Tumulus circulaires
MonumentHidden Treasure
Tumulus circulaires, 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
- 47.6356, -3.0655
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091136
Stone sentinels standing on the Breton moors, these Bronze Age burial mounds have watched over Carnac for over 3,500 years. Monumental and mysterious burials, they reveal a funerary art of striking sophistication.
History
In the heart of the Quiberon peninsula, in the Morbihan region sometimes referred to as the "megalithic capital of the world", the circular burial mounds of Carnac stand out as silent markers of a bygone civilisation. Built during the Bronze Age, between 2000 and 800 BC, these earthen and dry stone burial mounds discreetly dominate the moorland, giving the Carnac landscape a dizzying depth of time. What distinguishes these burial mounds from simple natural mounds is the precision of their geometry. Their strictly circular plan, their internal chambers carefully crafted from local stone and their calculated orientation bear witness to a remarkable architectural and astronomical mastery. Some are over twenty metres in diameter and around five metres high, making them veritable monuments in the landscape. To visit these mounds is above all to immerse yourself in an archaeology of the senses: the absence of a museum setting means that you have to come face to face with the raw stone, the lichen and the sea wind. The most attentive walkers will be able to make out the facing stones emerging from the mantle of vegetation, discreet witnesses of architectural care that was once visible. The surrounding open moorland, dotted with gorse and heather, adds to the timeless atmosphere. Set in an area saturated with megaliths - the alignments of Kermario and Ménec, the dolmens of Kercado and Mané Lud - these tumuli form part of a monumental ensemble unrivalled in Western Europe. The fact that they were listed as Historic Monuments as early as 1928 is testimony to France's early recognition of the exceptional heritage value of the Carnac site.
Architecture
The circular burial mounds at Carnac are typical of Armorican Bronze Age funerary monuments. Their plan is strictly circular, with diameters generally varying between ten and twenty-five metres and heights of between two and six metres. This characteristic curved silhouette is clearly distinguishable from the long barrows associated with the earlier Neolithic period. The internal structure is based on a constant principle: a central burial chamber, built from slabs of local granite - a material abundant in southern Brittany - is covered by a dry stone cairn, itself covered by a layer of earth and turf forming the mound visible on the surface. This double envelope of stone and earth ensures that the chamber is both structurally solid and relatively watertight. Some examples still have peripheral facing stones forming a buttress crown, designed to stabilise the mound and emphasise its geometry. The materials used are exclusively local: grey or pink granite from Morbihan, slate schist depending on the sector. The orientation of the burial chamber, which generally faces east or south-east, suggests that solar cycles were taken into account in the design of the monument - a practice common to the funerary architecture of the Atlantic Bronze Age, from Armorica to the British Isles.
Related Figures
James Miln — archéologue écossais pionnier des fouilles à Carnac (XIXe siècle), fondateur du musée de préhistoire localZacharie Le Rouzic — archéologue breton, continuateur de Miln et grand spécialiste des mégalithes carnacéens (1864-1939)Gabriel de Mortillet — préhistorien français ayant contribué à la classification des monuments de l'âge du bronze armoricainProsper Mérimée — Inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, l'un des premiers à alerter sur la nécessité de protéger les mégalithes bretons (XIXe siècle)Paul du Châtellier — archéologue finistérien ayant cartographié et comparé les tumulus armoricains à la fin du XIXe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tumulus circulaires located?
Tumulus circulaires is located in Carnac, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Tumulus circulaires open to visitors?
Tumulus circulaires is currently closed to visitors.
