Dolmen de Nautério
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen de Nautério, 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
- 47.6121, -3.0805
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000140
Vestige néolithique enfoui dans les terres de Carnac, le dolmen de Nautério témoigne d'une maîtrise architecturale vieille de cinq millénaires, au cœur de la capitale mondiale du mégalithisme.
History
In the commune of Carnac, the sacred land of European megalithism, the Nautério dolmen stands out as one of the quietest and most eloquent testimonies to Breton prehistory. Far from the famous alignments of Kermario or Kerlescan, this funerary monument offers an intimate encounter with the Neolithic, at a time when the men of Morbihan domesticated stone with a precision that we still struggle to fully explain. Like the vast majority of Carnac dolmens, Nautério belongs to the tradition of collective burials that characterised the Atlantic Neolithic between 4500 and 2500 BC. These monumental constructions were more than just tombs: they were places of worship, community gatherings and collective memory, territorial markers etched in granite for all eternity. The Nautério dolmen are an integral part of this cosmogony of stone. Visiting the site is like coming face to face with time. The granite blocks, patiently erected by Neolithic hands, exude a striking mineral presence. The moss and lichen that colonise the orthostats add to this feeling of absolute antiquity. For the attentive visitor, it's as much an invitation to meditation as it is to archaeological reflection. The surrounding countryside, typically Breton with its moors, oak trees twisted by the sea breeze and horizons opening out towards the ocean, reinforces the timeless atmosphere of this site. The Carnac region alone is home to several thousand megaliths, making each discovery another stage in an exceptional prehistoric pilgrimage. Listed as a Monument Historique in July 2023, the Nautério dolmen now enjoys official protection, confirming its heritage value and guaranteeing its preservation for future generations. This belated but welcome recognition is part of a wider movement to reinvent Brittany's megalithic heritage, which is often underestimated when compared with the region's star monuments.
Architecture
The Nautério dolmen features the architecture typical of Neolithic megalithic burials in the Morbihan: a burial chamber delimited by several orthostats - vertical slabs of granite - covered by one or more horizontal covering tables, the whole originally resting on a mound of earth and stone, now largely eroded. This type of construction, known as a simple dolmen or a corridor dolmen depending on the presence or absence of an access road, is the most widespread in the Carnac region. The blocks used are made of Morbihan granite, a rock that is abundant in the Armorican subsoil and particularly resistant to Atlantic weathering. Their surface, roughly worked by staking to ensure the stability of the assemblies, now shows the patinas characteristic of millennia of exposure: grey and orange lichens, mineral efflorescence, micro-cracks due to freeze-thaw cycles. Some orthostats from comparable monuments in the region bear abstract engravings - cupules, wavy lines, crest shapes - the significance of which remains debated. The burial chamber, which was approximately rectangular or polygonal in plan, probably measured between two and four metres in length, with an interior height of between one and two metres - typical dimensions for Carnacan dolmens of modest size. The orientation of the chamber, often aligned with significant solar axes (sunrise at solstices or equinoxes), bears witness to the astronomical and ritual concerns of the Neolithic builders.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes du Morbihan (Ve-IIIe millénaire av. J.-C.), architectes collectifs du monumentJames Miln (1819-1881), archéologue écossais pionnier des fouilles mégalithiques à CarnacZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939), archéologue carnacéen qui inventoria et protégea des centaines de mégalithes de la régionAlexander Thom (1894-1985), ingénieur et préhistorien qui théorisa les alignements astronomiques des monuments mégalithiques atlantiquesYves Coppens (1934-2022), paléontologue français dont les travaux contribuèrent à la valorisation du patrimoine préhistorique national
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen de Nautério located?
Dolmen de Nautério is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen de Nautério open to visitors?
Dolmen de Nautério is currently closed to visitors.
