Megalithic Brittany: A Journey to Prehistory

[French Mystique Tours]

This post is not just going to be about megaliths in Brittany. I'm also going to intertwine it with a personal story about my good friend, Jean-Jacques Rivard. But let's start with a definition first about just what is a megalith. While the basic definition is a large dry stone construction, my interest lies specifically in European megaliths dating to the neolithic period (about 4,500B.C. To 1,500B.C.) There are 2 basic types (with a number of sub-categories) called menhirs and dolmens. A dolmen is a funerary monument consisting of vertical slabs (walls) and topped with other horizontal slabs of stone (roof/ceiling). Inside there could be anywhere from one to a number of burials. A menhir is a standing stone. There is no widely accepted archaeological opinion as to precisely what purpose this feature served, although there are a number of theories.

Brittany has the highest concentration of megalithic features in the world. If you have a Michelin map you will note in your map legend that they have assigned a symbol to megalithic sites. My wife Veronique and I are certified “megalith hunters”. Whenever we travel in France if we happen to be in the vicinity of a megalith we usually try to hunt it down. Let's look at a few photos now so you can see what I'm talking about.



Above are 2 menhirs.




Above is a dolmen.




And another dolmen above.




While some stones appear to be roughly quarried with little post quarrying modification, others, such as this one, appear to have been worked and shaped. Not only was there a reason for shaping stones but certain types of stones were selected either for aesthetic or symbolic purposes.

We also know that location was extremely important. Stones used to construct megaliths occasionally came from several kilometers away, even when there were other available stone sources nearby. Such enormous stones would not have been hauled such great distances to end up being placed randomly.

Below is a great example of a dolmen whose stone source came from several kilometers away and is located in a relatively featureless terrain. It is known as La Roche Aux Fees (The Fairies Stone) and was built around 3,000B.C. Additionally, the entrance and interior corridor of this dolmen are in alignment with the winter solstice sunrise. This is not the only megalith that has an alignment of astronomical significance. The scientific field correlating ancient constructions and astronomical features or events is called archaeoastronomy.



The old gentleman in the picture is my friend Jean-Jacques (we'll just call him JJ from now on) whom I mentioned earlier. As you can see by how JJ is dwarfed by this dolmen, La Roche Aux Fees is enormous. There is now a small visitor center and museum next to the dolmen should you ever be interested in a visit.

I'm going to digress a little now and bring a bit of a personal story into this post, as I had said that I would. JJ is an absolute pioneer in the field of archaeoastronomy. Back in the late 60's and early 70's JJ was living with a tribe of Maya in central America. He was the first person to ascribe a theory to the “shadow and serpent” effect that occurs on the spring equinox at The Temple of Kukulcan in the central American temple complex of Chichen-Itza. While JJ was living with the Maya he also wrote a dictionary translating Maya into Spanish. JJ speaks about 6 or 7 languages and is an accomplished artist. He was part of a team of artists who worked with the astronauts on the first Apollo mission to the moon. Their job was to take the blueprints for the lunar rover and make conceptual drawings. JJ has also done conceptual drawings for the auto-maker Ferrari and was part of a team once hired by the Italian government to come up with a plan for straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The plan was so good the government fired them, I mean, who wants to visit a leaning tower that doesn't lean?! JJ doesn't have much money so a bunch of us took up a collection for his air-fare and at the tender young age of 89 years, JJ was off with me and Veronique (my wife) to go see France for 2 weeks.

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Okay, I know, I know, this post is supposed to be about megaliths so let's get back to the subject. Let's see some more pretty pictures now.



This is a cromlech, which is essentially a bunch of menhirs forming a circle. They are fairly rare in France and are more frequently found in The British Isles.


Below are some photos of dolmens that I just found at random using the Michelin map as my guide.









I had mentioned in another post how sometimes a sacred site can be used by multiple cultures (think of the Dome of The Rock in Jerusalem). I also mentioned how the earliest christian churches were often built on top of previously utilized pagan sacred space. In Brittany there are about 1,500 natural water springs. All of them have a name associated with a saint or christianity. Every one of them also had a pagan name prior to their christianization. As seen in the christian rite of baptism, water is an essential part of sacred ceremonies.

I have also noted in my study of megaliths here in France that many of them seem to be located near rivers, springs and streams. Interesting how this concept seems to cross cultures and time. Undoubtedly, many megaliths were probably torn down by christians throughout the centuries, or at least, there was an attempt to christianize them. The below photo is a good example of this. If you look just to the left of the dolmen in this photo and just behind it, you will notice a small mound of earth with a stone column topped with a cross. The cross is now raised up higher than the height of the dolmen. I guess this would make it closer to heaven than the pagan monument next to which it sat.





Above we have what is called a tumulus or cairn, which is essentially a dolmen covered with earth. Some dolmens used to be covered with earth and all we see now are the stones that remain. There is discussion among archaeologists as to how frequently dolmens might have been earth covered. Some say many were and others say most weren't. Who knows? Notice the menhir on top of the tumulus, not commonly seen.

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Above we have another tumulus with a double entrance. This one was only available for visit with a guide, who was present on site at various times during the week. An interesting feature here is that that the entrance on the right was the burial chamber. The entrance on the left had no burials but did have ceremonial goods. The left entrance way and interior corridor were also in alignment with the winter solstice sunrise.

Below is a dolmen known as The Dolmen de la Joseliere.



And another photo of the same dolmen below.



Another thing to notice that I find very interesting is the large white stone to the right of the entrance to the dolmen. This stone is a piece of quartz. At Native American sacred sites one of the defining features are piles of stone and sometimes there is a piece of white quartz in the center of the pile. Again we see different cultures finding shared belief in the sanctity of a certain feature. In reading about the megalithic history of this particular area in Brittany I discovered that white quartz was frequently utilized in the construction of dolmens in this specific area. It was, however, only found at or near the entrance to the interior corridor but never inside the interior chamber.

Below is a restored tumulus known as The Tumulus des Mousseaux.



Once again, if you look to the left you will notice a large chunk of white quartz that was used in the construction of the corridor wall and is located just inside the entrance to the interior chamber.



Here's a look at JJ inside a dolmen.



Here's another look inside a dolmen.



In the above photo you will notice me bent over to enter the dolmen. A feature of many dolmens is that the entry way is usually smaller than the interior of the chamber and requires some form of bending over, or perhaps humbling of yourself before entering a sacred space. There may also be some sort of birth canal reference here in that a small opening leads into a different world, in this case the world of the dead.

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In the photo below is a great example of prehistoric art that is sometimes found inside dolmens. What these designs and patterns means are anyone's guess. There are some motifs that have been found repeatedly and there are some well formed ideas as to what they represent but with other types of engraving the meaning eludes us. Maybe they're just pretty designs. Any guesses?



In the photo below we see JJ posing in front of the Menhir du Champ Dolent, the tallest standing menhir in France (I think).



Here's me and JJ at Carnac, France's best known megalithic site. There are a few thousand menhirs in a series of alignments that stretch over a distance of about 4 kilometers at this site. Certainly one of the worlds most unique megalithic sites. During WWII when the American troops were approaching the coast near here they mistakenly believed that all the stones they saw in the distance were actually some sort of German defensive barrier.







Below is a photo of the Grand Menhir at Locmariaquer, which now lies on the ground. If standing it would be the worlds tallest menhir. What is interesting about this menhir is that it appears that after the menhir was erected it was intentionally knocked over. Further, you will notice how it is in three pieces. These breaks in the stone show signs of having been intentionally made so that the menhir would break when it was toppled. I like to imagine there is one of the architects lying underneath the stone whose last words were “Hold it right there, that's perfect.”

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Below is a photo of my favorite (and relatively unheard of) megalithic feature in all of France. It is called The Great Cairn of Barnenez, and boy is it great. This cairn is 72 meters long, 27 meters wide and 9 meters high. It has three distinct pyramid like “steps” in its construction and houses 11 burial chambers. It was built in a few stages starting around 4,500B.C. and predates the pyramids at Giza by about 1,500 years. I don't know what qualifies as a pyramid but this thing has size, shape and the fact that it was used as a tomb. It is most likely the worlds oldest pyramid-like structure.



Here's a view from the other side.



In the above photo you might notice what appears to be a large hole in the right side of the cairn. This is due to modern damage. Up until the 1950's local people were using this thing as a source for raw stone building supply. One day while a crane was busy ripping into the cairn some bright archaeologist came along and said that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

How about a pretty menhir picture because it's a sunset photo?



Everyone likes a sunset photo, right?



And finally, what photo journal post could be considered complete without a picture of an old man sticking his head in the bunny hole.