Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic
MonumentHidden Treasure
Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic, located in Saint-Connan (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Saint-Connan, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4184, -3.0350
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089610
A Neolithic vestige buried deep in the Breton bocage, the Parc-Kerdic covered walkway reveals the granite blocks of its builders five millennia ago, silent guardians of a sacred Goëlo territory.
History
In the heart of the wooded hills of the Goëlo region, at Saint-Connan in the Côtes-d'Armor, the covered alleyway of Parc-Kerdic stands out as one of the most discreet and moving megalithic testimonies of inland Brittany. Far from the large coastal sites, this collective funerary monument erected in the Neolithic period - probably between 3500 and 2500 BC - retains a rare atmospheric power, amplified by the calm of the surrounding hedged farmland and the density of golden lichen that patina its orthostats. What sets the Parc-Kerdic covered alley apart is precisely this preserved authenticity: the granite slabs, quarried and shaped without the use of metal tools, form a sober and imposing funeral corridor, characteristic of the collective burials developed by Armorican agro-pastoral communities. It's easy to imagine the ritual processions, offerings and communal bones accumulated in this stone belly over the generations. The visit is free, in a rural setting typical of the central bocage of the Côtes-d'Armor. The oak and chestnut hedges, the sunken grassy paths and the changing light of the Trégor-Goëlo region create a setting that reinforces the feeling of being away from it all. The building, though modest in appearance, reveals to the casual observer the extraordinary logistical and symbolic mastery of its builders. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1963, the covered walkway benefits from national protection that guarantees the durability of its structures. For lovers of megalithic architecture, it is a natural part of a Breton tour that could include the covered walkways of Prajou-Menhir in Trébeurden or Coat-Correc in Mûr-de-Bretagne, allowing visitors to appreciate the typological diversity of Armorican Neolithic funerary architecture.
Architecture
The covered alleyway at Parc-Kerdic is typical of Armorican Neolithic collective burials of the "covered alley" or "sepulchral alley" type: an elongated corridor delimited by two rows of orthostats - large vertical slabs - topped by horizontal cover slabs forming a granite roof. The burial chamber, accessible from one end, could be several metres long with an interior width of around one to one-and-a-half metres, allowing several successive deceased to be laid to rest. The materials used were exclusively local granite and micaschist, abundant in the Armorican bedrock of the Côtes-d'Armor. The slabs are assembled using the principle of balance by gravity and lateral wedging, without any binding agents. The orthostats are carefully selected for their flatness, with their inner faces sometimes slightly upright. The bedside slab, at the closed end of the corridor, is generally the most solid element of the structure. The whole structure was probably originally covered by a mound of earth and small stones forming an elongated tumulus, now largely levelled by centuries of ploughing and weathering. This tumulus, which has now disappeared or is very flattened, ensured both the structural cohesion of the building and its symbolic significance as an 'artificial mountain' inhabited by the ancestors.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques armoricaines (3500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs anonymes de l'allée couvertePaul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue finistérien pionnier du recensement des mégalithes bretonsZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — fouilleur et classificateur des monuments mégalithiques de BretagneProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, artisan de la politique de protection du patrimoine préhistorique français
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic located?
Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic is located in Saint-Connan, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic open to visitors?
Allée couverte du Parc-Kerdic is currently closed to visitors.