The Carnac alignments
Explore the world's largest megalithic complex of its kind, a mecca of European prehistory.
Some of the first sites to be protected by the State. From 1830 onwards, the scientific approach of Prosper Mérimée, inspector of historic monuments, led the State to pursue a policy of acquiring and conserving megaliths.
In the 21st century, the sites are benefiting from restoration and development projects.
Neolithic temples.
Recent studies have linked the history of these sites to developments during the Neolithic, a period that marked the beginning of sedentary life. Rows of menhirs lead to a space considered sacred: the enclosures. Dolmens have a funerary function
History of the monument
The standing stones of Carnac, organized in complex systems over a vast territory carefully chosen in Neolithic times, have yet to reveal their raison(s) d'être.
These monumental ensembles, which have been protected as Monuments Historiques since the late 19th century, are now considered to be the remains of elaborate architecture in connection with funerary monuments still present around or within the monolithic rows.
True "fields of memory" materializing a frontier, as much physical as mental, the Carnac alignments still embody a scientific challenge for archaeology today: the idea of the ruined temple, which appeared as early as the 19th century, is gradually disappearing. The idea of the ruined temple, which first appeared in the 19th century, is gradually disappearing, and a new, unprecedented notion is emerging: the site of "passage", the threshold, marking the break between two spaces, two worlds.
In fact, the intimate relationship between these monuments and their immediate surroundings is a key area of research, and one that has very quickly revealed troubling similarities between each of Carnac's three major complexes: the repetition of a general pattern certainly reflects a desire to strongly assert the same message.
The Saint Michel burial mound in Carnac
Nearly 35,000 m3 of materials, skilfully arranged from the early 5th millennium BC, make up the artificial hill on which a chapel dedicated to the archangel Saint-Michel sits.
This monumental funerary architecture, destined for a leading figure of the era, spectacularly embodies remarkable technical skill, a particularly accomplished motivation on the part of the builders, and above all a social hierarchy attested to by the quality of the furnishings found inside.
In fact, the Saint-Michel tumulus, excavated by archaeologists in the second half of the 19th century and at the turn of the 20th century, corresponds to a burial site of gigantic dimensions, originally intended for a single person, and containing a collection of prestigious objects. The raw material of these objects (Italian jadeite, for example), combined with the finesse of the polishing, testify to the particularly high social standing of the deceased.
The choice of location for the burial site contributes fully to its exceptional dimension: the highest point in the region. The monument, restored by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, can be seen by everyone, from everywhere, and offers a unique panorama once you've reached the summit.
A dozen monuments around the alignments are less well known and sometimes not very accessible, but some deserve to be promoted to the public, such as the Tumulus du Moustoir and Crucuny...
Houat and its little sister, Hoëdic, weren't always islands. In Mesolithic times, they were linked to the Quiberon peninsula. Today, 15 km separate them from the mainland. Coveted by the English, the island was occupied in the 17th and 18th centuries: the remains of a fort can still be seen. In 1822, the island adopted an original organization, formalized by the "Hoëdic Charter": it became a theocracy, governed by the rector. A perceptible form of independence that doesn't prevent sharing!
