Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras, located in L’Île-aux-Moines (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- L’Île-aux-Moines, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5775, -2.8551
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000124
In the heart of the Gulf of Morbihan, the megalithic site of Roh Vras has stood with its menhirs and dolmen on the Île-aux-Moines for over 5,000 years, silent witnesses to a fascinating Neolithic civilisation.
History
On the island that the locals still call "l'île des Moines", nestling in the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Morbihan, the megalithic site of Roh Vras is one of the most moving funerary and ritual complexes on the Brittany coast. Far from the fame of the Carnac alignments or the great Gavrinis tumulus - despite being just a few boat trips away - Roh Vras retains a rare, almost confidential intimacy, which increases tenfold the emotional charge of the encounter with these standing stones. The site combines several elements characteristic of Armorican megalithic architecture: a dolmen with a covered chamber and isolated or grouped menhirs, set in a landscape of open moorland where the sea breeze sculpts the golden gorse. The island position of the monument gives it a special cosmic dimension: the first builders chose this space between two waters, where the sky, sea and earth meet, to anchor their monuments to the dead and to the gods. The experience of visiting Roh Vras is inseparable from the journey to get there. The ferry crossing from Port-Blanc or Arradon prepares the mind for the otherness of the place. Once on the island, a signposted coastal path leads to the site through undergrowth of oak and maritime pine, before leading out onto the moor where the monoliths stand out against the Breton sky. The atmosphere here is contemplative, almost liturgical. Registration as a Historic Monument by decree of 24 July 2023 marks a belated but welcome recognition of this exceptional heritage, now protected in the same way as the great megalithic sites of Morbihan. Prehistory enthusiasts, photographers and walkers in search of authenticity will find it a timeless experience, far removed from the crowds that flock to Carnac.
Architecture
The Roh Vras megalithic complex belongs to the corpus of Armorican Neolithic funerary and cult architecture, characterised by the exclusive use of local granite, a hard rock abundant in the subsoil of the Gulf of Morbihan. The dolmen, the central element of the composition, has the typical morphology of collective burials with a single chamber or short corridor: orthostats - vertical slabs planted in the ground - support one or more horizontal covering tables, creating a closed chamber space designed to receive the funerary deposits. The chamber, whose dimensions are in line with regional standards, with an estimated length of between 3 and 6 metres and a width of 1.5 to 2.5 metres, was originally entirely covered by a mound of earth and dry stones, which has partially disappeared over the millennia. The associated menhirs, made of medium-grained grey granite quarried from local outcrops, have the tapered, slightly ogival profiles typical of Neolithic production in Morbihan. Their height, between 1.5 and 3 metres for the preserved examples, and their orientation may have obeyed astronomical logics - alignments with sunrises or sunsets at solstices - which can be found in many contemporary sites in the Gulf. The surfaces of the monoliths, shaped by staking and bush-hammering, reveal traces of the work left by Neolithic craftsmen at certain times of day.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs néolithiques du golfe du Morbihan (4500-2500 av. J.-C.), communautés paysannes et pastorales organiséesJames Miln (1819-1881), archéologue écossais pionnier des fouilles mégalithiques en MorbihanZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939), gardien de Carnac et premier inventorieur des mégalithes du golfeRené Galles (1810-1882), érudit vannetais ayant contribué à la cartographie des dolmens et menhirs insulairesLes moines médiévaux de l'Île-aux-Moines, dont la présence a probablement préservé certaines pierres dressées en leur conférant un caractère sacré syncrétique
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras located?
Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras is located in L’Île-aux-Moines, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras open to visitors?
Ensemble mégalithiquede Roh Vras is currently closed to visitors.
