Dolmen
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen, located in Arzon (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Arzon, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5536, -2.8910
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090987
A Neolithic vestige listed as a Historic Monument, this dolmen in Arzon has watched over the Rhuys peninsula for over 5,000 years, silent testimony to the megalith builders who populated the Morbihan before the dawn of history.
History
In the heart of the Rhuys peninsula, in the Morbihan region that archaeologists sometimes refer to as the "megalithic capital of the world", the dolmen of Arzon emerges from the hedged farmland like a glimpse into prehistory. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1973, it is one of a constellation of funerary monuments dotting the Breton coastline, which together form one of the densest megalithic complexes in Europe. What sets this dolmen apart from others is its exceptional geographical location. Arzon occupies the southern tip of the Rhuys peninsula, between the Gulf of Morbihan and the Atlantic Ocean, an area that Neolithic populations frequented intensively for its marine resources, fertile land and, no doubt, its symbolic power over the waters. The proximity of the Tumiac tumulus - known as the "Mound of Caesar" - and the Petit-Mont alignment further enriches this first-rate archaeological context. To visit this dolmen is to agree to slow down time. Unlike large-scale museographic reconstructions, it only reveals itself to those who know how to look: the rough granite orthotates, the joints filled in by centuries of lichen, the covering table tilted by the settling of the earth. Imagination does the rest, conjuring up Neolithic funeral processions, deposits of offerings and the smoke of ceremonies witnessed on these stones. The natural setting amplifies the experience. Between the broom hedges and the unobstructed views over the Gulf of Morbihan, the late afternoon autumn light sculpts the megaliths with a gilt that brings them closer, for a moment, to their original state. Photographers and walkers will find here an authentic retreat, far from the tourist crowds that concentrate on Carnac or Locmariaquer.
Architecture
The dolmen at Arzon belong to the large family of single-chamber or short-corridor dolmens, a characteristic feature of the Armorican Atlantic Neolithic. Its structure is based on an age-old architectural principle: vertical stone slabs - orthotates - set in the earth and arranged in a rectangle or trapezoid form the side walls and base of a burial chamber. A horizontal covering slab, the table, rests on top of this to form a protected interior space. The materials used are exclusively local: granite from the Rhuys peninsula, a metamorphic rock of unfailing solidity, which largely explains the monument's survival over five millennia. The surfaces, now covered in grey and orange lichens, have a natural patina that bears witness to their age. No binders or mortars were used: it was the precise arrangement of the blocks and the weight of the covering table that ensured the cohesion of the whole. The chamber is probably a few metres long and one to two metres wide, which is typical of the lowland dolmens of the peninsula. Originally, the whole structure was buried under a cairn or earthen mound, of which only traces remain, giving the monument the appearance of an isolated stone table so characteristic of the megalithic imagination.
Related Figures
Bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes de la presqu'île de Rhuys (v. 4000-3000 av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, initiateur de l'inventaire des mégalithes bretons au XIXe siècleJames Miln — archéologue écossais ayant contribué à l'inventaire des monuments mégalithiques du Morbihan dans les années 1870-1880Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue breton, conservateur du musée de Préhistoire de Carnac, ayant documenté de nombreux dolmens du Morbihan au début du XXe siècleCharles-Tanguy Le Roux — préhistorien, spécialiste des mégalithes armoricains et figure de référence pour la recherche sur les monuments du golfe du Morbihan
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen located?
Dolmen is located in Arzon, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen open to visitors?
Dolmen is currently closed to visitors.
