Locmariaquer Megaliths
Grand Menhir Brisé · Table des Marchand · Er Grah Barrow
Middle Neolithic (~4700–4000 BCE)·Carnac Neolithic (Castellic)·🇫🇷 Brittany, Morbihan, France
Broken_menhir.jpg: Bjørn som tegner derivative work: Myrabella (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
About
About Locmariaquer Megaliths
Three interlinked monuments on the Gulf of Morbihan: the shattered 20.6-m Grand Menhir Brisé – heaviest moved stone in Europe at 280 tonnes before earthquake toppling; the Table des Marchand passage tomb whose 7.5-m capstone matches fragments of the Menhir and the Gavrinis tombstone 4 km distant, proving a single decorated menhir was split and reused; and the 140-m Er Grah long mound. Together they narrate early Neolithic monument biography and fragmentation.
Why it mattersThree interlinked monuments on the Gulf of Morbihan: the shattered 20.6-m Grand Menhir Brisé – heaviest moved stone in Europe at 280 tonnes before earthquake toppling; the Table des Marchand passage t
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 0119th-century seismic vs anthropogenic toppling of Grand Menhir
- 02Deliberate fragmentation and redistribution of decorated menhir across three tombs
Theories
- 01Monument recruitment and mnemonic destruction – breaking the ancestor to build the descendant tomb
- 02Early maritime Neolithic lithic engineering with log rollers and tidal rafts
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4700 BCE (Table des Marchand, Er Grah), 4500 BCE Grand Menhir erection
- Period
- Middle Neolithic (~4700–4000 BCE)
- Culture
- Carnac Neolithic (Castellic)
- Purpose
- Colossal menhir, passage tomb and long mound funerary complex
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.4700 BCE (Table des Marchand, Er Grah), 4500 BCE Grand Menhir erection
Initial construction
c. 1338 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
47.5711° N · 2.9478° W · 10 m · 2 mapped features
Grand Menhir Brisé
menhirFour fragments of 20.6-m orthogneiss menhir, originally 280 tonnes
47.5713° N · 2.9475° WTable des Marchand Passage Tomb
passage tombChamber with 7.5-m capstone matching Grand Menhir axe motif
47.5708° N · 2.9482° W
Gallery