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Prehistoric
France.
Quick
links:
Of the 6,192 standing
stones, or menhirs...which a count of 1880 reckoned to exist in France,
4,747 were located in Brittany, 3,450 of these being in Morbihan.
(3) 'There are over 5,000 Menhirs in
Brittany alone'. (1)
According to French
statistics of 1864, there are 140,000 'barrows' or 'tumuli' in the
Departments of the Cote-d'Or, Vosges, Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, Doubs, Jura, and
Ain.
(2)
According to the
1864 survey, the number of 'Dolmens' in France was then
more than 2,225.
(2) Today, the
estimate stands at approximately 4,500.
(scroll down for more...) |
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Featured French Items.
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 The Carnac complex - Possibly the best
known megalithic French site, the
road-sign as you enter Carnac has the words 'Cairn-ac' beneath
it, which clearly associates it with 'Cairn' building. However,
John Michel tells us confidently that the
site was named Carnac after the Egyptian Karnak by the Count Maudet de
Penhouet. (1)
Carnac has the largest concentration of standing stones in
the world, and the area is literally covered in megalithic ruins of every
type dating back to 6,850 BC (5)
(More about the Carnac complex)
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Le Mont
St. Michel -
This fascinating island sanctuary has attracted pilgrims since the middle
ages. Although the dedication to St. Michael can
be traced back to the middle ages, the alignments to other 'St. Michael'
locations (including prehistoric ones), suggests the possibility of a
deliberate system of placement, which may have operated between certain
ancient sites.
(More about Le Mont
St. Michel)
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Xavier Guichard - France was home to a
detective called Xavier Guichard, who in
the early 20th century, while investigating the ancient roots of place
names, discovered an prehistoric network of alignments extending throughout
France (and other areas of Europe), which were connected by locations
with the root-name 'Alaise', and through longitude and latitude. He concluded that he had touched upon the Eluesian
mysteries of ancient Greece. His work was entirely
independent of Alfred Watkins work on 'Ley- lines'.
(Click here for more on this subject)
(Available Now - Xavier
Guichard's classic 'Eleuse Alaise' -
(click here)
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Gavr'inis - Constructed at around 3,300
BC, the passage mound on the island of Gavr'inis contains one of the most
spectacular examples of engravings in all the prehistoric world. There are
several indications that the builders of Gavr'inis may have been the same
people that constructed the great structures in Ireland at about the same
time.
Directly in front
of Gavr'inis are now partially submerged twin stone circles on the small island of
Er-Lannic.
(More about Gavr'inis)
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 Le Grand Menhir Bris é
- This fantastic stone is 20m from end to end. It was transported from
at around 50 miles distant (3), and is regularly estimated at over 300 tonnes.
This was once the largest standing
stone in all Europe, its presence is a record of capability and excellence
in the Neolithic period, which is a far cry from the traditional view of
primitive Neolithic hunter-gatherers.
The original construction would have included another 18 stones,
which are now all gone...or are they?
(More about the Great Menhirs of
Lochmariaquer)
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The Great Loire Dolmens
- The group of Dolmens
between Saumur and Blois on the river Loire are some of the most impressive
in Europe. They are puzzling to archaeologists as none of them appear to
have ever been covered with earth, and there have been no human remains
found in them, which precludes them from being intended for passage graves
or funerary structures.
(More about the
Great Loire Dolmens)
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In France an inter-gradation can be
observed between the rudest and most ancient dolmens and later varieties
where the support stones are squared off into four vertical faces or
tapered into cylindrical columns. (1)
Carnac region, France. (The
progression
from Dolmen to Passage 'Grave/Tomb')
(More about
Dolmens)
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The mystery of the Locmariaquer menhirs.
Le 'Grande Menhir Brise' at
Locmariaquer was once the largest standing stone in all Europe.
Archaeology has determined that originally, there
were another 18 pits in a row running from the stone, and it is believed that
each once contained a menhir (of decreasing size), which were placed there
at around 4,500 BC. (see pitiful diagram - below).
An impression of the design of the original 4,000 BC structure.
Prof. A. Thom determined that the menhir was
positioned so as to be a giant lunar back-sight to several other nearby
locations.
At a later date of approximately 3,300 - 3,100 BC, most of these huge menhirs
were re-used and distributed to other locations in the region. We can assume
that the largest stone was left upright at this time, as all of its fallen parts
remain, while the other stones were taken and re-used.
It is noticeable that there are also 19
crescent symbols (below), carved on the end-stone inside the neighbouring
Table des Marchands, creating a
second lunar association (The full lunar cycle lasts 18.6 years).
It is
now realised that the cap-stone was once a part of a larger menhir (possibly
from the Grand Menhir alignment), having been
once connected to both the capstones of Er-Grah tumulus (orientated
towards the Grande Menhir), and the spectacular Gavr'inis passage mound,
combining to create a spectacular menhir of the same scale and quality as Le
Grand Menhir itself.
It is suggested that the engraved end-stone
was a part of the
original construction at Lochmariaquer.
Q) - Where are the other Menhirs ?
The length of the only remaining stone is 20m from end to
end. If approximately 20% of this stone was originally underground (as
suggested by a local tour-guide), we can assume that it actually stood at
around 16m above ground level.
 The Grand Menhir is only one of the structures
that makes up the Lochmariaquer site. Beside it
are two other structures. One of them is a passage mound called 'La Table
des Marchands', and the other is a tumulus called 'Er-Grah', which is
orientated towards Le Grand Menhir, which, in addition the nearby Gavr'inis
passage-mound, are today known to
possess parts of one of the menhirs from the original and earlier 19-stone alignment.
In 1984, archaeologists
uncovered the hidden upper-side of the Gavr'inis capstone and found that it
bore engravings that fitted with those at La Table des Marchands, and
another stone on top of the 'Er Vingle' or 'Er Grah' tumulus (see right). It was concluded that the three slabs once formed a
single menhir 15m tall, which if we add another 2-3m for the missing
section, results in a stone that measures 17-18m, leaving approximately an
estimated 15m remaining visible above ground level.
In order to estimate the expected heights of the other
stones, we need the height of the last stone, which we can guess at being
slightly over the height of an average observer (we can suggest a height of
approximately 2m). If the tallest stood at 16m, the shortest at 2m, and with
17 others in-between, We can now estimate the difference in height between each of
the other stones. (14m / 17 = 82.353cm), a figure that is coincidentally
almost exactly one megalithic yard long
(82.966cm).
(Click here for more about Le Grand Menhir
Brisé)
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Megalithic Facts: In
Charente, France, there is a stone reputed to weigh nearly 40
stones. The nearest source of similar stone is over 18 miles away.
(7) |
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The largest menhirs in
France
From an 1885 survey by Gabriel de Mortillet. (3)
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Locmariaquer (Morbihan) -
(Fallen). |
20.50 Metres |
67.30 Feet |
| Plésidy
(Côtes
du Nord) |
11.12 |
36.50 |
| Plouarzel
(Finistère)
at Kerloas |
11.05 |
36.25 |
| Louargat
(Côtes
du Nord) |
10.30 |
33.80 |
| Kérien
(Côtes
du Nord) |
9.63 |
31.60 |
|
Dol (Ille-et-Vilaine)
at Champ-Dolent |
9.30 |
30.50 |
| Plouarzel (Finistère)
near the village |
8.77 |
28.80 |
| Pédernec
(Côtes
du Nord) |
8.50 |
27.90 |
| Glomel
(Côtes
du Nord) |
8.50 |
27.90 |
| Trégon
(Côtes
du Nord) |
8.50 |
27.90 |
| Scaër
(Finistère) |
8.33 |
27.30 |
| Pleucadeuc (Morbihan) |
8.00 |
26.25 |
| Trégunc
(Finistère) |
8.00 |
26.25 |
| Bégard
(Côtes
du Nord) |
7.50 |
24.60 |
| Carnihuel
(Côtes
du Nord) |
7.50 |
24.60 |
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(It is immediately noticeable that all the menhirs above are located
in Brittany)
(More about
French menhirs)
(Return to Top)
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The Giant Loire Dolmens
This group of dolmens are
congregated between Samur to Blois,
on the
river Loire are some of the most impressive in France. They are puzzling to
archaeologists as none of them appear to have ever been covered with earth,
and there have been no human remains found in them, which precludes them
from having been intended for passage mounds or funerary structures.(1)
They have several construction features which are
peculiar to the area, such as the the portalled entrances, which lead
directly into the large internal chambers. They are invariably orientated
east-west, with the opening facing east, suggesting a preference for
equinoxial orientation.
Other dolmens can also be found north of the Loire at Soucelles, La Roche Thibault,
Bauge, Nr Mettray (La Grotte des Fees). South of the river in the
Samur region there are more west of Gennes and in a farmyard near St. Hilaire (Dolmen de la Pierre Boire),
and the massive Le Gros-Chillou at Briancon, Cravant, which is 50
ft (15.2 metres) long and 10 ft (3.1 metres) high.
(Click here for more about the Loire
Dolmens)
(Click here for other Dolmens)
(Return to Top)
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