Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan
MonumentHidden Treasure
Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan, located in Carnac (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Carnac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091075
Troisième grand ensemble mégalithique de Carnac, Kerlescan aligne près de 555 menhirs organisés en 13 rangées et s'achève par un dolmen, vestige saisissant d'une civilisation néolithique vieille de 6 000 ans.
History
In the heart of the Quiberon peninsula, at the eastern end of the famous Carnac megalithic complex, the Kerlescan site boasts one of the most coherent and best-preserved megalithic compositions in Europe. Unlike its neighbours Ménec and Kermario, Kerlescan has a more intimate, wilder atmosphere, with its rows of stones blending into a landscape of moorland and oak trees, adding to the feeling of stepping back in time. The alignment comprises around 555 menhirs arranged in 13 roughly parallel lines, facing roughly north-west. At the western end, a large quadrilateral of upright stones surrounds the ensemble like a ceremonial forecourt, an arrangement found at Ménec but which here takes on a more legible scale, allowing visitors to immediately perceive its spatial logic. At the other end, a dolmen with a corridor, discreet but full of meaning, bears witness to the site's dual funerary and ritual purpose. What makes Kerlescan truly unique is the gradation of its menhirs: the largest, sometimes exceeding 3 metres in height, stand to the west, while the stones gradually taper off towards the east, as if a cosmic order presided over their arrangement. This organisation betrays a remarkable mastery of topography and a strong symbolic intent that archaeologists are still struggling to fully decipher. A visit to Kerlescan is an experience in itself. Less frequented than the Alignements de Ménec - despite being one of the most visited sites in Brittany - it preserves a tranquillity conducive to contemplation. The paths that run alongside the rows allow you to observe at close quarters the texture of the local sandstone, its centuries-old lichens and the traces of erosion that tell the story of five millennia of Atlantic weathering. At sunrise or sunset, the alignment takes on an almost mystical dimension, the shadows stretching between the menhirs like giant sundials. Kerlescan is part of an exceptional heritage site that France has been submitting to UNESCO for World Heritage listing for several years. A visit to this site is like entering the cradle of European memory.
Architecture
The Kerlescan alignment extends over a length of around 880 metres and a maximum width of 139 metres, bringing together some 555 standing menhirs - a figure that probably represents a fraction of the original group, some of the stones having been felled, buried or recovered as building materials over the centuries. The menhirs are carved from medium-grained grey granite and local quartzite, materials that are abundant in the outcrops of the surrounding Armorican Massif. Their height decreases steadily from west to east: the largest reach 3 to 4 metres, while the smallest, at the eastern end, barely exceed 1 metre. At the western end, a quadrilateral of around 30 menhirs closes off and frames the beginning of the rows, forming a kind of open enclosure whose function - assembly place, ritual space, astronomical marker - remains debated. This partial cromlech layout is one of the most distinctive architectural features of Kerlescan, and clearly distinguishes it from a simple linear alignment. The dolmen, located at the north-eastern end of the complex, consists of a polygonal chamber approximately 2.5 metres in diameter covered by a single roof slab, preceded by an access corridor facing south-east - an orientation probably linked to sunrise at the equinoxes. The rough granite orthostats of which it is made feature shallow carvings on some faces - cupules and geometric motifs - typical of Breton megalithic art.
Related Figures
Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue autodidacte carnacéen, il consacra sa vie au relevé et à la préservation des mégalithes de Carnac, publiant les premières monographies scientifiques sur Kerlescan au début du XXe siècleJames Miln — antiquaire écossais établi à Carnac à la fin du XIXe siècle, il finança et dirigea les premières fouilles stratigraphiques du secteur, léguant ses collections au musée de CarnacProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des monuments historiques, il visita la région dans les années 1830 et contribua à sensibiliser les autorités françaises à la nécessité de protéger les mégalithes bretonsAlexandre Bertrand — directeur du musée des Antiquités nationales de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, il intégra les mégalithes de Carnac dans les débats savants européens sur la préhistoire à la fin du XIXe siècleCharles-Tanguy Le Roux — préhistorien breton contemporain, ses travaux sur la chronologie et la symbolique des mégalithes morbihannais ont profondément renouvelé la compréhension du site
Map
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Tags
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan located?
Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan open to visitors?
Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan is currently closed to visitors.
