dolmen other than it is under there somewhere. There are traces of a mound, and perhaps a circle of stones surrounding it.

Fontaine St Michel

Trip No.203  Entry No.412  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Following the path round the back of the tumulus looking to get a good photograph there was a sign to Fontaine St Michel which I followed. After a few hundred metres there is a nice little well with a little well house and offerings area above a clear pool of water slowly bubbling up from the ground.

I have no doubt that this spring has been here for thousands of years and indeed quenched the thirst of the men building the tumulus. And this turned out to be site 500 in my French stonehunting trip catalogue of site visits. Incredible really that I am seeing hundreds of dolmens and menhirs yet a well gets to be site 500. Probably only my third well !

Runesto Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.393  Date Added: 14th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 13th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a pleasant dolmen still mostly within its mound, and in fact it has been cut down into with steps from the eastern side of the massive capstone. The chamber is about 3 metres by 3 metres, and the single capstone is held up on eight remaining side support stones, with plenty of room to stand up within. There are no longer any remains of its entry passageway which would have run off towards the east.

There are traces of engravings including a fairly good axe on the stone nearest to the entrance. Just outside to the east are two other large stones, which are perhaps related, but perhaps not. The wall of the nearby house has many large stones within it, no doubt being once part of the tumulus.

Kerran Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.361  Date Added: 11th May 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: From the busy Chat Noir roundabout to the south of Crac'h, take a small lane to the southeast, a few hundred metres along which you find a little clearing to the right of the lane within which this tomb resides. I was not quite sure what to make of it, there are two obvious chambers, both still with capstones, but there looks to be more. I think it was probably two dolmens with entrance corridors, probably both once contained within a single mound.

The first, western chamber, has a 3 metre by 3 metre capstone on a chamber twice the size, possibly seperated into two by an internal stone. The eastern chamber is 3 m by 2 m and has an end stone, with a probable entrance to the south. As with most of the lesser known monuments around here, it is all becoming very overgrown with gorse and brambles, which is a real shame.

There was once a third dolmen here, which was bought and then completely removed in order to make a family tomb of the Archéologist Jean-Baptiste Piketty (1827-1884) in the cemetary at Meudon.

Goërem Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.445  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: I came all the way out to this poor depressed village at the end of a long peninsula and stayed the night on the harbourside in order to visit this, "the finest angled passage grave in existance". Take a good torch it says. So on a nasty dull grey day I walk round the seafront and through the village till I eventually find it. It is right on the western seafront, in amongst the houses, and has a reasonable amount of land reserved around it. It would probably have a spectacular view if there was one to be seen through all the murk.

Its not a very big mound, just a big enough barrow to cover the passage grave, which is about 20 metres by 10 metres, and up to 3 metres in height maximum, perhaps more originally as the modern ground level is probably higher than it was, particularly with the sea wall here. The entrance is on the south side, but it's gated up, with an iron gate concreted in to the ground, so despite having two torches, I cannot enter and put them to use. But I have to say, that it's no doubt for the best, as the place is littered with broken bottles and other rubbish, with graffitti sprayed everywhere, and badly smelling of a toilet block. This poor little town is clearly suffering from a lack of jobs and investment, and seems to have a bit of a problem with bored youth compared to much of the rest of France. Its a great shame, as I was really looking forward to seeing this place properly. I would like to think that the excellent state of the internal structure is still as it was a few years ago, and that the engraved pillars of the passageway are still in good condition.

Grand Breuil Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.24  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This menhir is easily found at Grand Breuil, right at the junction of the D.112 and the road for Lezonnais. The stone is about 3 metres tall, and in a little grassy area beside the road junction. It looks to have been nicely shaped, and is cared for to this day. There is a very nice garden on the opposite side of the road, all landscaped and with little megalithic creations in it.

Grande Villeneuve Menhir

Trip No.204  Entry No.26  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This menhir is to be found in a garden in the hamlet of the same name, a kilometre or so to the north of Tredion. The menhir is about 4 metres tall and nicely shaped, although it looks to have lost its top at some point, due to a lightning strike.