Sépulture mégalithique
MonumentHidden Treasure
Sépulture mégalithique, located in Cléguérec (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Cléguérec, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1614, -3.0625
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091160
A silent Neolithic vestige nestling in inland Morbihan, this megalithic burial site at Cléguérec bears witness to a building civilisation that disappeared over 5,000 years ago. It has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1984.
History
In the heart of inland Brittany, between the moors and hedgerows of deep Morbihan, the megalithic burial site at Cléguérec stands out as one of the most discreet and moving landmarks in Brittany's formidable prehistoric heritage. Far from the fame of the Carnac alignments or the Barnenez cairn, this funerary monument reveals to the attentive visitor all the intimacy of a collective funerary practice dating back five millennia, preserved in an authentic natural setting. What sets this site apart from the region's most emblematic megaliths is precisely its wild, unspoilt character. The stones, standing or lying, imposing in their ruggedness, exude a telluric power that can be fully felt in the absence of crowds. You can still sense the desire of Neolithic man to leave a lasting mark on the landscape, to erect an eternal resting place for his dead, visible from afar across the hills of central Brittany. The visit is as much a contemplative experience as an archaeological one. Walking around the monument, visitors can observe the layout of the orthostats - the large vertical slabs - and imagine the burial chamber that once housed the bones of several deceased deposited in succession, according to the collective ritual characteristic of the Atlantic Neolithic. The silence of the place, disturbed only by the wind and birdsong, reinforces the feeling of passing through time. The natural setting of Cléguérec, a commune in the Pontivy region, offers a hilly, hedged landscape typical of the inland Morbihan, far from the hustle and bustle of coastal tourism. It's a place for the curious, archaeology enthusiasts and walkers in search of authenticity, who will find the quintessence of prehistoric Morbihan off the beaten track.
Architecture
The megalithic burial site at Cléguérec belongs to the large family of Atlantic Neolithic funerary architecture, of which the Morbihan region offers the most numerous and best-preserved examples in France. It is most likely a single-chamber dolmen or a covered alley, two typical forms of Armorican megalithism, consisting of local granite orthostats topped by large covering slabs (tables) forming an enclosed burial chamber. The construction is based on blocks of granite quarried from the surrounding natural outcrops, a rock that is ubiquitous in the subsoil of inland Morbihan. The stones, some of which can be several metres high and weigh several tonnes, were erected with remarkable precision, given the technical resources available at the time: sledges, wooden levers, earthen ramps and collective human strength. The chamber thus demarcated could be four to eight metres long and one to two metres wide, common dimensions for this type of collective burial in the region. Initially, the stone structure was buried beneath an elongated or circular mound made of earth, dry stones and, in some cases, landscaped ground levels. This tumulus, of which only residual traces remain after millennia of erosion and agricultural activity, could have been several dozen metres long. The entrance to the chamber, generally facing east or south-east according to Breton Neolithic rites, was marked by a perforated slab or an access corridor for the ritual burial of the deceased.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques du Morbihan intérieur (4500-2500 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs et utilisateurs du monumentPaul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue breton pionnier de l'inventaire des mégalithes finistériens et morbihannaisZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — fouilleur et conservateur des monuments mégalithiques du Morbihan, figure tutélaire de la préhistoire bretonneJames Miln (1819-1881) — archéologue écossais ayant contribué aux premières fouilles systématiques des sites mégalithiques morbihannais
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Sépulture mégalithique located?
Sépulture mégalithique is located in Cléguérec, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Sépulture mégalithique open to visitors?
Sépulture mégalithique is currently closed to visitors.