Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche)
MonumentHidden Treasure
Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche), located in Saint-Philibert (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Saint-Philibert, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5983, -2.9878
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091704
In the heart of Neolithic Morbihan, the Kerhan gallery dolmens have stood with their imposing orthostats for over 5,000 years, silent witnesses to the funeral rites of the first Breton megalith builders.
History
In Saint-Philibert, a Morbihan village nestling between the Quiberon peninsula and the Gulf of Morbihan, stand the two gallery dolmens of Kerhan, commonly known by the evocative name of Roh-Vras - "Grande-Roche" in Breton. This toponym alone sums up the impression these colossal structures make on visitors: a raw mineral power, an almost animal presence in the hedged farmland of southern Morbihan. These two monuments make up a rare megalithic ensemble because of their double configuration: two side-by-side gallery dolmens, carefully oriented according to astronomical axes probably linked to solar or lunar cycles, as was the systematic practice of Neolithic builders on the Atlantic coast. Their architecture, in the form of a covered walkway or corridor dolmen - the two most elaborate forms of Armorican megalithism - reveals an organised community, capable of mobilising a considerable workforce to honour its dead. The visitor experience is intimate and striking. Unlike the major tourist sites in the region, such as Carnac, Kerhan retains an authentic atmosphere of discovery. You approach the colossal slabs through low-lying vegetation, feeling the mystery of these burial chambers that, fifty centuries ago, housed the bones of several generations. The low-angled light of morning or evening beautifully sculpts the granite surfaces. The surroundings add an extra dimension to the visit. Saint-Philibert is part of the exceptional area that is the Gulf of Morbihan basin, home to one of the highest densities of megaliths in the world. The Kerhan dolmens are part of a network of sites that can be explored on foot, between the sea and the moors, in the footsteps of the Neolithic peoples of the Atlantic.
Architecture
The two gallery dolmens at Kerhan belong to the large family of megalithic monuments with an elongated chamber preceded by an access corridor, an architectural type that flourished in Morbihan between 3,500 and 2,800 BC.Each structure consists of a series of orthostats - large slabs of granite standing vertically - forming the side walls of a corridor leading to an enclosed burial chamber, topped by horizontal roof slabs and once covered by a mound of earth and stones, of which only traces remain. Local granite, the dominant rock in the Morbihan subsoil, was the only material used for these constructions. The slabs, each weighing several tonnes, bear witness to a remarkable mastery of transporting and placing the stone masses, without metal tools, using wooden sledges, levers and rollers. Both monuments were probably carefully designed to face east or south-east, to catch the light at equinoxes or solstices - a recurring feature of the corridor dolmens in the region. The proximity of the two dolmens within the same Kerhan site is itself architecturally significant: these binary or grouped ensembles can be found at other sites in Morbihan and suggest an overall monumental design, perhaps linked to the bipartition of distinct family or clan groups sharing the same sacred space. In their current state of preservation, it is still possible to appreciate the characteristic silhouette of these structures, even though the burial mounds have largely disappeared.
Related Figures
Bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Morbihan (env. 4000-3000 av. J.-C.) — communautés agropastorales à l'origine de l'édification des dolmensProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, pionnier de la protection du patrimoine mégalithique bretonZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — archéologue carnaçois, figure majeure de l'inventaire et de l'étude des mégalithes du Morbihan au tournant du XXe siècleJames Miln (1819-1881) — archéologue écossais ayant conduit les premières fouilles scientifiques à Carnac et contribué à la connaissance du mégalithisme morbihannaisMagistrats de la Commission des Monuments Historiques (1927) — responsables du classement officiel des dolmens de Kerhan
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche) located?
Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche) is located in Saint-Philibert, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche) open to visitors?
Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerhan dits Roh-Vras (Grande-Roche) is currently closed to visitors.
