Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher
MonumentHidden Treasure
Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher, located in Bono (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Bono, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6345, -2.9570
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091048
Buried beneath its mantle of earth, this Neolithic dolmen in Bono reveals a 5,000-year-old granite burial chamber, a striking vestige of the megalith builders of Morbihan.
History
In the heart of Morbihan, a land of granite and legends where the stones seem to speak, the Rocher dolmen stands discreetly in the commune of Bono, just a few kilometres from the famous Gulf of Morbihan. Unlike the standing menhirs that dot the Breton moors, this monument belongs to the family of covered walkways under tumuli: buried funerary architecture that is more intimate and mysterious, inviting visitors to literally slip back in time. What sets the Le Rocher dolmen apart from the seven hundred or so megalithic monuments in Brittany is precisely this combination of discreet landscape and powerful architecture, revealed as soon as you approach. The tumulus, the mound of earth and dry stone that covers the structure, gives the site an almost vegetal atmosphere, as if nature had reclaimed its rights while jealously preserving the treasure it houses. The visit is a deeply sensory experience. To enter the covered walkway is to feel the coolness of the granite slabs laid over five millennia ago, to perceive the calculated darkness of the burial chamber, to imagine the Neolithic processions that laid their dead and their offerings here. The silence that reigns around the site, away from the main tourist routes, reinforces this impression of direct communion with an abysmal past. The natural setting adds to the magic of the place. Bono, a small Breton town nestling between the River Auray and the hedged farmland of inland Morbihan, offers a verdant setting where oak and gorse trees frame the monument. Just an hour's drive from Carnac and its famous alignments, the Rocher dolmen is an invaluable stop-off point for anyone wishing to explore the exceptional megalithic density of this part of the world.
Architecture
The Rocher dolmen belong to the category of covered walkways under a burial mound, a characteristic Neolithic architectural form in Morbihan and, more broadly, on the French Atlantic coast. The covered walkway differs from a simple dolmen in its elongated plan: a succession of vertical slabs of local granite, known as orthostates, support a series of horizontal tables (the covering slabs or capstones) forming a straight or slightly angled corridor leading to a main burial chamber. The whole structure is then covered by a mound of earth and dry stone, which gives it its characteristic tumulus shape, visible on the surface. The materials used were exclusively Armorican granite, the dominant rock in the local geology, chosen for its strength and availability in natural outcrops in the Auray region. The dimensions of the slabs are typical for this type of monument: the orthostats are generally between 1.20 and 2 metres high, while the more massive cover slabs can be 3 to 4 metres long and weigh several tonnes. The burial chamber, accessible from the alleyway, offered sufficient space to accommodate several deceased in a contracted position, accompanied by ceremonial furnishings. The special technical feature of the building lies in the quality of the assembly of its load-bearing elements: the Neolithic builders mastered balancing and wedging techniques that enabled the structure to survive more than five millennia without major collapse. The partial preservation of the original tumulus around the chamber also provides natural protection against thermal variations and erosion, contributing to the remarkable preservation of the whole.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur des Monuments Historiques, pionnier de l'inventaire du patrimoine mégalithique breton au XIXe siècleJames Miln — archéologue écossais établi à Carnac, dont les travaux de terrain dans le Morbihan contribuèrent à la documentation des mégalithes de la région dans les années 1870-1880René Galles — érudit morbihannais du XIXe siècle, fouilleur de nombreux tumulus du golfe du Morbihan ayant contribué à l'identification des monuments de la région d'AurayZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue breton dont les inventaires exhaustifs des mégalithes du Morbihan au début du XXe siècle constituent encore aujourd'hui des références fondamentalesPopulations néolithiques armoricaines — bâtisseurs anonymes du monument, entre 4000 et 3000 avant J.-C., appartenant à la culture des monuments à couloir du Néolithique moyen breton
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher located?
Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher is located in Bono, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher open to visitors?
Allée couverte sous tumulus, dolmen du Rocher is currently closed to visitors.