Alignement de Coët er Blei
MonumentHidden Treasure
Alignement de Coët er Blei, located in Erdeven (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Erdeven, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6315, -3.1214
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000114
Alignement mégalithique de Coët er Blei : des rangées de menhirs dressés il y a plus de 5 000 ans dans les landes d'Erdeven, témoins silencieux d'une civilisation néolithique qui réorganisa le paysage breton à grande échelle.
History
In the heart of the moors on the Quiberon peninsula, just a few kilometres from the famous Carnac alignments, the Coët er Blei alignment is one of the least-visited yet most striking megalithic sites in Morbihan. Its Breton name - which roughly translates as "the wood of the wolf" - evokes a landscape that was once more wooded and mysterious, but now opens out onto open moorland where the stones emerge from the sparse vegetation with an almost animal-like presence. What distinguishes Coët er Blei from the neighbouring alignments is precisely this preserved intimacy. Where Carnac attracts thousands of visitors, the menhirs of Erdeven retain an unspoilt wildness. The blocks of local granite, quarried and erected by the Neolithic populations of the region, are set in a coherent network of orientations and spacings that betray a geodesic mastery remarkable for its time - a detailed knowledge of the land, the seasons and probably the astronomical cycles. Visiting the site is a complete change of scenery. As you walk along the rows of standing stones, you can see the overall logic: parallel rows stretching for dozens of metres, with some menhirs still two or three metres high despite millennia of erosion. The low-angled evening light in Brittany gives these stone silhouettes an almost sacred dimension, transforming every visit into a sensory and meditative experience. The natural setting reinforces this sense of timelessness. The gorse and heather moors that surround the site, the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, the scent of which can sometimes be picked up on the westerly wind, and the song of the birds nesting in the thickets make up a sound and smell environment that tourist developments have not yet trivialised. Listed as a Historic Monument in July 2023, Coët er Blei now benefits from official protection to ensure the long-term preservation of this exceptional heritage.
Architecture
The Coët er Blei alignment is made up of parallel rows of local granite menhirs, typical of the Armorican megalithic tradition. These blocks, quarried from rocky outcrops on the surrounding moors, vary in height - generally between one and three metres - reflecting the deliberate selection of stones according to size and shape. Some menhirs have retained their original slender profile, while others have tilted over the centuries and now lie partially on the moor, providing archaeologists with a valuable stratigraphic reading. The spatial organisation of the site follows a rigorous logic of orientation: the rows of stones extend along a broad east-west axis, with local variations that probably correspond to precise topographical or astronomical landmarks. The relatively regular spacing between the menhirs within a single row suggests advance planning involving a rudimentary but effective measuring system. This geometric coherence, perceptible even after five millennia of natural and human disturbance, bears witness to the organisational sophistication of the Neolithic builders. The only material used is Armorican granite, a very hard metamorphic rock that has enabled many of the blocks to be remarkably well preserved. The surfaces of the menhirs, most of which are rough-cut, sometimes reveal traces of abrasion or percussion, indicating that they have been deliberately roughened. No engravings or petroglyphs have been formally identified on the stones of Coët er Blei, which distinguishes them from certain ornate Carnac megaliths, but does not rule out the possibility that paintings or organic coatings, which have long since disappeared, once decorated these surfaces.
Related Figures
James Miln — archéologue écossais ayant fouillé et documenté les alignements mégalithiques d'Erdeven et de Carnac au XIXe siècleZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue breton natif de Carnac, pionnier de l'étude systématique des mégalithes morbihannais au début du XXe siècleAlexander Thom — ingénieur et astronome britannique dont les travaux sur la géométrie des alignements atlantiques ont influencé l'interprétation des sites comme Coët er BleiJean-Laurent Monnier — préhistorien ayant contribué à la connaissance des cultures mégalithiques armoricaines et de leur contexte paléoenvironnementalSerge Cassen — archéologue au CNRS, spécialiste des mégalithes de l'Ouest de la France, ayant participé aux recherches sur l'organisation territoriale des monuments d'Erdeven
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Alignement de Coët er Blei located?
Alignement de Coët er Blei is located in Erdeven, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Alignement de Coët er Blei open to visitors?
Alignement de Coët er Blei is currently closed to visitors.
