Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer
MonumentHidden Treasure
Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer, located in Erdeven (Département 56), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Erdeven, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6312, -3.1195
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000141
A Neolithic burial mound in Erdeven, this long funerary monument bears witness to the extraordinary megalithic density of Morbihan. Its standing stones, more than 5,000 years old, stand in harmony with the Breton moors.
History
In the heart of the Auray region, in the commune of Erdeven, the Lannec er Gadouer mound is one of the most remarkable megalithic sites in Europe. Just a few kilometres from the famous alignments of Carnac, this Neolithic funerary monument represents a type of primary architecture whose sobriety is equalled only by its evocative power: an elongated tumulus, shaped by human hands over five millennia ago, in a landscape of moorland and gorse that the Atlantic wind continues to sculpt. What the Lannec er Gadouer mound offers is an authentic encounter with Breton prehistory, far from the crowds that sometimes flock to major listed sites. Here, visitors can take the time to observe the granite blocks, appreciate the constructive logic behind the mound's construction, and understand the ritual and memorial function it fulfilled for the agro-pastoral communities of the Middle Neolithic. The site is part of a network of megalithic monuments dotted around the Quiberon peninsula and the Erdeven basin: cairns, corridor dolmens, isolated menhirs and alignments form a symbolic constellation around it, reflecting the collective investment of these societies in the construction of the sacred. Lannec er Gadouer is not an isolated monument: it is a link in a thought-out and organised funerary geography. For the ambience-sensitive walker, the visit takes on a special dimension at dusk, when the low-angled light highlights the contours of the mound and reveals the quiet majesty of these stones. Families, photographers in search of minimalist compositions and prehistory enthusiasts will find this a quality experience, imbued with the gentle melancholy characteristic of the great landscapes of Armorique.
Architecture
The Lannec er Gadouer mound belongs to the category of long funerary monuments characteristic of the Middle Armorican Neolithic. It takes the form of an elongated mound, with an oblong plan oriented on an east-west axis - a common orientation for this type of structure and probably linked to astronomical or symbolic considerations associated with sunrise and sunset. The mass of the mound is made up of a pile of earth, stones and blocks of local granite, an omnipresent material in the subsoil of Morbihan. Beneath this mantle of earth and stone is, or was, a burial chamber, probably of the Dolmenic type, made up of upright orthogonal slabs forming a box-like or corridor-like structure, depending on the phase of construction. The orthostats - large upright stones - form the visible skeleton of the monument and testify to the technical mastery of the Neolithic builders, who were able to handle blocks weighing several tonnes without metal tools. The Morbihan granite, whose hardness and durability were well known to the local people, was worked by percussion to obtain relatively flat surfaces, making it easier to fit the slabs together and guaranteeing the solidity of the whole over thousands of years.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments historiques au XIXe siècle, pionnier de la reconnaissance du patrimoine mégalithique bretonJames Miln — archéologue écossais ayant mené les premières fouilles scientifiques sur les sites de Carnac et contribué à documenter la région d'ErdevenZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue carnacéen, conservateur du musée de Préhistoire, qui recensa et cartographia des centaines de mégalithes du Morbihan au début du XXe siècleGabriel de Mortillet — préhistorien français ayant contribué à la classification des cultures néolithiques armoricainesCommunautés néolithiques du Morbihan (4500-3000 av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs anonymes et collectifs de l'ensemble des monuments mégalithiques de la région
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer located?
Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer is located in Erdeven, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer open to visitors?
Tertre de Lannec er Gadouer is currently closed to visitors.
