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Saint-Michel tumulus
Date Added: 15th Oct 2024
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4
Saint-Michel tumulus submitted by DrewParsons on 7th Nov 2009. The locked south west entrance to the tumulus.
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Log Text: This is one of a collection of very large manmade Carnacean mounds or tumuli and served as a tomb for elite individuals, accompanied by opulent and often non-local grave goods. It is on a high prominence overlooking the town of Carnac and surrounding areas. Popping the location coordinates into any online mapping tool should lead you directly to the site, which is at the end of a cul-de-sac adjacent to a hotel. There is a public parking area across from the hotel and next to the tumulus.
Er-Grah tumulus
Date Added: 13th Nov 2024
Site Type: Chambered Tomb
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Er-Grah tumulus submitted by JJ on 8th Oct 2003. Er Grah tumulus, Grand Menhir Brisé, and La Table des Marchands, Locmariaquer.
Aerial photo copyright JJ Evendon
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Log Text: Er-Grah Tumulus is one of a triad of major Neolithic sites in Locmariaquer, all accessed via a visitor's center/museum for a small admission fee (although on the day I visited, the entry fee was waived for some reason). Plenty of parking is available in an adjacent gravel lot. The original burial vault and tumulus were built very gradually in several stages over the course of the 5th millenium BCE. It was subjected to significant and often harsh damage over the centuries since and what you see today is a complete modern restoration. Wide gravel paths flank the tumulus closely, but the cairn and vault are off-limits and not accessible.
La Table des Marchands
Date Added: 14th Nov 2024
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4
La Table des Marchands submitted by JJ on 9th Nov 2002. La Table des Marchands
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Log Text: One of a triad of megalithic sites, all accessible via the Site des Megalithes Visitor Centre in Locmariaquer for a small admission fee. Like the Er-Grah Tumulus, parts of this passage grave were nearly buried or damaged but completely restored in the 1990s to what is thought to be its original appearance. Unlike Er-Grah, the passage and end chamber are open to the public and illuminated. Certain of the chamber pillars and capstone are covered with well preserved artwork.
Le Petit Ménec
Date Added: 17th Oct 2024
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3
Le Petit Ménec submitted by ermine on 6th Aug 2004. Confusingly, Petit-Menéc is in fact at the opposite, eastern end of the alignments to le Menéc village at the western end. You need to turn left onto the D186 main road after continuing from Kerlescan. After about 250m turn right into a minor road going past a forest, there is a clearing where you can park after about 400m. The menhirs are in the forest on your right, arranged in a gentle curve. You don't get the same clear overview of the alignments since the view is obscured by the trees, bu...
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Log Text: Could be my favorite stone alignment site in the Carnac area, as it is secluded in a forest and not on the heavily traveled tourist track. Serene atmosphere for sure.
This is also one of the few major alignment sites that is still unfenced and you can walk freely anywhere. Much like Kerzerho.
Directions to the site are as described.
Grand Menhir Brisé
Date Added: 17th Nov 2024
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Grand Menhir Brisé submitted by ermine on 27th Jun 2004. Grand Menhir Brisé, Locmariaquer.
A megalithic tragedy.
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Log Text: The 4 broken sections of this massive menhir are lying on the ground very close to the Table des Marchands cairn. Access is via a short walking trail from the visitor's center (paid admission). The presumed socket holes of the 19 standing stones are laid out in a line of discrete gravel patches pointing towards the Er -Grah tumulus.
Mane Lud Dolmen
Date Added: 17th Oct 2024
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
Mane Lud dolmen submitted by greywether on 30th Jun 2005. The massive broken granite capstone over the chamber (8.5 x 4.9m).
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Log Text: This is currently one of the few passage graves/dolmens in the Locmariaquer area that you can get inside... at least legally. Several others have been fenced off and posted with official government warning signs urging visitors to keep out for safety reasons and view from a distance.
As for access, I parked at a public layby and lot located at 47.57362, -2.95311 off the Voie des Megalithes and walked a signposted dirt trail about 200 m east to what looks like a private paved driveway. Turn left here and walk a few more meters east on the driveway. The large knoll to the right is the tumulus. Walk up the hill and the huge chamber capstone should appear shortly, next to a Camping Interdit sign.
Mane-Rethuel Dolmen
Date Added: 18th Nov 2024
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3
Mane-Rethuel dolmen submitted by AlexHunger on 21st Sep 2004. Dolmen de Mane-Rithual in central Locmariaquer viewed from North. Entrance is at oposite end.
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Log Text: This site is accessible via a short signposted trail west off of the Ruelle du Bronzo. The bigger challenge is finding a spot to park as the street (more like an alley) is densely residential and narrow with very limited parking. If you proceed farther south on the same road, the street widens with more parking spaces near the Chapelle Saint Michel. I parked here and walked back along the alley to the signposted trail (and later to visit the Motte de Beurre site nearby)
Unfortunately, as others have noted, the passage grave is fenced off for safety reasons and can only be viewed from the outside. It is not clear if or when the interior will be stabilized sufficiently to re-open the site.
Menhir La Motte de Beurre
Date Added: 19th Nov 2024
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3
Menhir La Motte de Beurre submitted by regina on 12th Nov 2014. Site in Bretagne:Morbihan (56) France
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Log Text: Parking is problematic as the menhir is located in a small park squeezed in between two houses in a densely packed residential alley. My solution was to park farther south where the alley widens to a real street near the Chapelle St Michel with on-street spaces. It is not a long walk from there to either Mane Rethuel Dolmen or the menhir.
The menhir is broken with the base still in the ground and the other half recumbent. It was originally 7.4 m in length, including the part below ground level. One face of the base has engravings but they are darkened with age and hard to see.
Pierres Plates (Locmariaquer)
Date Added: 20th Nov 2024
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Pierres Plates (Locmariaquer) submitted by ermine on 27th Jun 2004. Les Pierres Plates
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Log Text: This is an allee coudee (angled passage grave) with a number of unique decorated stones. It sits on a bluff overlooking the sea, which becomes an extensive shellfish flat when the tide goes out.
Sadly, nothing much has changed regarding interior access. A low rope and sign discourage interior access to the passage and chamber, although they don't outright forbid it. Moreover, this is a very popular beach and there are always people milling around even during the off season. Had there been less "people presence", I might have been tempted to sneak inside, but I behaved myself.
Parking is at a beach lot maybe 200-300 yds away. A trail leads from there to the bluff edge, and it is a short walk to the right to the site.
Menhirs de Mané er Hroëck
Date Added: 22nd Nov 2024
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Menhirs de Mané er Hroëck submitted by regina on 17th Nov 2014. Standing menhir
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Log Text: I looked for the two menhirs described in the text and at the location given. Didn't definitively find either of them. However I did find a standing (actually leaning) menhir about 60 mtrs south of the location that didn't really look the same as the original photo (see my photo). The whole site looks quite different now with extensive lawn mowing and clearing of the grounds, so it's still possible that it's the original standing menhir with a lot of the overgrowth removed.
Mané-er-Hroëck tumulus
Date Added: 22nd Nov 2024
Site Type: Chambered Tomb
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Mané-er-Hroëck tumulus submitted by greywether on 30th Jun 2005. The modern entrance to this underground chamber.
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Log Text: This is one of the large Carnacean tumuli (see St Michel Tumulus and Tumiac for similar structures). Like Tumiac, the mound covers a rather modest stone burial vault which was originally covered, never meant to be re-opened. Except that it was, in the 20th century, when a stone passage and stairway were added to access the vault.
Unfortunately, official state notice was posted at the vault stairway in February or March of 2024 that access into the passage is now "interdit" (forbidden) due to safety concerns and potential rock slides. It is not roped off, but you now enter at your own risk, legal and otherwise. I didn't bother ;-). There is little to see other than the tumulus itself, which is impressive, and at least one menhir a short distance away from the mound on the side opposite the entrance.
There is a parking pulloff very close to a signposted trail head which leads in about 100 m to the tumulus. The entrance is a few more meters to the right beyond an information sign.
Gavrinis Cairn
Date Added: 24th Nov 2024
Site Type: Chambered Cairn
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4
Gavrinis Cairn submitted by markj99 on 26th Sep 2023. Carved recesses in a carved stone in the chamber of Cairn de Gavrinis viewed from South-East.
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Log Text: This is probably the most famous and best preserved decorated Neolithic passage grave in Europe. Not much to add regarding visit details that others have not already mentioned. The site is only accessible via boat and a guided tour. Boats leave regularly during the summer and early fall months from various port around the Gulf. I happened to embark from Larmor Baden and there is a large free parking lot next to the ticket office. The boat ride to the island is about 15 minutes. From the dock on the island, it's a brief climb up the hill to a small visitors center where a less brief lecture is given by the guide, primarily in French, although I was able to ask a few questions in English. From there, the small group walked around the cairn and was allowed 5-10 minutes to view the passage and chamber. Photography is allowed, but be prepared to work fast !
Er Lannic
Date Added: 27th Nov 2024
Site Type: Stone Circle
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Saw from a distance on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4
Er Lannic submitted by 43559959 on 15th May 2014. Er Lannic and it's birds.
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Log Text: As noted by others, Er-Lannic is a bird sanctuary and access to the island is forbidden. I went on the combo trip that included the full Gavrinis tour and a boat circuit of Er-Lannic. However I quickly discovered the limits of a smartphone camera to take decent telephoto shots and most of the photos already here are far better than mine. I'll add a few, but pretty limited.
Tumiac tumulus
Date Added: 28th Nov 2024
Site Type: Chambered Tomb
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3
Tumiac tumulus submitted by AlexHunger on 2nd Nov 2004. Tumulus de Tumiac, otherwise known as Butte De Cesar is the first noticeable site on the southerly Presqu’ile de Rhuys, on the way to Arzon. No serious attempt has been to date this large pile of rocks, but it is largely in the state it was in 2050 years ago, when it was first mentioned. Gaius Julius Ceasar allegedly used it as a command post, from which to survey troop movements and fleets while concluding the Gallic wars but it predates his appearance by over 2,000 years. This is a somewhat ...
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Log Text: This is another very old Carnacean tumulus covering a rather small stone burial vault at the bottom of the structure. The vault itself has been inaccessible to the public for quite some time, as was originally intended with these types of tombs.
As others have noted, access to the mound is via a several 100 m easy, maintained path from a parking layby that is easy to miss if you blink at the wrong time ;-). The same information sign is in the layby.
There is a field adjacent to the hedged path that allows clearer photography, so I approached the mound from here.
The tumulus is quite large, about 50 m in diameter by maybe 10-15 m high according to Burl, but it looked significantly longer to me. One thing I noticed in Sept 2024 is that much of the mound has been stripped of vegetation and surrounded by a modern wooden slat fence (see photos/videos). Further, the mound appears to be dug into or heavily slumped in spots. It's possible this is some kind of ongoing stabilization project, although I saw no signage to this effect.
Bilgroix allée couverte
Date Added: 28th Nov 2024
Site Type: Passage Grave
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Bilgroix allée couverte submitted by dt44 on 21st Mar 2010.
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Log Text: This is an allee couverte just to the northwest of Arzon and close to the end of Boulevard de Bilgroix. It is in a small park nestled among local residences. You could probably park right next to it on the street (an option for mobility-impaired visitors), but I chose to park about 100 m farther in a big lot at the point and make the easy walk back to the site.
Kerbougnec Cromlech
Date Added: 1st Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Circle
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Kerbougnec Cromlech submitted by thecaptain on 12th Jun 2006. Found in amongst the houses of St-Pierre-Quiberon, this is nowadays a large semi circle of about 40 contiguous stones, average height about 1.8 metres.
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Log Text: This cromlech is now an arc of about 40 large closely spaced standing stones that possibly was much larger once upon a time. However, the entire site is smack in the middle of the densely housed village of Kerbourgnec on the Quiberon Peninsula, so undoubtedly that has taken a toll on the original site.
Parking for me at least was a breeze, as empty spaces were available on Rue de Cromlech right next to the site. For the mobility impaired, this site can probably be viewed without having to leave the vehicle. The site itself is in a small public park.
St-Pierre-Quiberon Alignement
Date Added: 2nd Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
St-Pierre-Quiberon Alignement submitted by thecaptain on 12th Jun 2006. Out on the Quiberon Peninsula, near to the Kerbourgnec cromlech can be found a pleasant little park with the remains of these alignements in it.
The stones are of all shapes and sizes, up to 4 metres tall. There's a lovely curved "sharks fin" in front of me as I sat and wrote this, and a diamond to my right. These stones are wonderful, and its lovely to be able to just sit amongst them.
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Log Text: Very picturesque site of approximately 25 stones aligned in 5 rows, in a public park in the midst of an attractive housing subdivision. It is not a long walk from the parking for the Kerbourgnec Cromlech, so I left the car there and set off north down the Rue de Cromlech. In maybe 100 meters, there is an obvious pedestrian trail on the right flanked by hedges which leads in roughly another 100 m to the park and the site.
Kerbourgnec Alignements
Date Added: 2nd Dec 2024
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Ambience 5 Access 3
Kerbourgnec Alignements submitted by thecaptain on 12th Jun 2006. There seemed to me to be several very clear lines of rocks stretching out into the sea in parallel rows. I believe I could see at least seven rows of rocks from where I sat on the bottom of the steps down to the beach.
Fantastic!
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Log Text: The beach where these sea-based rows were located is a short walk down an alley directly east from the St. Pierre Quiberon alignments.
Alas, timing is everything and the tide was simply too high to spot much, but the beach is very scenic. I've seen aerial views that certainly suggest there are multiple rows extending out into the ocean, plus they've been confirmed by sonar and other studies.
Menhirs le Vieux-Moulin (N)
Date Added: 30th Sep 2024
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Menhirs le Vieux-Moulin (N) submitted by Ogham on 8th Jul 2012. The site is marked as menhirs but they are part of the alignment.
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Log Text: There is a signpost "Vieux Moulin" off the D781 that is easy to miss. A dirt road leads a couple hundred meters past a house to a small hill. Park here. The menhirs are a very short easy walk east or south from there.
Vieux-Moulin Alignement
Date Added: 30th Sep 2024
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment
Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 1st Sep 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Vieux-Moulin Alignement submitted by aolson on 25th Jul 2020. As of July 2020, one of the stones seen leaning in earlier pictures has succumbed. The notice on the fencing basically states that the authorities are contemplating what to do next.
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Log Text: I parked at the hill at Vieux Moulin Menhirs and walked on a path south maybe 200 m across a farm field to this site.