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<< Our Photo Pages >> Four-És-Feins - Passage Grave in France in Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35)

Submitted by TheCaptain on Sunday, 19 December 2004  Page Views: 6008

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Four-És-Feins Alternative Name: Allée couverte de Four-ès-Feins
Country: France Département: Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35) Type: Passage Grave
Nearest Town: Dol-de-Bretagne  Nearest Village: Miniac Morvan
Latitude: 48.498370N  Longitude: 1.91605W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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TheCaptain visited on 12th Jun 2009 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 3 I went and had another look for this while in the area last weekend, now knowing to look nearby to the Beillac farm. I could see nothing obvious when driving slowly down the lane past the farm, but there was an old couple out tending their wonderful vegetable garden, so I stopped and asked them if they could tell me where the dolmen was. They were interested to know what an Englishman was doing looking for the remnants of the dolmen, but were happy to help. Unfortunately, I struggled to understand fully all they were saying, a combination of strong accent and using some words I just could not figure out. But I thought I had got enough of a lead to find it easily. Park out of the way of the farm track by the corner of the farm. Cross the field to the south on the newly cut hay at the edge of the field for 200 metres until reaching the other side. Go straight on about another 100 metres (unknown words) until I get to the big trees, and it is on the left, (some more unknown words). Put boots on if you have them. Sounds simple. Well, it was all very simple simple, until I tried to decide which of all the woodlands were the correct big trees. However, after a few false starts, I found a place in a woodland to the left of the track, with a mound in it, and what looked to be some lumps sticking up, but it was very overgrown. It has to be this, surely. Closer inspection amongst the ivy and brambles, and there were clearly a few side set slabs sticking up through the ground, and I was pretty sure I could determine two rows of slabs about 1.5 metres apart from each other, but with no stone more than 0.5 metres tall, and most substantially lower. I reckoned that what I had found on top of the mound was about 10 metres in length, and had to be the remains of a very ruined allée couverte. However, walking back to the car, I thought that these poor remains were not really enough to be known by the name Four-es-Feins; the Fairies Oven. Surely something with a name like that must be a grander structure. I also thought it to be too ruined to be what the old couple were explaining to me, although they did say it was just the remains of an allée couverte. I would have thought they would have told me not to bother rather than gladly give me directions..... Upon returning to the car, I remembered I had book with description in a box in the boot. "Rectangular chamber measuring 10m by 1.5m with 6 orthostats on the south side and 5 on the north. Their length is between 1 and 1.8 metres, height about half a metre and thickness 0.3 metres. Brilliant, this all fits to what I saw. But then, the description goes on. Three cover slabs about half a metre thick, and the backstone are still in place. Around the monument, a dozen or so other stones lie scattered. Well, I can believe the stones are now more covered by undergrowth and soil than that description, and hence seem smaller. The size, orientation and almost everything seems right, with one major exception; the three cover stones. There was nothing at all which could have been them. Read the description again and realise it has been based upon a plan and writings from 1886 and 1928. Maybe it has become much more wrecked since then, but what of the old couples talk ? So, was this Four-es-Feins or not? If it wasn't, what had I found ? I am not sure, but like to think I did find it. Certainly until anyone proves otherwise and can show me something better I'll count it.

TheCaptain couldn't find on 28th Jun 2005 I had a good look around for the remains of this allée couverte, but could find nothing obvious. It's somewhere to the west of the hamlet of Vieux Bourg, beside the north to south expressway.

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus : Site in Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35) France (Vote or comment on this photo)
Remains of an allée couverte near to Beillac farm, in the commune of Miniac-Morvan, to the west of the north to south dual carriage expressway at the village of Vieux-Bourg.

A description reads "Rectangular chamber measuring 10m by 1.5m with 6 orthostats on the south side and 5 on the north. Their length is between 1 and 1.8 metres, height about half a metre and thickness 0.3 metres. Three cover slabs about half a metre thick, and the backstone are still in place. The dolmen is oriented east to west. Around the monument, a dozen or so other stones lie scattered."

I found something which nearly matches that description, with one major exception; the three cover stones. There was nothing at all which could have been them.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Position given is of site I believe to be the megalithic remains. See comment below.
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Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus : Site in Bretagne:Ille-et-Vilaine (35) France (Vote or comment on this photo)

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus (Vote or comment on this photo)

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus (Vote or comment on this photo)

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus (Vote or comment on this photo)

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by karolus

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by thecaptain : Closer inspection amongst the ivy and brambles, and there were clearly a few side set slabs sticking up through the ground, and I was pretty sure I could determine two rows of slabs about 1.5 metres apart from each other, but with no stone more than 0.5 metres tall, and most substantially lower. I reckoned that what I had found on top of the mound was about 10 metres in length, and had to be the r...

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by thecaptain : Closer inspection amongst the ivy and brambles, and there were clearly a few side set slabs sticking up through the ground (1 comment)

Four-És-Feins
Four-És-Feins submitted by thecaptain : I found a place in a woodland to the left of the track, with a mound in it, and what looked to be some lumps sticking up, but it was very overgrown. It has to be here, surely. Closer inspection amongst the ivy and brambles, and there were clearly a few side set slabs sticking up through the ground.

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"Four-És-Feins" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Re: Four-És-Feins by TheCaptain on Sunday, 21 June 2009
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and it depends which coordinate system the given position is in.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Four-És-Feins by Martin_L on Saturday, 20 June 2009
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Found a link with some info and an old groundplan of the chamber:
According to the official coordinates the site is approximately 200m NW of the ruined allee couverte you found. So hopefully the Four-ès-Feins still is in the same state as on the old groundplan.
http://patrimoine.region-bretagne.fr/sdx/sribzh/main.xsp?execute=show_document&id=MERIMEEIA35044143
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Four-És-Feins by TheCaptain on Saturday, 20 June 2009
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Yes, that is the plan I have seen. If those coordinates are correct, it puts the allée couverte into a woodland two whole fields west of where I was looking, and indeed to get to would mean walking along the field edge to the west from the farm, not the east where I was told.

    Something to perhaps have another look for in the future.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Four-És-Feins by TheCaptain on Friday, 19 June 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
I went and had another look for this while in the area last weekend, now knowing to look nearby to the Beillac farm. I could see nothing obvious when driving slowly down the lane past the farm, but there was an old couple out tending their wonderful vegetable garden, so I stopped and asked them if they could tell me where the dolmen was.

They were interested to know what an Englishman was doing looking for the remnants of the dolmen, but were happy to help. Unfortunately, I struggled to understand fully all they were saying, a combination of strong accent and using some words I just could not figure out. But I thought I had got enough of a lead to find it easily.

Park out of the way of the farm track by the corner of the farm. Cross the field to the south on the newly cut hay at the edge of the field for 200 metres until reaching the other side. Go straight on about another 100 metres (unknown words) until I get to the big trees, and it is on the left, (some more unknown words). Put boots on if you have them. Sounds simple.

Well, it was all very simple simple, until I tried to decide which of all the woodlands were the correct big trees. However, after a few false starts, I found a place in a woodland to the left of the track, with a mound in it, and what looked to be some lumps sticking up, but it was very overgrown. It has to be this, surely. Closer inspection amongst the ivy and brambles, and there were clearly a few side set slabs sticking up through the ground, and I was pretty sure I could determine two rows of slabs about 1.5 metres apart from each other, but with no stone more than 0.5 metres tall, and most substantially lower. I reckoned that what I had found on top of the mound was about 10 metres in length, and had to be the remains of a very ruined allée couverte.

However, walking back to the car, I thought that these poor remains were not really enough to be known by the name Four-es-Feins; the Fairies Oven. Surely something with a name like that must be a grander structure. I also thought it to be too ruined to be what the old couple were explaining to me, although they did say it was just the remains of an allée couverte. I would have thought they would have told me not to bother rather than gladly give me directions.....

Upon returning to the car, I remembered I had book with description in a box in the boot. "Rectangular chamber measuring 10m by 1.5m with 6 orthostats on the south side and 5 on the north. Their length is between 1 and 1.8 metres, height about half a metre and thickness 0.3 metres. Brilliant, this all fits to what I saw. But then, the description goes on. Three cover slabs about half a metre thick, and the backstone are still in place. Around the monument, a dozen or so other stones lie scattered.

Well, I can believe the stones are now more covered by undergrowth and soil than that description, and hence seem smaller. The size, orientation and almost everything seems right, with one major exception; the three cover stones. There was nothing at all which could have been them. Read the description again and realise it has been based upon a plan and writings from 1886 and 1928. Maybe it has become much more wrecked since then, but what of the old couples talk ?

So, was this Four-es-Feins or not? If it wasn't, what had I found ? I am not sure, but like to think I did find it. Certainly until anyone proves otherwise and can show me something better I'll count it.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Four-És-Feins by Martin_L on Saturday, 20 June 2009
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Fascinating story. I fear you found it... Guess it unfortunaley is the same as in Germany for example...stones of megalithic tombs even "got lost" in the 20th century.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Four-És-Feins by TheCaptain on Tuesday, 06 March 2007
(User Info | Send a Message)
I had a good look around for the remains of this allée couverte, the fairies oven, but could find nothing obvious. It's somewhere to the west of the hamlet of Vieux Bourg, beside the north to south expressway.
[ Reply to This ]

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