Dolmen de Kerhenry
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen de Kerhenry, located in Arradon (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Arradon, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6308, -2.7970
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000097
A megalithic vestige nestling in the hedged farmland of the Gulf of Morbihan, the Kerhenry dolmen bears witness to remarkable Neolithic architectural mastery, with its large granite slabs laid over 5,000 years ago.
History
Hidden away in the Arradonnais countryside, just a stone's throw from the shores of the Gulf of Morbihan, the Kerhenry dolmen stands out as one of the most moving stone sentinels of inland Morbihan. Far from the tourist hustle and bustle of Carnac or Locmariaquer, this confidential monument offers an intimate encounter with the Breton Neolithic, in a green setting where time seems suspended. The dolmen belong to the large family of collective burials that the Neolithic peoples of the Atlantic seaboard built with astonishing mastery between 5000 and 2500 BC. At Kerhenry, as throughout the Arradonnais region, the local rock - a bluish-grey granite characteristic of the Armorican basement - was carefully selected, squared and assembled to form a burial chamber designed to house the deceased of a community over several generations. This community dimension, often overlooked, is one of the keys to understanding the symbolic power of these buildings. To see the Kerhenry dolmen is also to perceive the logic of a coherent megalithic territory: the Gulf of Morbihan and its surrounding area is home to one of the highest densities of Neolithic monuments in the world, and Kerhenry is an integral part of this sacred geography. The proximity of water, the mildness of the local microclimate and the richness of the Neolithic agricultural land explain in part why these peoples chose to settle and build here for the long term. The visit is short but to the point, and provides a real insight into the colossal effort involved in transporting and building blocks weighing several tonnes, without the use of metallurgy or mechanical equipment. You leave Kerhenry with a question hanging in the iodised Morbihan air: who were these builders really, and what vision of the world drove them to sculpt eternity in stone?
Architecture
The Kerhenry dolmen is typical of the single-chamber megalithic burials that were widespread in Morbihan at the turn of the Middle and Late Neolithic periods. Its structure is based on the universal principle of the dolmen: orthostats, i.e. large vertical granite slabs planted in the ground, delimit an enclosed burial space on which rest one or more horizontal covering slabs (tables), the whole forming a chamber accessible from the outside, possibly via an entrance corridor. The grey Armorican granite used at Kerhenry is the dominant rock in the Morbihan subsoil, readily available in the form of natural outcrops or erratic blocks left by glaciations. The slabs have a rough, barely roughed-up surface, in line with the construction method used for Angevin- or Armorican-type dolmens from this period. Their dimensions, probably between one and three metres for the orthostats and more for the covering table, represent a considerable logistical effort for communities with only stone, wood and bone tools at their disposal. The burial chamber was originally covered by a mound of earth and dry stone, which protected it and gave it a high profile in the Neolithic landscape. This mound has now largely disappeared, leaving the lithic structure directly visible to visitors, which is the most common state for Breton dolmens after thousands of years of erosion and human exploitation of the materials.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques arradonnaises (bâtisseurs anonymes, vers 4000-2500 av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, pionnier du recensement mégalithique breton au XIXe siècle)Zacharie Le Rouzic (archéologue carnaçois, cartographe systématique des mégalithes du Morbihan)James Miln (archéologue écossais, fouilles pionnières à Carnac et environs, fin XIXe siècle)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen de Kerhenry located?
Dolmen de Kerhenry is located in Arradon, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen de Kerhenry open to visitors?
Dolmen de Kerhenry is currently closed to visitors.