Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus, 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
- 47.6312, -3.1011
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091089
A Neolithic vestige in the heart of the Carnac megalithic region, the Kerdrain dolmen stands with its thousand-year-old granite orthostats in an unspoilt Breton setting, the silent guardian of a bygone age.
History
In the heart of the Quiberon peninsula, in the Morbihan region which alone has the highest density of megaliths in the world, the Kerdrain dolmen stands as a solitary witness to a Neolithic civilisation of remarkable sophistication. Listed as a historic monument since 1929, it retains the essence of its original structure: slabs of grey-blue granite that have stood in precarious balance for over five millennia, defying time with quiet assurance. What sets Kerdrain apart from other Carnac megaliths is the partial preservation of its tumulus base. Where many dolmens have seen their cairn or tumulus disappear under the assaults of the centuries and mankind, this one retains the lower foundations of the mound of earth and stones that once enveloped the burial chamber. This architectural detail is of vital importance to archaeologists: it allows them to mentally reconstruct the building in its primitive form, a far cry from the gaunt silhouette that erosion has often imposed on monuments of this nature. To visit Kerdrain is to immerse yourself in a dizzying time. Far from the tourist buzz of the great Carnac alignments, this dolmen invites a more intimate, almost meditative contemplation. Visitors to the site wander through an authentic Breton landscape of hedged farmland, before discovering the imposing mass of orthostats rising up from the vegetation. The atmosphere is particularly striking in the twilight hours, when the low-angled light brings out the ochre and purplish hues of the granite. The surrounding natural setting belongs to this inland Morbihan, slightly away from the coast, where Breton rural traditions have been maintained with remarkable tenacity. The oak and gorse trees that line the site add to the impression of a timeless place, which generations of farmers, Celtic priests and erudite travellers have visited with the same silent wonder.
Architecture
The Kerdrain dolmen belongs to the large family of single-chamber dolmens, the most widespread form in Neolithic Morbihan. Its structure is based on the universal principle of megaliths: vertical stones, the orthostats, arranged in a rectangle or trapezoid to form the walls of a burial chamber, topped by one or more horizontal covering slabs, the tables or bedside slabs. At Kerdrain, the orthostats are carved from local granite, a rock characteristic of the Armorican subsoil, with grey and bluish tones that take on golden hues under the western sun. The most remarkable feature of this monument is the partial preservation of its original burial mound. In its primitive state, the dolmenic chamber was entirely covered by a mound of earth and small stones - the cairn - leaving only the entrance visible, sometimes extended by an access corridor. The remains of this tumulus visible at Kerdrain suggest that the original mound was probably several metres high and around ten to fifteen metres in diameter, giving the site an imposing hillside silhouette in the flat landscape of the Carnac peninsula. The dimensions of the chamber itself are in keeping with the norm for Morbihan dolmens of this period: an interior length of around three to four metres and a width of one and a half to two metres, allowing several individuals to be buried curled up or lying down. The roof slabs, which can weigh several tonnes, testify to the remarkable technical mastery of the Neolithic builders, who were able to balance considerable masses without any binding agents, relying solely on precise adjustment and counterbalancing of the loads.
Related Figures
Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue carnacéen (1864-1939), premier inventorieur méthodique des mégalithes de CarnacJames Miln — archéologue écossais (1819-1881), pionnier des fouilles à Carnac, fondateur du musée éponymeThéophile de La Tour d'Auvergne — érudit breton (1743-1800), l'un des premiers à s'intéresser scientifiquement aux mégalithes armoricainsProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques (1803-1870), contribua à la protection des mégalithes bretonsRené Galles — archéologue vannetais du XIXe siècle, fouilla de nombreux tumulus morbihannais contemporains de Kerdrain
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus located?
Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus open to visitors?
Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus is currently closed to visitors.