Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras, located in Locoal-Mendon (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Locoal-Mendon, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6913, -3.1157
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091399
On the edge of Morbihan, Mané-Bras features a Neolithic burial chamber decorated with an exceptional engraved support - one of the few gallery dolmens in the Pays d'Auray to still reveal its secrets engraved in stone.
History
Hidden away in the greenery of the Morbihan bocage at Locoal-Mendon, the Mané-er-Loh gallery dolmen - better known as Mané-Bras, meaning "big hill" in Breton - are among the most unusual megalithic monuments in the Pays d'Auray. Its special feature is an engraved orthostate, a rare testimony to the symbolic art of the Neolithic builders who buried their dead here with care and solemnity. What sets Mané-Bras apart from the multitude of Breton dolmens is precisely this support stone decorated with engraved motifs - serpentine shapes, cupules or cross-shaped signs - characteristic of Armorican megalithic art such as that found at Gavrinis or in the large cairns at Locmariaquer. These engravings are not simple ornaments: they were probably cosmological or funerary markers, charged with a ritual meaning that is now lost but still palpable. A visit to Mané-Bras is an experience in itself. The rough architecture of the granite slabs, laid some five or six millennia ago, imposes a form of natural contemplation. Access to the chamber via the covered gallery gives you the unique sensation of entering a timeless space, where the light barely filters through the orthostats. Photographers and archaeology enthusiasts will find much to contemplate here, especially in the early hours of the morning when the low-angled light brings out the engravings with striking clarity. The site is part of an area of exceptional megalithic density: the Gulf of Morbihan and the surrounding area are home to one of the largest groups of Neolithic monuments in Europe. Mané-Bras boasts a remarkable natural and archaeological environment, making it an ideal base for exploring other cairns, menhirs and alignments in the region. For anyone interested in the deep origins of Breton civilisation, this dolmen is an essential stop-off point.
Architecture
Mané-Bras belongs to the family of covered gallery dolmens, an architectural type characteristic of the Armorican Neolithic. The structure consists of a relatively long access gallery opening onto an enlarged burial chamber, the whole made up of orthostats - large slabs of granite standing vertically - topped by horizontal covering tables. This elongated plan, typical of collective burials in the Morbihan, allowed successive burials over several generations. The major architectural feature of Mané-Bras is its engraved orthostate, which sets the monument apart from the vast majority of gallery dolmens in the region. The engravings, carried out by staking in the granite, probably represent serpentine or axe motifs, recurring motifs in Armorican megalithic art that can be found at Gavrinis, at the Petit-Mont cairn in Arzon or in the dolmen tables of the Rhuys peninsula. These decorations were probably made before or during the erection of the slab, then hidden inside the structure. The materials used are exclusively local: Morbihan granite, an abundant and resistant rock, makes up the bulk of the megalithic masonry. The slabs, some of which are several metres long, weighed between two and ten tonnes and were transported from nearby outcrops by dragging on wooden rollers, according to the most commonly accepted hypotheses. The entire monument was originally covered by a mound of earth and dry stone, of which only partial remains remain, giving the site the "great hill" appearance evoked by its Breton name.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, initiateur du recensement systématique des mégalithes bretons au XIXe siècleJames Miln — archéologue écossais ayant mené des fouilles majeures dans le Morbihan au XIXe siècle, contribuant à la connaissance des dolmens de la régionZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue carnacéen, infatigable inventorieur des monuments mégalithiques du Morbihan au début du XXe siècleJacques Cambry — érudit breton auteur du 'Voyage dans le Finistère' (1799), premier ouvrage à recenser méthodiquement les monuments mégalithiques armoricains
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras located?
Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras is located in Locoal-Mendon, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras open to visitors?
Dolmen à galerie à support gravé de Mané-er-Loh, dit Mané-Bras is currently closed to visitors.