Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau
MonumentHidden Treasure
Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau, located in Trégon (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Trégon, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5552, -2.1912
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089696
Emerging from the Breton lands of Trégon, this Neolithic covered walkway nicknamed "Le Tombeau" (The Tomb) stands with its imposing granite slabs in a silence that dates back thousands of years - a funerary sanctuary that is over 5,000 years old.
History
In the heart of coastal Penthièvre, between forest and bocage, the covered alleyway of La Hautière stands out as one of the most striking testimonies to the human presence in Brittany before written history. Known as "Le Tombeau" ("The Tomb") by the inhabitants of Trégon, this megalithic structure alone crystallises all the mystery and symbolic power that Neolithic peoples invested in their funerary architecture. Halfway between a monument and a primitive work of art, it invites us to a rare meditation on the origins of our civilisations. What sets the Allee de la Hautière apart from mere tourist attractions is the almost defiant robustness of its construction. The Neolithic builders assembled huge blocks of local granite, erected and topped with roofing slabs in a surprisingly rigorous structural logic for craftsmen who had no metal tools. The whole structure forms a funerary corridor oriented along carefully chosen astronomical or geographical axes - a skill that archaeologists continue to explore with wonder. A visit to this monument, listed as a Historic Monument since 1964, is both a physical and spiritual experience. You walk along the orthostats standing like stone guardians, feel the weight of the roof slabs, and physically feel the genius of these anonymous builders. The Breton light, changing and oblique at the end of the day, accentuates the relief and gives the stones an almost living presence. The natural setting amplifies the emotion: the area around Trégon, dotted with hedges and discreet valleys, is the ideal setting for a monument that has always belonged as much to the landscape as to history. Far from the crowds of the great megalithic sites of Morbihan, the allée de la Hautière offers an intimate communion with the past, accessible to anyone prepared to stray from the beaten track.
Architecture
The covered alleyway at La Hautière belongs to the family of collective burials with covered passageways, an architectural type widespread throughout northern Brittany in the Late Neolithic period. Its structure is based on the principle of orthostats - large slabs of local granite set vertically on either side of a longitudinal axis - topped with horizontal roofing boards forming a continuous roof. This arrangement creates an elongated interior space, generally between eight and fifteen metres long, wide enough to accommodate successive burial deposits and the rites that accompanied them. The materials used were exclusively local: granite from Brittany, abundant in the subsoil of the Côtes-d'Armor, was selected for its hardness and resistance to bad weather. Builders preferred to use naturally cleaved blocks, minimising the amount of cutting required. Traces of partial polishing have sometimes been observed on comparable monuments in the region, suggesting an aesthetic as well as a functional concern. The whole structure originally rested on a mound of earth and gravel, which enveloped the orthostats up to half their height, ensuring stability and watertightness. The orientation of the monument, as is often the case with Armorican covered walkways, probably reflected astronomical considerations linked to the solstices and equinoxes, allowing sunlight to penetrate the interior at ritually significant moments. This symbolic dimension, combined with the thousand-year-old sturdiness of the construction, makes the allée de la Hautière an eloquent example of the architectural genius of the Neolithic societies of Armorica.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques armoricaines — bâtisseurs anonymes du monument entre 3500 et 2500 av. J.-C.Prosper Mérimée — Inspecteur général des Monuments historiques au XIXe siècle, initiateur de la politique de protection des mégalithes en FranceZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue breton pionnier de l'inventaire des monuments mégalithiques armoricains au début du XXe sièclePaul du Châtellier — préhistorien finistérien dont les travaux sur les allées couvertes bretonnes ont éclairé la compréhension de ces monuments à la fin du XIXe siècle
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau located?
Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau is located in Trégon, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau open to visitors?
Allée couverte de la Hautière dite Le Tombeau is currently closed to visitors.