Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen
MonumentHidden Treasure
Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen, located in Melgven (Département 29), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Melgven, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9047, -3.7870
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090111
Allée couverte néolithique nichée dans les bois de Melgven, Ty Corriganet fascine par ses grandes dalles de granite dressées il y a plus de 5 000 ans — un portail vers l'âge des bâtisseurs de mégalithes bretons.
History
In the heart of South Finistère, in a setting of dense vegetation that seems to jealously guard its secrets, the covered alleyway of Ty Corriganet - whose Breton name evokes the dwelling of the korrigans, those prankster spirits of Celtic folklore - is one of the most intimate megalithic testimonies to the Melgven region. Far from the crowds that flock to Carnac or Locmariaquer, this collective funerary monument is an invitation to a silent encounter with Neolithic man. What distinguishes Ty Corriganet from simple, isolated dolmens is precisely its corridor-like configuration: an elongated gallery formed of carefully fitted granite orthostats, topped by massive roofing slabs that create an interior space that is both oppressive and sacred. The whole structure, oriented along an east-west axis typical of Armorican collective burials, reveals a deliberate ritual intention, probably linked to the cult of ancestors and the solar cycle. A visit to this monument, listed as a historic monument since 1964, is a timeless experience. As you walk along the path leading to the alleyway, you gradually come to see the dark silhouette of the standing stones, partially covered in moss and ferns. The special atmosphere of the Finistère bocage, with its pollarded oaks and low shale walls, reinforces the feeling of entering a timeless space. The natural setting of Coat Menez Guen - "the wood of the white mountain" in Breton - amplifies the mysterious character of the place. The grey and orange lichens that colonise the granite slabs bear witness to centuries of immobility, while the silence is disturbed only by the song of the forest birds. This monument is as much a place of meditation as of archaeological contemplation, invaluable for anyone seeking to get a close-up view of ancient Brittany.
Architecture
The covered alleyway at Ty Corriganet has the characteristic morphology of Armorican funerary monuments from the Final Neolithic: an elongated gallery made up of vertical slabs of local granite - the orthostates - arranged in two parallel rows forming the side walls of a corridor. These uprights are surmounted by large horizontal covering tables, whose considerable weight - several tonnes each - ensures the stability and relative watertightness of the interior chamber. The whole structure originally rested under a mound of earth and dry stone that partially or totally concealed it, now eroded by the millennia. The granite used comes from local outcrops in Finistère, the king of Cornish megalithic building materials. Neolithic builders carefully selected blocks that were naturally well-divided, which they transported and erected using ingenious dragging and levering techniques. Some orthostats have roughly upright internal surfaces, a sign of the attention to detail that distinguishes the most carefully crafted megaliths. The general orientation of the axis of the gallery probably follows an east-west direction, in accordance with ritual practices widespread in Armorica. The chevet slab closing off the end of the gallery and any vestibule or antechamber are typological features that should be investigated on site. In comparable covered walkways in Finistère, the interior length generally varies between six and fifteen metres, with a corridor width of one to two metres. These proportions give the interior space a pronounced sepulchral character, both protective and claustrophobic, in perfect keeping with its function as an eternal dwelling place.
Related Figures
Populations néolithiques de Cornouaille (bâtisseurs du monument, vers 3000-2500 av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, pionnier du recensement des mégalithes bretons au XIXe siècle)Paul du Châtellier (archéologue finistérien, explorateur des monuments mégalithiques du Finistère à la fin du XIXe siècle)Zacharie Le Rouzic (archéologue breton, spécialiste des mégalithes armoricains au début du XXe siècle)André Malraux (ministre des Affaires culturelles sous la Ve République, période du classement MH en 1964)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen located?
Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen is located in Melgven, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen open to visitors?
Allée couverte dite Ty Corriganet, de Coat Menez Guen is currently closed to visitors.
