Dolmen de Pasquiou
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen de Pasquiou, located in Le Vieux-Bourg (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Le Vieux-Bourg, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3897, -3.0468
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089741
A discreet megalithic vestige nestling in the Breton countryside of Vieux-Bourg, the Pasquiou dolmen reveals a Neolithic burial chamber with imposing slabs, a silent witness to five millennia of human history.
History
In the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, in the peaceful commune of Le Vieux-Bourg, the Pasquiou dolmen emerges from the rural landscape with that gravely mineral presence that characterises the great Breton megalithic monuments. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1966, it is part of the formidable prehistoric heritage that makes Brittany one of Europe's richest regions for Neolithic funerary architecture. Unlike the large covered walkways that attract the crowds on the coast, Pasquiou offers a more intimate, almost confidential encounter with the world of the megalith builders. Its burial chamber, made up of carefully placed slabs of local granite, is set in a green environment that lends it a special atmosphere, somewhere between contemplation and wonder. Visitors approaching the site will instantly appreciate the technical feat involved in erecting such blocks using only the tools of the polished stone age. The visitor experience is distinguished by its authentic, uncluttered character. There are no fences or intrusive signs here: the dolmen reveals itself directly, in all its original ruggedness. It's the perfect opportunity to let your imagination wander and try to picture the collective funeral rites that took place here over five thousand years ago - the bodies of the deceased laid in a communal chamber, the ceramic offerings, the bones carefully arranged according to beliefs whose architectural echoes we can now only perceive. The surrounding countryside, typically Armorican, gives the site its character: dense hedged farmland, sunken lanes lined with embankments, silence punctuated by birds. The bluish-grey granite of the slabs blends harmoniously with the changing hues of the Breton sky. Photographers and lovers of wild heritage will find a rare quality of light here, particularly at the end of the day when the low-angled sun shapes the rocky surfaces.
Architecture
The Pasquiou dolmen belongs to the classic type of simple funerary chamber, the most widespread form in the Côtes-d'Armor hinterland. Its structure is based on the fundamental architectural principle of the megalith: several orthostats, vertical slabs of local granite, support one or more horizontal covering tables forming the roof of the chamber. The granite used, quarried from the characteristic rocky outcrops of the Armorican massif, has a grey to beige colour, marked by the orange and grey lichens that have colonised the surfaces for centuries. The chamber thus defined is probably between two and four metres long and one to two metres wide, typical dimensions for single-chamber dolmens in central Brittany. The roof slab, which can be forty to sixty centimetres thick, is the centrepiece of the monument: its weight, estimated at several tonnes, testifies to the technical mastery of the Neolithic builders. An access corridor, perhaps partially preserved, could direct the entrance towards a precise point on the horizon, with some Armorican dolmens revealing a solstitial or equinoctial alignment. The whole structure originally rested on a blocking mass - a cairn or mound - which has now disappeared, ensuring the mechanical stability of the orthostats and protecting the burial chamber. The disappearance of this block explains the airy, bare appearance of the dolmen as we see it today, so different from the massive, monolithic appearance it must have had at the time it was built.
Related Figures
Les communautés néolithiques du Vieux-Bourg (bâtisseurs du monument, Ve-IIIe millénaire av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée (inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, initiateur de la protection du patrimoine mégalithique breton au XIXe siècle)Paul du Châtellier (archéologue finistérien du XIXe siècle, pionnier de l'inventaire mégalithique armoricain)Zacharie Le Rouzic (archéologue morbihannais, dont les méthodes d'étude ont influencé la recherche sur tous les mégalithes bretons au XXe siècle)
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen de Pasquiou located?
Dolmen de Pasquiou is located in Le Vieux-Bourg, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen de Pasquiou open to visitors?
Dolmen de Pasquiou is currently closed to visitors.