Tumulus dit An Dossen
MonumentHidden Treasure
Tumulus dit An Dossen, located in Louargat (Département 22), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Louargat, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5438, -3.3150
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089317
A stone sentinel buried in the Louargat moors, the An Dossen tumulus is a Breton megalithic monument of rare solemnity, the silent guardian of thousands of years of human history.
History
In the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, in the commune of Louargat, the An Dossen burial mound stands out as one of the most striking testimonies to Armorican Neolithic civilisation. This funerary mound, whose Breton name evokes a natural or artificial eminence dominating the landscape, belongs to the large family of megalithic monuments that make Brittany one of the richest areas of prehistoric remains in Western Europe. At first glance, An Dossen looks like an unassuming, almost banal hill, part of the Trégor hedgerow. But this discretion is deceptive: beneath the mantle of earth and vegetation lies a funerary architecture of remarkable complexity and intentionality. Tumuli of this type generally contain a stone burial chamber, accessible via a paved corridor, built to house the remains of the deceased from a Neolithic farming community over five thousand years ago. The visit offers an authentic immersion in Breton prehistory. Far removed from museographic reconstructions, An Dossen confronts visitors with the raw presence of the past: the silent mass of the mound, the quality of the surrounding silence and the view over the wooded relief of the Trégor create a picture of melancholic, timeless beauty. The monument, listed since 1946, has been preserved in its natural environment, reinforcing the feeling of a direct encounter with the Neolithic builders. The site is part of an area rich in megaliths, not far from the alignments and dolmens that dot the Guingamp region and the area around Belle-Isle-en-Terre. Whether you're an archaeology enthusiast, a hiker or simply enjoy unspoilt countryside, An Dossen is an essential stop-off point for exploring the prehistoric heritage of the Côtes-d'Armor, away from the crowds and the signposted tourist routes.
Architecture
An Dossen belongs to the category of corridor tumuli, the dominant architectural type in Armorican megalithism of the Middle Neolithic (Cerny and Barnenez cultures). These monuments typically consist of an elongated or subcircular mound made of a pile of earth, dry stone and local materials covering one or more granite burial chambers. The burial chamber, at the heart of the burial mound, is built using megalithic architecture techniques: large orthostats (upright blocks) form the side walls, while massive cover slabs provide the ceiling. A narrow access corridor, generally facing east or east-south-east depending on regional traditions, provided access to the chamber during successive burial rituals. The materials used are exclusively local: granite from Trégor, a rock that is abundant in this part of the Côtes-d'Armor, forms the mineral framework of the monument. The mound itself, which originally had an imposing mass of several dozen metres in length and several metres in height, has undergone the effects of erosion, agricultural ploughing and the removal of materials over the millennia. Its current silhouette, softened and partially buried by vegetation, only imperfectly reflects what it may have looked like when it was first erected, probably steeper and visually dominant in a landscape that was still sparsely wooded.
Related Figures
Communautés néolithiques du Trégor (Ve-IIIe millénaire av. J.-C.) — bâtisseurs et utilisateurs du tumulusÉrudits de la Société d'émulation des Côtes-du-Nord (XIXe siècle) — premiers recenseurs et protecteurs des mégalithes du départementProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, artisan de la protection des mégalithes bretons au XIXe sièclePaul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue breton pionnier, explorateur de nombreux tumuli armoricains contemporains d'An DossenZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — archéologue breton qui contribua à la connaissance et à la valorisation des monuments mégalithiques de toute la Bretagne
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tumulus dit An Dossen located?
Tumulus dit An Dossen is located in Louargat, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Tumulus dit An Dossen open to visitors?
Tumulus dit An Dossen is currently closed to visitors.