Menhir de Kerlagade
MonumentHidden Treasure
Menhir de Kerlagade, 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
- 47.6183, -3.0406
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091112
A stone sentinel standing on the Neolithic fringes of Carnac, the Kerlagade menhir embodies five millennia of Breton memory - a solitary, enigmatic monolith that has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1889.
History
In the commune of Carnac, the world capital of megalithism, the Kerlagade menhir stands like an isolated, sovereign figure among the profusion of standing stones dotting the Morbihan. Unlike the famous Carnac alignments, which attract millions of visitors, this solitary menhir offers an intimate and almost confidential encounter with the Neolithic, far from the crowds and protective barriers. Its austere verticality stands out against the surrounding Breton bocage, inviting contemplation as much as reflection on the vanished civilisations that shaped this land. What makes Kerlagade so special is precisely its isolation. Where the Carnacan alignments are striking for their collective dimension and numerical power, this monolith is imposing for its unitary presence. It belongs to that category of 'non-aligned' menhirs that dot the Breton landscape as territorial markers or ritual markers, perhaps erected to signal a place of worship, demarcate a territory or honour a cosmic entity. Their location is no accident: Neolithic builders chose their sites with a precision that archaeology is only beginning to decipher. The visiting experience is of a different nature to that of the great signposted megalithic sites. Here, visitors find themselves face-to-face with the stone, without excessive mediation. The rock, probably local granite or orthogneiss quarried from outcrops in the Morbihan region, bears the marks of time on its surface: grey and orange lichens that draw imaginary maps, gentle erosion that rounds off the edges carved by vanished hands. The low, golden light at the end of the day reveals volumes and textures that are invisible at high noon. The semi-rural, hedged farmland setting of Kerlagade contrasts pleasantly with the tourist bustle of the centre of Carnac. Photographers will appreciate the twilight silhouettes of the menhir against the Atlantic sky, while archaeology enthusiasts will find it a precious testimony to the structuring of the Neolithic territory on the fringes of the great monumental complexes. It's a must-see for anyone who wants to go beyond the postcard and get to grips, literally and figuratively, with the essence of Breton megalithism.
Architecture
The Kerlagade menhir belongs to the large family of Armorican Neolithic standing stones, whose formal characteristics reflect both local geological constraints and the deliberate aesthetic choices of their builders. The monolith is probably carved from Morbihan granite or orthogneiss, metamorphic and magmatic rocks that form the dominant geological substratum of the Quiberon peninsula and the Carnac hinterland. These exceptionally hard and resistant materials explain why the Breton megaliths have survived five millennia of Atlantic weathering. The general shape of the menhir follows the characteristic profile of the great Morbihan standing stones: a shaft with a sub-quadrangular or slightly trapezoidal cross-section, tapering towards the top to form a more or less pronounced point. The enlarged base, buried in the ground to a depth of up to a third of the total height of the monolith, ensures the stability of the whole without a masonry foundation - a principle of purely mechanical equilibrium that is remarkably effective. The outer surface bears the characteristic marks of Neolithic piquetage, a technique by which craftsmen produced the desired shape by striking the rock with hammers made of quartzite or harder granite. The precise dimensions of the Kerlagade menhir are not recorded with any certainty in the available sources, but isolated menhirs in the Carnac region are generally between 2 and 6 metres high above the ground, weighing between 5 and 30 tonnes. The orientation of the monolith, as with many of its counterparts, is probably not random: archaeoastronomical surveys would be needed to determine whether its main axis is aligned with a significant astronomical event, a plausible hypothesis given the practices documented at other Carnacan sites.
Related Figures
Zacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue autodidacte carnacéen (1864-1939), premier inventoriseur systématique des mégalithes de Carnac, dont KerlagadeJames Miln — archéologue écossais (1819-1881), pionnier des fouilles à Carnac, qui contribua à la reconnaissance scientifique du patrimoine mégalithique localProsper Mérimée — Inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques (1834-1860), initiateur des politiques de classement qui aboutirent à la protection de Kerlagade en 1889Alexander Thom — ingénieur et archéoastronome britannique (1894-1985), dont les travaux sur les alignements astronomiques des mégalithes bretons éclairent l'interprétation de sites comme KerlagadeJean L'Helgouach — préhistorien français (1934-2001), spécialiste du Néolithique armoricain et auteur de référence sur les monuments mégalithiques du Morbihan
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Menhir de Kerlagade located?
Menhir de Kerlagade is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Menhir de Kerlagade open to visitors?
Menhir de Kerlagade is currently closed to visitors.
