Cinq menhirs alignés
MonumentHidden Treasure
Cinq menhirs alignés, located in Carnac (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Carnac, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6197, -3.0829
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091122
Cinq menhirs dressés dans le silence de la lande carnacoise, témoins impassibles d'un rituel néolithique vieux de plus de 5 000 ans. Un alignement intime qui invite à une contemplation hors du temps.
History
In the heart of Carnac, the world cradle of megalithy, five standing menhirs form a modest but striking alignment. Far from the grand tourist theories surrounding the famous alignments at Ménec or Kermario, this group of standing stones offers a more intimate, almost confidential, encounter with the Armorican Neolithic. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1940, it is one of the many megalithic landmarks that dot the Carnac region like so many mineral silences. Each menhir, carved out of the local granite, bears witness to considerable human effort: extraction, transport, positioning and wedging of blocks that can weigh several tonnes. As with most similar sites in the region, the alignment of the menhirs seems to reflect an astronomical or funerary logic that is still partly debated by archaeologists. It is precisely this element of enigma that gives these stones their evocative power. Here, the visitor experience is stripped back to its essentials, in stark contrast to the flood of tourists that flood Carnac's major sites in summer. The stones are set against a backdrop of moorland and hedged farmland typical of inland Morbihan, where the low-angled light of morning and evening shapes their grey and ochre lichen surfaces. The attentive visitor can spot the natural cupules, the quartz veins and sometimes the slight engravings that the centuries have almost erased. This alignment is part of a megalithic constellation that is unique in the world: the Carnac area is home to more than 3,000 menhirs erected between 4,500 and 2,500 BC by agro-pastoral populations whose architectural and symbolic sophistication still amazes researchers. These five stones, although less spectacular in number than their neighbours, are an integral part of the sacred geography that made Carnac the "Breton Stonehenge".
Architecture
These five menhirs are carved from the medium-grained grey granite characteristic of the Armorican subsoil, a rock whose resistance to erosion explains the survival of these structures after five millennia of exposure to the Atlantic weather. The blocks have the typical tapered shape of Carnac menhirs, with a broad base to ensure stability in the ground and a shaft tapering to a slightly rounded or pointed top. Their heights probably vary between 1 and 3 metres, in line with the most common secondary alignments in the area, the most imposing being reserved for large avenues such as Le Ménec. The alignment follows an axis whose general orientation is reminiscent of the solar or astronomical axes seen on nearby large complexes. The regular spacing between the stones, characteristic of Armorican Neolithic alignments, suggests a deliberate layout rather than a random arrangement. The stones are driven into the ground to a depth estimated at a quarter to a third of their total height, a tried and tested technique that has enabled them to withstand the centuries without the use of any binding agents. The surface of the menhirs is colonised by grey, yellow and orange lichens that form a natural patina that is constantly changing. Some faces may show cupules or slight traces of polishing, indicating careful finishing by the Neolithic builders. The absence of any masonry facing or assembly is a reminder that the mastery of these builders lay in the selection, rough shaping and use of monolithic blocks, a technical feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that it was achieved without the use of metal or mechanical equipment.
Related Figures
James Miln — archéologue écossais, pionnier des fouilles mégalithiques à Carnac dans les années 1870Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue carnacois, premier conservateur du musée de Préhistoire, catalogueur des mégalithes au début du XXe siècleProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, initiateur dès les années 1840 de l'inventaire des mégalithes armoricainsAlexander Thom — ingénieur et astronome écossais dont les travaux sur l'astronomie mégalithique influencèrent durablement l'étude des alignements de Carnac au XXe siècle
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Cinq menhirs alignés located?
Cinq menhirs alignés is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Cinq menhirs alignés open to visitors?
Cinq menhirs alignés is currently closed to visitors.
