Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé
MonumentHidden Treasure
Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé, located in Trégunc (Département 29), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Trégunc, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8236, -3.8754
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090473
Standing in Trégunc in Finistère, the protohistoric Kerdallé stele is a rare witness to the Armorican Iron Age: an engraved monolith whose enigmatic silhouette has watched over the Cornouaille peninsula for over two millennia.
History
In the heart of the Tréguncois bocage, a few kilometres from the wild coves of the Cornouaillais coastline, the protohistoric Kerdallé stele stands like a stone sentinel on the border between the world of the living and that of the ancestors. A discreet but meaningful monument, it is one of a constellation of funerary and votive markers that have dotted Armorican Brittany since the end of the Bronze Age and the emergence of Iron Age cultures. What distinguishes Kerdallé from the multitude of older menhirs in the surrounding area is its distinctly protohistoric construction: the tapered shaft, subquadrangular cross-section and sober ornamentation typical of Gallic stelae from the Second Iron Age (La Tène, c. 500-50 BC) make it an archaeological object of rare chronological accuracy for this type of monument. The stone, probably local granite quarried from outcrops in the Trégunc region, has a bluish-grey colour that lichens have patinated with shades of ochre and black over the centuries. The visitor experience is first and foremost an invitation to contemplate. No mediation device interrupts the direct dialogue between the visitor and the stone: you are alone in the face of the enigma of a people who have left us no written records, only these lapidary silhouettes reaching for the sky. Photographers will appreciate the low-angled light effects at the end of the afternoon, which highlight the contours of the shaft and the irregularities of the surface. The surrounding area, with its hedgerows, sunken lanes and wet meadows typical of the inland Bigouden region, reinforces the timelessness of the site. The stele is part of an area rich in remains from all periods - Neolithic megaliths, Gallic enclosures, Roman roads - offering curious visitors the chance to take a long archaeological walk around the Trégunc peninsula.
Architecture
The Kerdallé stela belongs to the family of Armorican Gallic stelae, a monumental type well-defined by regional archaeology. It is a granite monolith - an omnipresent rock in the Finistère subsoil - carved and shaped to adopt a characteristic tapered or ogival form. The shaft, with a subquadrangular or slightly ovoid cross-section, widens towards the base to ensure the stability of the monument set in the ground, and gradually narrows towards a rounded or slightly pointed top. This anthropomorphic or phallic silhouette, depending on how archaeologists interpret it, is common to all the stelae from the La Tène period discovered in Armorica. The height of this type of stela generally varies from 0.80 metres to over 2 metres, with the buried part often representing a third of the total volume. The surface of the stone, rough-cut with visible tool marks, does not feature any elaborate figurative decoration - unlike the Celtic stelae found in certain regions of Central Europe. Any ornamentation is limited to simple geometric incisions, cupules or slight mouldings that accentuate the verticality of the monument. The absence of a roof or built superstructure is a natural feature of the object: the stele is, in its very essence, a naked dialogue between stone and sky. Its material, local granite from Trégunc-Concarneau, gives it an exceptional robustness that explains its survival over more than two millennia. The natural patina - yellow and grey crustacean lichens, green moss at the foot of the monument - plays a key role in its aesthetic appeal and its integration into the surrounding hedged farmland.
Related Figures
Artisans lapicides gaulois (Âge du fer, IVe-Ier siècle av. J.-C.) — tailleurs de pierre anonymes de la tribu osismienne ayant façonné et érigé la stèlePaul Du Chatellier (1833-1911) — archéologue finistérien pionnier, recenseur des stèles protohistoriques armoricainesJoseph Déchelette (1862-1914) — auteur du Manuel d'archéologie préhistorique celtique et gallo-romaine, cadre de référence pour l'étude des stèles gauloisesMembres de la Société Archéologique du Finistère (XIXe-XXe siècles) — chercheurs locaux ayant documenté et valorisé le patrimoine protohistorique de TréguncConservateurs régionaux des Monuments Historiques (années 1960) — artisans de l'inscription au patrimoine en 1966
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé located?
Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé is located in Trégunc, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé open to visitors?
Stèle protohistorique de Kerdallé is currently closed to visitors.