Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled
MonumentHidden Treasure
Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled, located in Lanmeur (Département 29), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Lanmeur, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6270, -3.7074
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090059
Built in the Bronze Age on the heights of Lanmeur, the Tossen-ar-C'honifled burial mound is one of the most imposing in Finistère, the silent guardian of funeral rituals dating back more than 3,500 years.
History
Hidden away in the hedged farmland of northern Finistère, the Tossen-ar-C'honifled tumulus - whose Breton name roughly translates as "rabbit's mound" - stands out as one of the most striking testimonies to Bronze Age civilisation in Armorican Brittany. This artificial mound, carefully built by farming and pastoral communities whose traces can be found all over the Armorican massif, goes beyond mere archaeological curiosity to offer a window onto a profoundly elaborate spiritual universe. What makes this site truly exceptional is first and foremost its remarkable state of preservation in a region where agricultural expansion has levelled out so many similar structures. The mass of the mound, made up of stones, earth and carefully accumulated sediment, bears witness to a considerable collective investment, the sign of a hierarchical society capable of mobilising a large workforce in the service of a deceased person of eminent rank. Tumuli of this type often contain dry-stone burial chambers or slate coffers containing ceramics, bronze tools and ornaments. A visit to Tossen-ar-C'honifled is both a contemplative experience and a change of scenery. You approach the mound along grassy paths lined with embankments covered in ferns and golden gorse, in this characteristic Finistère landscape. From the top of the mound, you can look out over the gentle hills of the Trégor-Finistère region, imagining how this monument also served as a visual landmark for Bronze Age communities. For fans of Breton prehistory, the comparison with other burial mounds in the region - such as those at Brennilis or the covered walkways of Finistère - adds considerably to our understanding of the site. The proximity of Lanmeur, a medieval village with an exceptional Merovingian baptistery, makes this commune a veritable palimpsest of human history in Armorique, from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages.
Architecture
The Tossen-ar-C'honifled tumulus belongs to the category of massively-structured burial mounds typical of the Armorican Bronze Age. It takes the form of an approximately circular or slightly elliptical mound, built by successive accumulation of materials: stones quarried nearby, granite or schist blocks, earth and compacted sediments. This method of construction in concentric layers or successive envelopes is well documented in contemporary Breton burial mounds. The diameter of this type of mound often exceeds twenty metres at the base, and can be several metres high, giving the monument a recognisable silhouette in the landscape. At the heart of the structure probably lies a sepulchral chamber or a funerary coffer made of dry stone slabs, the interior architecture characteristic of Middle Bronze Age funerary practices in the Armorican peninsula. These cells, built without mortar, were hermetically covered by the materials making up the mound, forming a veritable vault designed to protect the remains of the deceased and their accompanying furniture. The dominant stone in this region of north Finistère is granite, which is omnipresent in the subsoil of the Armorican massif, complemented by local schists and sandstones. The monument as a whole fits into a carefully chosen geographical context: Bronze Age builders favoured open heights, ridges or promontories offering maximum visibility, making the burial mound a territorial marker, a point of visual communication between communities and a sacred place visible from afar. This carefully considered topographical layout is one of the most consistent features of Breton Bronze Age funerary architecture.
Related Figures
Paul du Châtellier (1833-1911) — archéologue finistérien, explorateur des tumuli armoricains et pionnier de la préhistoire bretonneZacharie Le Rouzic (1864-1939) — archéologue breton, spécialiste des monuments mégalithiques et protohistoriques de BretagneJacques Briard (1933-2002) — préhistorien, grand spécialiste de l'âge du Bronze armoricain, auteur de nombreuses études sur les tumuli bretonsDéfunt de rang aristocratique de l'âge du Bronze (anonyme) — personnage éminent dont la sépulture aurait justifié l'édification du tertreProsper Mérimée (1803-1870) — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, initiateur de l'inventaire du patrimoine archéologique français
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled located?
Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled is located in Lanmeur, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
Is Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled open to visitors?
Tumulus dit Tossen-ar-C'honifled is currently closed to visitors.
