Conguel Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.427  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Beside the road running along the shore out to the tip of Pointe du Conguel, and incorporated into the pavement just outside the SNCF holiday complex, can be seen the remains of this burial chamber. Possibly, one side of it is natural rock, or perhaps a fallen capstone, but it has a definite backstone and two or three other side slabs. It is about 3.5 metres in length, by 1 metre wide, and the road slightly diverts to skirt around it.

Roc'h en Aud Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.419  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a curious affair, right in amongst the houses. It has a sort of square chamber, 4 m by 4 m with an entrance in the middle of the eastern side. But around the top of the side slabs (three per side) is a sort of circle of capstones, overhanging the chamber. The top of the main chamber is not covered. It looks to me as if the covering was of a sort of large corbelling arrangement with the top stone gone. Intriguing.

Kerbougnec Cromlech

Trip No.203  Entry No.416  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: 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. It is however just a small part of the remains of what was perhaps once an egg shaped enclosure, with a diameters of about 95 by 75 metres.

It is to be found just off the main road along the peninsular, and is nowadays surrounding a tennis court in a very quiet little cul-de-sac.

St-Pierre-Quiberon Alignement

Trip No.203  Entry No.417  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Just beyond the cromlech, and towards the town centre and the sea can be found a pleasant little park with the remains of these alignements in it. The notice says that there are 23 stones in 5 parallel rows, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were many more dotted about in peoples gardens.

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 sit and write this, and a diamond to my right. These stones are wonderful, and its lovely to be able to just sit amongst them. Supposedly the lines travel further down and out into the sea, remains of which can be seen at very low tides.

I followed the little lane down to the beach and the sea, and the tide was well out. There seemed to me to be several very clear lines of rocks stretching out into the sea in parallel rows. The earth and soil has obviously been washed away from around the rocks, and they now just sit on the rocky seabed, but lines of them there definitely are. I believe I can see at least seven rows of rocks from where I sit on the bottom of the steps down to the beach. Fantastic! But I'll bet they dont show up well in my pictures though.

Fontaine St Michel

Trip No.203  Entry No.412  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Following the path round the back of the tumulus looking to get a good photograph there was a sign to Fontaine St Michel which I followed. After a few hundred metres there is a nice little well with a little well house and offerings area above a clear pool of water slowly bubbling up from the ground.

I have no doubt that this spring has been here for thousands of years and indeed quenched the thirst of the men building the tumulus. And this turned out to be site 500 in my French stonehunting trip catalogue of site visits. Incredible really that I am seeing hundreds of dolmens and menhirs yet a well gets to be site 500. Probably only my third well !

Kerbourgnec Alignements

Trip No.203  Entry No.418  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: At low tide, from the beach at Kerbourgnec, can be seen the remains of these alignements. More than a dozen rows of stones can be seen, stretching for about 400 metres into the sea. These stones are associated to a cromlech (of which a few of the stones can be seen) and tumulus.

Saint-Michel tumulus

Trip No.203  Entry No.411  Date Added: 21st May 2020
Site Type: Chambered Cairn Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Very old and big. Visits inside no longer available like they were in the 1980s.

Menhir de Goulvars

Trip No.203  Entry No.429  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This massive menhir is now sadly fenced in behind the SNCF holiday complex near to Pointe du Conguel out at the tip of the Quiberon peninsular. It can be found by taking the road beside the SNCF complex until it reaches the grassland behind them, and then taking the trackway to the left. The menhir is hidden behind some large trees and a hedge, and it took me two visits before I found it, my previous visit having taken the wrong track. It really is a lovely stone, well over 5 metres tall and 2 metres in width, and it has been shaped and smoothed. Finding this was a good start to a grotty looking day.

Rondossec Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.432  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 5 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: This is a remarkably complete monument with three passage dolmens facing eastwards contained within a 20 metre diameter cairn, right near to the centre of the village.

The southernmost chamber is the smallest, a collapsed oval chamber of about 3 m by 2 m with a 5 metre long corridor leading to it, which is still mostly covered. The central chamber is one of those widening of the corridor types, up to 3 metres wide at the back and 5 metres in length, with a 6 metre long corridor. It is all still mostly covered, with two large capstones over the massive chamber.

The northern chamber is rectangular 4 m by 3 m with a 10 metre long entry passageway. It also has a small 2 m by 1 m side chamber off of its southern side, which is very unusual. Although one capstone is missing, the rest are still mostly in place. The two large chambers are high enough to stand up in. This monument had a steady stream of visitors while I was there.

Vieux-Moulin Alignement

Trip No.203  Entry No.433  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is a nice little row of 6 menhirs, up to 4 metres in height, standing on the slopes of a field just near to the busy D.781 Carnac to Erdeven road, just to the north of Plouharnel station. These are nicely shaped and positioned stones.

Sainte-Barbe alignement

Trip No.203  Entry No.434  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: This is an interesting and strange place, slightly off the tourist trails to the west of the D.781 Carnac to Erdeven road near to the village of Ste Barbe. It seems to be two long, widely spaced rows of menhirs heading off parallel to each other at 120°, approximately 40 metres apart from each other. At the western end is a row of really massive stones running across between the rows, normal to them, creating a sort of horseshoe shape. There are just 4 stones, but two of them are the biggest standing stones I have seen anywhere, more than 5 metres in height, possibly 4 to 5 metres in width, and up to 2 metres thick. These must have taken some effort to get into position. It has probably all been altered over the years, and walls have been built into it, but its all most impressive.

Further walking around makes me think that it might not have been a massive horseshoe shape at all, as the presence of other stones in hedges etc suggests that there may have been more parallel lines of stones, about equally spaced either side. Its an intriguing place. I later read that there was once eight lines of stones here, in what was once a set of alignments of major importance. The weather is horribly humid at the moment.

Kerzerho Alignements

Trip No.203  Entry No.435  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Such wonderful stones, I just had to stop and wander around them again.

Géants de Kerzerho

Trip No.203  Entry No.436  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Fantastic.

Dolmens des Sept Saints

Trip No.203  Entry No.439  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 2 Access 4

Log Text: This is a site which until a few days before I visited would have been completely overgrown, but thankfully has had all the gorse, blackthorn etc cut back and cleared.

What you get is a round mound, about 20 to 25 metres in diameter, with the very ruinous remains of three chambers with entry corridors. The central was probably the largest, but this is not much more than a depression in the mound. The northern still has its capstone and a recogniseable passageway, while the southern has an entry passage with one capstone still in place, but only half of a recognisable chamber.

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.

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.

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.

Quiberon menhir

Trip No.203  Entry No.430  Date Added: 23rd May 2020
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: France (Bretagne:Morbihan (56))
Visited: Yes on 15th Jun 2005. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: A 5 metre tall menhir is to be found positioned in a little town square near to a war memorial in Quiberon town.

Porz Guen Dolmens

Trip No.203  Entry No.431  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 2 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Found on the clifftop to the north of the Porz Guen beach on the Cote Sauvage of the Quiberon Peninsula, just a few minutes walk around the spectacular cliff path from various parking places.

These are the remains of two ruined dolmens with entry corridors facing to the south east, probably once within the same large mound, and possibly also remains of a third. The more inland is the most complete, with one capstone surviving on the entry couloir. The chamber is about 3 m by 3 m rectangular and would have been roofed with large corbelled capstones around it, many of which survive. The second chamber is only half there, with some of it now gone over the cliff edge. It has an oval chamber, and a long corridor of which several stones survive. There are other upright positioned stones between the two.

This really is a spectacular place, overlooking a splendid rough sea with surfers out in it below. Excellent.

Er Run Dolmen

Trip No.203  Entry No.438  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 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: This is a sad looking little dolmen in a field of sweetcorn, looking fallen and getting overgrown and unloved. It is in a hamlet plagued by mad dogs chasing after me, barking and growling continuously. There is a second dolmen here, even more hidden in the undergrowth.