Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault
MonumentHidden Treasure
Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault, located in Hédé (Département 35), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Hédé, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2978, -1.7608
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090506
Built at the dawn of the Neolithic era, the menhirs of Bringuerault have watched over the land of Hédé for over 5,000 years. A rare and bewitching Breton alignment, listed as a Historic Monument.
History
In the heart of Ille-et-Vilaine, just a stone's throw from the market town of Hédé, the menhirs of Bringuerault stand out in the hedged farmland with a discretion equalled only by their age. These standing stones, erected by Neolithic populations over five millennia ago, are one of the most unique megalithic testimonies to eastern Brittany, a region less well known than Morbihan but just as rich in prehistoric heritage. What sets Bringuerault apart from the great Breton megalithic sites is precisely its intimate, unspoilt character. Far from the tourist crowds of Carnac or Locmariaquer, the alignment offers a direct, almost solitary, confrontation with the thought and gesture of the Neolithic builders. The menhirs, carved out of the local granite, retain that rough mineral texture that speaks as much to the hand as to the eye. The experience of visiting the site is first and foremost a sensory one: the silence of the surrounding fields, the low-angled morning or evening light that sculpts the relief of the stones and reveals their golden and grey lichens, the feeling of standing on the exact spot where Neolithic man accomplished a collective act of considerable symbolic significance. The attentive visitor will be able to read in the general orientation of the alignment a probable astronomical or ritual intention, characteristic of these monuments. The natural setting amplifies the emotion: the green bocage, hawthorn hedges and often-changing skies of inland Brittany create a picture in which the menhirs seem perfectly at home, as if nature itself had chosen to preserve them. A confidential site, eminently photographic, ideal for lovers of ancient history and heritage walks.
Architecture
The Bringuerault alignment belongs to the category of megalithic monuments of the "alignment" type, i.e. an arrangement of menhirs arranged in parallel rows or in a line, along an axis whose orientation could correspond to astronomical landmarks - sunrise or sunset at solstices, in particular. The menhirs, monoliths of Armorican granite, vary in height, generally between one and three metres, typical of the alignments of Eastern Brittany, more modest in scale than the giants of Morbihan, but just as striking in their mineral presence. The blocks have been roughly squared or simply roughed up before being erected, revealing the natural texture of the granite: a medium-grained, bluish-grey rock studded with feldspars and covered over the centuries with ochre, grey and green leafy lichens and crustaceans. This age-old patina alone bears witness to the site's age. As with most of the Neolithic alignments in Brittany, the site was probably chosen in relation to the local topography - a slight eminence or a natural corridor that favoured visibility - and perhaps in relation to springs, watercourses or other landscape markers that were significant for the people of the time. The ensemble is set in an open space that originally allowed the whole alignment to be seen from either end, according to a processional or ceremonial logic that is well documented in megalithic archaeology.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques au XIXe siècle, pionnier du recensement des mégalithes bretonsZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue et fouilleur des sites mégalithiques de Bretagne, dont les travaux ont permis de contextualiser l'ensemble de la culture mégalithique armoricaineL'abbé Mahé — antiquaire malouin du XIXe siècle, l'un des premiers à dresser un inventaire des monuments préhistoriques d'Ille-et-VilaineAndré Malraux — ministre des Affaires culturelles sous la Ve République, sous l'impulsion duquel fut renforcée la politique nationale de protection des monuments préhistoriques
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault located?
Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault is located in Hédé, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault open to visitors?
Alignement de menhirs de Bringuerault is currently closed to visitors.
