Kerjagu Menhirs

Trip No.204  Entry No.41  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Just to the north of the allée couverte and almost in the garden of a house are a couple of menhirs, one standing about 3 metres tall, the other broken and fallen beside it. This fallen stone would have probably been taller than the one still standing.

Kerjagu allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.40  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 3 Access 4

Log Text: A pleasant little allée couverte which cn be found round the back of the farm of the same name. Although the eastern end is very damaged, the passageway can be seen to be about 10 metres long. Many of the sidestones lean on each other, and with the lack of capstones I wonder whether it is of the Arc Boutté type.

At the western end there is a fairly large chamber covered by a single capstone, making it look almost like a dolmen a couloir. Behind the closing stone is a little extra chamber, as is often the case.

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.

La Moustoir stèle

Trip No.204  Entry No.36  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 4 Access 5

Log Text: Just round the southwest side of the little chapel at Moustoir can be found this nice granite stele. Its about 2.3 metres tall and nicely shaped, with a flat face facing to the southeast. Onto this face has been carved a cross.

Kergonfalz Tumulus

Trip No.204  Entry No.35  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Chambered Tomb Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: To the west of Bigan, and signposted from there, can be found this dolmen almost completely still within its large mound, just over the road from the easily found allée couverte. The mound must be about 25 metres in diameter, and up to 5 metres high within woodland. The rectangular chamber is about 3 metres by 2 metres, and covered by a single capstone. The entry passageway to the chamber, although now completely fallen and dug into, comes off the chamber and exits to the outside at the east after turning through almost a right angle, a bit like a small version of the Bono tumulus.

Kergonfalz allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.34  Date Added: 8th Jul 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 12th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Just to the west of Bigan, and signposted from there, can be found the remains of this allée couverte right at a road junction. The allée is 9 metres long and oriented to the south, at a bearing of 185°. At the north end there is a closing slab and a little ante chamber behind that. One stone has been lost to the road. Three capstones are still in place, although fallen within the passage. It has been dated to about 2700-3000 BC.

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.

Roche de Migourdy

Trip No.204  Entry No.28  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This was a nice one to find, and is a few hundred metres walk up a track and then across a field to the south of the village of Kergoff, which itself is a few kilometres south of Plumelic. What you find is a nice 25 metre diameter mound at the top of the hill in a field, covered as usual with trees and dense undergrowth.

Within this mound is the remains of a very nice dolmen a couloir, still mostly buried within it. The chamber is about 3.5 m by 2.5 m and lined with large slabs. The whole thing is topped by a single large capstone, and there is room enough to stand up within it. A couple of stones remain from the entrance passageway.

I understand that this mound once had two dolmens within it, one of which has now been wrecked. I found no sign of another chamber anywhere, but that is not to say that there aren't remains hidden in the thick undergrowth somewhere.

Babouin et Babouine

Trip No.204  Entry No.27  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Deep in the forest to the east of Trédion can be found these two bizarre menhirs. Babouin, the baboon, is only about 1.4 metres tall, but has been resculpted at some point to have a flat front surface with a rounded shaft below a larger rounded head. On the flat face of this head has been carved a rough face within a circle, which is looking out into the forest to the south.

Babouine, the female stone, is 3.2 metres tall, slightly leaning, and has been carved into a strange three tiered cylinder shape, all the way up from ground to top. On the top section there is carved a very rough face, while on the protruding middle section a semicircular groove, perhaps a smile, or more likely the sort of necklace often seen below breasts in these ancient carvings.

It is not known how old either the original menhirs, or the recarvings are. Perhaps they are reworkings by the Gauls, or perhaps much more modern masons work. It's all a mystery, but one thing is sure, these two stones are well worth a look.

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.

Menhir Fourchu

Trip No.204  Entry No.25  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 is a nice menhir stood at the side of the road just to the east of Lezonnais. It is about 3.5 metres tall, 1.5 metres wide and only 0.3 metres thick, and has a nicely forked shape at the top, hence its name, and a sort of nose on one side. Around this area are many stones stood up beside the road, in gardens etc, of which I assume are mostly modern and field clearance, otherwise I would have known about them, but perhaps they are the remains of something once much more significant.

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.

Pierre Tabulaire de la Bataille

Trip No.204  Entry No.23  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: This is a massive slab of rock deep in the forest, found by following a trackway which now has a private sign on it, but I went for a look anyhow. I would think it is a natural slab of granite with its dimensions 10 metres by up to 5 metres, but it would appear to have been used as a capstone to a burial chamber under the eastern end, which has been dug underneath and surrounded with a couple more slabs. Whatever it is, this is a nice place to find.

Menhirs de Coëby 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.22  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: At the junction of lanes in the forest, there are a couple of menhirs. Both are about 3 metres high, and they are about 15 metres apart. Not marked on any map I have seen, they are however easy to find.

Dolmen de Coëby 1

Trip No.204  Entry No.20  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: In the thick forest, just beside the D.766 road north of the Grande Loge can be found the remains of this dolmen. It's difficult to tell exactly what it is the remains of, but there are half a dozen large stones still standing. It was possibly a large simple chamber of which the capstones have now fallen, of which the largest is approximately 4 m by 4m trapezoidal shape.

The forest was obviously undergoing a major clear out when I visited, after having become totally overgrown and impenetrable. I understand that there are more than half a dozen dolmens and chambers to be found in this piece of forest, but they are not easy to find. I am not at all surprised. It would be nice if a little woodland walk was arranged, as at many other communities.

La Loge au Loup

Trip No.204  Entry No.18  Date Added: 6th Jul 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 11th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Easily found a few kilometres south of Trédion just to the west of the D.1 road to Elven, this nice site is signposted and has a parking place from where it’s a couple of hundred metres walk up into the lovely woodland on the ridgetop. I thought it to be a strange monument, which looks in some ways to be an Arc Boutté type allée couverte with a V dolmen built on top of it!

The passageway is about 9 metres long and faces 120°, with its paired stones leaning against each other. At the west end is a large capstone, 4 m by 3 m, sitting on top of extra support stones making a sort of chamber 2,5 metres wide, but it is filled up with the leaning stones of the passage. Its almost as if there is a complete V form dolmen built on top of the allée couverte using the same entrance, as there are extra rows of stones outside the passageway. Perhaps the allée couverte was built within the V dolmen. Around the outside are several other shaped stones, no doubt a peristalith of the original mound, of which much remains.

This is a lovely little place to sit in the shade on a hot day, and well worth a visit.

Grand Village allée couverte

Trip No.204  Entry No.17  Date Added: 4th Jul 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 10th Jul 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: To the southeast of the village of Caro, and signposted with a little parking area, can be found this allée couverte, a few hundred metres walk from the parking. It is one of the longest allée couvertes around, at about 25 metres, but apart from the two large end stones, not much is left standing or in its proper place. The chamber is oriented at 145°, and is neither along the ridge or across it. The entrance is a lateral entrance, about in the middle of the southern side, and two side stones for the entrance porch can be made out. It would appear that as well as the stones for the main chamber, there are also many for the peristalith of its oval mound, which would not be very much bigger than the chamber itself. This is one site that would benefit enormously from a bit of restoration.

It has been a very hot day, and since the spear throwing competition I have been lacking inspiration. I have looked in my books, and driven about quite a lot, looking for sites not marked on the maps, but unless they have had signs, or I have been lucky, I have not been able to find many of them. Perhaps I should stop early and chill out a bit.