Kerfuens Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.462  Date Added: 25th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Just a few hundred metres to the west of the sports centre can be found the remains of two more little dolmens sat inside small mounds, which are kept in a little cleared area for all to see.

As for the Kervadol dolmens, they are about ten metres from each other in an east to west sense, but open to face the north. The western one is in quite good condition, the eastern not so. The chambers are about 2 metres long, and 1 metre wide, with side slabs and around them what looks like a cairn of stones held in place with side slabs. Again, it is hard to tell whether these would have been in separate mounds, or one big one. I feel it is probably one mound with two additional parts.

I later found out that these are remains of a type of monument only found in this coastal part of southwest Brittany, and are compartmented dolmens, which had chambers with internal compartment slabs to break up the chamber into sections.

Kervadol Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.461  Date Added: 25th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is the remains of two little dolmens about 10 metres away from each other, not far from the sports fields. I could not be sure as to whether they were once in different mounds, or if they would have both been in the same one. Both have similar chambers, with a capstone sitting on a couple of side stones each side, and facing south.

The eastern of the two is in much better condition, and the capstone is in its proper position. That on the western dolmen has fallen to one side. Both of these dolmens have a strange feature which is a large square slab lined hollow beside them on the eastern side, or perhaps on both sides. Would these have been side chambers ? There is no sign of any capstones, and any entrance would have had to have been round the back. It's all very odd. These slabs are perhaps a bit like the stones around the Lesconil dolmen, except that the mound is outside of these rather than on the inside.

I later found out that these are remains of a type of monument only found in this coastal part of southwest Brittany, and are compartmented dolmens, which had chambers with internal compartment slabs to break up the chamber into sections.

Kervignon Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.460  Date Added: 25th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This little dolmen, with a capstone sitting on three side slabs is to be found round the back of the local sports centre. The capstone is nicely rain worn on the top, and sits at a jaunty angle. It perhaps once had an entry corridor as the side stones are smaller at one end, and I believe that this is in fact the remains of what was once a compartmented dolmen, with much of the rest of it destroyed.

Dolmen de Menez-Veil

Trip No.203  Entry No.459  Date Added: 25th May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 17th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: The Rue Jules Ferry dolmen is a strange one. There's a little capstone sitting at a funnyangle on three support stones, on top of a stone mound, which is sort of walled in and held together by stone slabs around the outside. I can only assume that it's all been very rearranged at some point. It can be found right by the roadside near a roundabout at the entrance to the village of Lesconil, on a little tended grassy area. It looks like it might be somebodies garden.

Ty Corriganet de Coat Menez Guen

Trip No.203  Entry No.458  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: From the Coat Luzuen allée couverte, continue on about 800 metres further down the road which peters out into a trackway and descends to the bottom of the valley. Turn left at the bottom, cross the stream, go along the wet track and the Coat-Menez-Guen allée couverte is to be found at the end of the field. Unfortunately when I visited, it was completely inaccessible through a large crop of rape seed.

It is supposedly a superb monument, being a 14 metre long allée couverte of the arc boutée type with some capstones added for good measure. However, all I saw was the capstones ! It took me a lot of effort and time to get here, and unfortunately it was not worth the effort in this state. Its probably a good one to visit in February or something !

Allée Couverte de Coat Luzuen

Trip No.203  Entry No.457  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Coat Luzuen allée couverte is situated in a field just to the west of the little road running north from the hamlet of Luzuen, and although signposted, it is quite difficult to find, with the last signpost being small and almost hidden, overgrown in a hedge opposite to a farm building.

When I visited this I was not totally sure what it was I was visiting, I could not be sure whether it is the remains of a strangely shaped allée couverte, or perhaps two dolmens, both quite large and opening to the west. Although I know of this as an allée couverte, it is marked on some maps as two dolmens, and as far as I can ascertain from more research, it was a single large allée couverte which has had a section removed from its centre.

The western part of the two sections has a large chamber covered by a massive single capstone 7 metres long by 3 metres wide, and it is easy to stand up inside. The eastern part, which was possibly once joined as the two side walls line up, is not so large, and is only open to the west, in the direction of its neighbour, and has only two sidestones and an endstone, the other side having collapsed.

Kernédiec allée couverte

Trip No.203  Entry No.456  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Kernédiec allée couverte is of the arc boutée type construction, and it is one of only eight of this type known. This is where one row of side stones leans up against the other and there are no capstones, rather than the more normal two rows of uprights and horizontal capstones. The chamber is about eight metres in length, and faces eastwards at 085°. The six stones on the northern side are set fairly vertically, while the seven on the southern side lean on to them.

This type of construction saves on stones, but makes a much smaller space inside the chamber. This monument is to be found in a little picnic area besides the road a few kilometres to the south of the village of Riec-sur-Belon, but its a fairly tortuous drive to get to it !

Allée Couverte de Kergoustance

Trip No.203  Entry No.455  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice allée couverte which can be found in a field just to the right of the D.24 road as you head southwest out of Moelan-sur-Mer just at the limits of the village. The chamber is more than 15 metres in length, and has all seven capstones still in place, although a couple of them are broken. It is aligned on about 055°, but it is difficult to be precise because of the trees growing within it preventing me getting a good sightline for my compass. The stones consist of a nice pink granite, and is of the leaning side stone type construction. At the back end, the last section is blocked off with a crosswise slab.

Menhir de Kerandrège

Trip No.203  Entry No.454  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This menhir has lost its top, but is still about 3 metres high, 2 metres wide and has been nicely shaped, and is associated with the lovely allée couverte with which it stands just outside the entrance. It can be found in a field to the left of the D116 road to the south of Moelan-sur-Mer on the way to Brigneau.

Allée Couverte de Kérandrège

Trip No.203  Entry No.453  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Passage Grave Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: In a field to the left of the D116 road to the south of Moelan-sur-Mer on the way to Brigneau can be found this lovely allée couverte with an associated menhir just outside its entrance. The menhir is about 3 metres high, 2 metres wide and has been nicely shaped.

The allée couverte is about 9 metres in length and faces to the east on an alignment of 100°. There are three complete and one broken (at the back) capstones sitting on top of the inwards leaning side stones, which are much wider at the base than the capstone width. Unfortunately the back end is all broken and has a tree growing in it. The front end has a narrowed down entrance.

There is a "hooting Hubert" bouy somewhere out to sea, continually hooting away !

Mentoul Menhir

Trip No.203  Entry No.452  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This menhir is found in a little grassy area just to the north of the town centre, between the houses. Its about 3 metres high and 2 metres wide.

Bellevue Menhir

Trip No.203  Entry No.451  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Bellevue menhir near to the town of Moëlan-sur-Mer is more than 4 metres tall, right beside the old Roman road to the south of the town centre. I found it difficult to park nearby and get a reasonable picture in between dodging all the traffic on this busy road.

Menhir de Mescléo A

Trip No.203  Entry No.449  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Finistère (29))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: This is a 2 metre tall menhir right beside the surprisingly busy road between Moelan and Clohars. There is another stone beside it - perhaps a broken top ?

Menhir de Courégant

Trip No.203  Entry No.448  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 2

Log Text: Courégant menhir is 5 metres tall, and can be found just outside the back of a holiday homes complex. There is no obvious path through to it, but some people in one of the chalets let me take a picture from their decking ! Thanks to them !

Menhir de Kerroc'h (Ploemeur)

Trip No.203  Entry No.447  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 16th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Kerroc’h menhir is a small menhir, only about 1.7 metres tall, that initially looks impossible to get to through the gorse. However, there is a footpath to it from beside the houses, and it comes complete with a little sign.

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.

Menhir du Bourg (Plouhinec)

Trip No.203  Entry No.444  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: While driving from Pluhinec to look for the alignements at Kerzine, I found this 2.5 metre tall menhir, without a name, across a field near to a wood behind some houses.

Kerlutu Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.443  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice little dolmen sitting in a little mound in some fields just round the back of the houses, and a hundred or so metres walk. It's got a 3m by 2.5m chamber, partially made with slabs, partly with drystone walling. It is fully covered by its capstone, and there is no sign of an entrance corridor. This dolmen seems to be kept nicely clear of all undergrowth.

Kerguerhan Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.442  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: This is a pleasant little dolmen sitting in a green area on the outskirts of the village of St Cado near Belz. It has a 3m by 2.5m oval chamber with its capstone still in place, and the first couple of rows of its entrance corridor with a capstone on top of them. Access to it would be possible by car, but my camper van wouldnt fit between the houses and round the corner, so it was a 600 metre walk from the village centre for me.

Kerhuen Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.440  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: This is a nice find, pleasantly situated at the top of the hill on the village green, with a view over the Etel estuary and its oysterbeds. It's a dolmen with entry passageway, with an oval chamber about 4 metres by 3 metres. The capstone sits on several of the eight side slabs, but is no longer high enough to stand up in, having slipped down on one side. The remains of the passageway are only about 3 metres long, with one capstone surviving, but the road has cut through any more there may once have been. It faces about 140°. The weather is definitely clearing now.

Just 40 metres further up the village green to the south from the obvious dolmen, and hidden by a large oak tree, are the remains of another chamber. It was probably very similar to the northern one but now has no capstones at all, and the remains today are just an oval of slabs, with a couple of passage stones. Less than a hundred years ago, there were the remains of two more dolmens here, but which are now completely destroyed, their only remains now being slight depressions within the village green.