Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras
MonumentHidden Treasure
Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras, located in Locoal-Mendon (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Locoal-Mendon, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6892, -3.1169
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091397
A Neolithic treasure from the Morbihan region, this elbow-shaped covered walkway conceals a rare type of funerary architecture: its angled corridor, carved out of Breton granite, makes it one of the most unusual megalithic burial sites on the Rhuys peninsula.
History
Nestling in the Morbihan bocage of Locoal-Mendon, the covered alleyway of Mané-er-Loh - known locally by the evocative name of Mané-Bras, "the great hill" in Breton - belongs to the constellation of megalithic monuments that make Brittany one of the densest prehistoric burial grounds in the world. Erected over five thousand years ago, it bears witness to a remarkable mastery of the local granite and a sophisticated spatial design that went far beyond simply piling up rough stones. What immediately sets Mané-Bras apart from its contemporaries is its angled morphology: far from following a traditional straight line, the sepulchral corridor has a pronounced bend that divides the interior space into two distinct sections. This architectural feature, rare among the covered walkways of Morbihan, has intrigued archaeologists for decades. It could reflect a precise ritual logic - compartmentalising burial deposits according to the status or chronology of burials - or betray a pragmatic adaptation to the natural topography of the hill. A visit to Mané-Bras is a sensory experience in its own right. Entering beneath the grey granite orthostats, visitors are struck by the quality of the filtered light, by the thick silence conferred by these thousand-year-old walls, and by the unsettling impression of crossing a threshold between two worlds. The imposing, slightly irregular roof slabs evoke the collective power it took to build them. The surrounding area reinforces the atmosphere of the place: the hedged meadows of the Auray region, the chestnut hedges and the golden light of the Atlantic sky create an unspoilt natural setting. Just a few kilometres away are the great alignments of Carnac and the Gulf of Morbihan, listed as one of the world's megalithic sites. Mané-Bras is part of a network of monuments that once criss-crossed the entire region, linking Neolithic communities in a common stone culture.
Architecture
The covered alley at Mané-er-Loh belongs to the type of burial with an elongated chamber, characteristic of the late Neolithic period in Brittany. Its key feature is its angled plan: the access corridor forms a sensitive angle that divides the interior space into two distinct segments, giving the monument its name of "angled covered alley". This layout is rare in the Morbihan megalithic corpus, where rectilinear aisles predominate. The building is made up of local granite orthostats - large vertical slabs set in the ground - supporting horizontal cover slabs known as "tables". The side walls, made up of blocks carefully selected for their relative regularity, define a corridor estimated to be between 1.20 and 1.80 metres wide, just wide enough for an adult person to walk through it bent over. The total length of the structure, including the bend, is probably around ten metres, making it a respectable-sized monument for the region. The bluish-grey granite used has the characteristic orange and green lichen patina of stone that has been exposed to the oceanic climate of Brittany for thousands of years. The horizontal slab roof rests directly on the orthostats, with no mortar or assembly other than gravity and the precise adjustment of the masses. This partially corbelled construction technique demonstrates an intuitive but effective knowledge of the principles of mechanical strength. The whole structure is partially buried in a mound of earth and stones, which contributed to the stability of the structure and gave the monument its elongated mound appearance, which is still partially visible in today's landscape.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques armoricaines (4500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs collectifs du monumentProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques au XIXe siècle, figure majeure de l'inventaire des mégalithes bretonsJames Miln — archéologue écossais ayant contribué aux premières fouilles systématiques de la région de Carnac au XIXe siècleZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue local morbihannais, infatigable documentateur des mégalithes du golfe du Morbihan au début du XXe siècle
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras located?
Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras is located in Locoal-Mendon, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras open to visitors?
Allée couverte coudée de Mané-er-Loh, dite Mané-Bras is currently closed to visitors.