Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées
MonumentHidden Treasure
Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées, located in Tressé (Département 35), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Tressé, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4847, -1.8769
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090891
On the edge of Ille-et-Vilaine, the Maison des Feins de Tressé stands with its imposing Neolithic orthostats in a Breton bocage setting. One of the best-preserved dolmens in Armorique, it has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1889.
History
In the heart of the Saint-Malo region, just a few kilometres from the marches of Brittany, the Tressé dolmen - known as the Maison des Feins or Maison des Fées - stands out as one of the most remarkable megalithic remains in Ille-et-Vilaine. Standing on a gentle slope typical of the Breton bocage, this Neolithic funerary edifice bears rare witness to the technical and spiritual capacities of the first agricultural societies that populated Armorica some five to six millennia ago. What sets the Maison des Feins apart from the many dolmens scattered around Brittany is above all the exceptional preservation of its structure: several large slabs of local sandstone, each weighing several tonnes, form a burial chamber whose covering table has withstood the test of time and man. Where so many other monuments have been dismantled and their stones reused in farm buildings, this one has survived almost intact - a rarity that amply justifies its classification as one of France's very first Historic Monuments. The visit is free, in an unspoilt rural setting that invites contemplation. Walkers approach the megaliths with a mixture of awe and wonder: these stones, erected by anonymous hands using no metal tools or known mechanisms, seem to defy the millennia. Photography enthusiasts will love the low-angled morning light or the autumn skies that dramatise the granite silhouettes. The site is part of a dense network of megaliths scattered along the eastern margins of Brittany, a transitional region between Armorique and Maine where Neolithic cultures crossed and enriched each other. Over the centuries, the Maison des Feins has interacted with other monuments of the same type found in Rennes, Dol-de-Bretagne and on the plateaux of neighbouring Coglais.
Architecture
The Maison des Feins belongs to the family of dolmens with a single chamber or short covered walkway, typical of the northern side of eastern Armorica. Its structure is based on the universal principle of the megalith: vertical slabs - the orthostatics - planted in the ground form the walls of a rectangular or trapezoidal chamber, on which rest one or more horizontal covering slabs. The whole structure is made up of local sandstone and quartzite, rocks that are abundant in the subsoil of Ille-et-Vilaine, whose hardness partly explains the excellent conservation of the elements. The constituent slabs are several metres high and wide, each weighing several tonnes. Their installation required an elaborate collective organisation: dragging them on wooden rollers, lifting them using earthen ramps and levers, and meticulous adjustment to ensure the stability of the whole. The chamber, originally accessible via an entrance corridor or a pierced portal slab (depending on the type of building), was probably covered by a mound of earth and dry stone, of which no visible trace remains. The roof table, the most spectacular feature of the monument, provides a flat surface of several square metres, giving the dolmen the appearance of a "house" - hence the popular name. Unlike some of the great monuments of Morbihan, no sculptures or rock carvings have been found on the walls, but the raw simplicity of the stone, weathered over centuries, has an eloquence that speaks for itself.
Related Figures
Bâtisseurs néolithiques anonymes — communautés agropastorales armoricaines (3500-2500 av. J.-C.)Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, initiateur des premières listes de classement au XIXe siècleLéon de Laborde — directeur des Musées impériaux, acteur clé de la loi de 1887 sur la protection du patrimoinePaul du Châtellier — archéologue breton du XIXe siècle, grand inventorieur des mégalithes finistériens et armoricains
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées located?
Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées is located in Tressé, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées open to visitors?
Dolmen, dit Maison des Feins, ou des Fées is currently closed to visitors.
