Carnac stones

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Menec)

The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments, dolmens, tumuluses and single menhirs. The more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany, and are the largest such collection in the world. Local tradition claims that the reason they stand in such perfectly straight lines is that they are a Roman legion turned to stone by Merlin — Brittany has its own local versions of the Arthurian cycle. Most of the stones are within the French commune of Carnac, but some to the east are within La Trinité-sur-Mer.

The stones were erected at some stage during the Neolithic period, probably around 3300 BC, but some may date to as old as 4500 BC.<ref>Carnac Stones, Brittany. Sacred Destinations Travel Guide. Retrieved on 2006-05-17.</ref>

In recent centuries, many of the sites have been neglected, with reports of dolmens being used as sheep shelters, chicken sheds or even ovens.<ref name="megalithic 9178">TheCaptain (03 January 2005). La Madeleine dolmen Burial Chamber (Dolmen). The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map. Retrieved on 2006-05-17.</ref> Even more commonly, stones have been removed to make way for roads, or as building materials. The continuing management of the sites remains a controversial topic.

1 Alignments
2 Tumuluses
3 Dolmens
4 Other formations
5 Excavation and analysis
- 5.1 Miln and Le Rouzic
- 5.2 Other theories
6 Management
7 See also
8 References
9 Notes
10 Further reading
11 External links
- 11.1 Online maps

[edit] Alignments

There are three major groups of stone rows — Menec, Kermario and Kerlescan — which may have once formed a single group, but have been split up as stones were removed for other purposes.<ref name="aq">Leonard, R. Cedric (1 May 2006). The Stones of Carnac. Retrieved on 2006-05-17.</ref>

Standing stones in the Kermario alignment

Menec alignments: Eleven converging rows of menhirs stretching for 1,165 metres, by 100 metres wide. There is what Alexander Thom considered to be the remains of stone circles at either end. According to the tourist office there is a "cromlech containing 71 stone blocks" at the western end and a very ruined cromlech at the eastern end. The largest stones, around four metres high, are at the wider, western end; the stones then become as small as 0.6 metres high along the length of the alignment before growing in height again toward the extreme eastern end.
Kermario ("house of the dead") <ref>Mané Kermario. Retrieved on 2006-05-17.</ref> alignment: This fan-like layout recurs a little further along to the east in the Kermario alignment. It consists of 1029 stones<ref>http://www.pvf.dircon.co.uk/BCH-4B(Carnac).html</ref> in ten columns, about 1,300 metres in length.<ref name="aq"/> A stone circle to the east end, where the stones are shorter, was revealed by aerial photography.<ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/kermario.htm</ref>
Kerlescan alignments: A smaller group of 555 stones, further to the east of the other two sites. It is composed of 13 lines with a total length of about 800 metres<ref name="aq"/>, ranging in height from 80 cm to 4 metres<ref name="dino">(French) http://www.dinosoria.com/dolmen_menhir.htm</ref>. At the extreme west, where the stones are tallest, there is a stone circle which has 39 stones. There may also be another stone circle to the north.<ref name="tiscali kerlescan">http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/kerlescan.htm</ref>
Petit-Ménec alignments: A much smaller group, further east again of Kerlescan, falling within the commune of La Trinité-sur-Mer. These are now set in woods, and most are covered with moss and ivy.<ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/petit_menec.htm</ref>

[edit] Tumuluses

There are several tumuluses, mounds of earth built up over a grave. In this area, they generally feature a passage leading to a central chamber which once held neolithic artefacts.

Image:Tumulus carnac.jpg

Saint-Michel: The tumulus of Saint-Michel was constructed between 5000 BC and 3400 BC. At its base it is 125 m by 60 m, and is 12 m high. It required 35,000 m³ of stone and earth. Its function was the same as that of the pyramids of Egypt: a tomb for the members of the ruling class. It contained various funerary objects, such as 15 stone chests, pottery, jewellery, most of which are currently held by the Museum of Prehistory of Carnac.<ref name="ot-carnac historie alignment">http://www.ot-carnac.fr/version_anglaise/histoire_alignement.php</ref>. It was excavated in 1862 by René Galles with a series of vertical pits, digging down 8 metres. Le Rouzic also excavated it between 1900 and 1907 discovering the tomb and the stone chests.<ref name="bc">http://www.bretagne-celtic.com/carte_carnac.htm</ref>; A chapel was built on top in 1663 but was rebuilt in 1813, before being destroyed in 1923. The current building is an identical reconstruction of the 1663 chapel, built in 1926.

Moustoir 47.6119° N 3.0608° W<ref>http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=9182</ref>

Also known as Er Mané, it is a chamber tomb 85 m long, 35 m wide, and 5 m high. It has a dolmen at the west end, and two tombs at the east end.<ref name="ot-carnac historie alignment"/> A small menhir, approximately 3m high, is nearby.

Image:Dolmen Roch-Feutet.JPG

[edit] Dolmens

There are several dolmens scattered around the area. These dolmens are generally considered to have been tombs, constructed with several large stones supporting a "capstone", then buried under a mound of earth. In many cases, the mound is no longer present, sometimes due to archeological excavation, and only the large stones remain, in various states of ruin.

Er-Roc'h-Feutet: North, near the Chapelle de La Madelaine. Has a completely covered roof.
La Madelaine 47.6208° N 3.0482° W<ref name="megalithic 9178">http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=9178</ref>: A large dolmen measuring 12 metres by 5 metres, with a 9 metre-long broken capstone.<ref name="megalithic 9178"/>It is named after the nearby Chapelle de La Madelaine, which is still used.
Kercado: A rare dolmen still covered by its original cairn. South of the Kermario alignments, it is 25–30 metres wide, 5 metres high, and has a small menhir on top. Previously surrounded by a circle of small menhirs 4 metres out<ref name="bc">http://www.bretagne-celtic.com/carte_carnac.htm</ref>, the main passage is 6.5 metres long and leads to a large chamber where numerous artifacts were found, including axes, pearls, arrow heads and pottery. It was constructed around 4600 BC and used for approximately 3,000 years.<ref name="bc"/>
Mané Brizil

Kerlescan: A roughly rectangular mound, with only one capstone remaining. It is aligned east-to-west, with a passage entrance to the south.<ref name="tiscali kerlescan"/>
Kermarquer: On a small hill, has two separate chambers.

Image:Carnac Geant du Manio.jpg

Mané-Kerioned (Pixies' mound or Grotte de Grionnec<ref name="bc"/>): A group of three dolmens with layout unique in Brittany <ref name="bc"/>, once covered by a tumulus. Whereas most groups of dolmens are parallel, these are arranged in a horse shoe. The largest of the three is at the east, 11 metres long.<ref name="ot-carnac historie alignment"/>
Crucuno: A "classic" dolmen, with a 40 tonne, 7.6 metre tablestone resting on pillars roughly 1.8 metres high. Prior to 1900, it was connected by a passage making it 24 metres long.<ref name="bc"/>

[edit] Other formations

Image:QuadrilatereduManio.JPG

There are some individual menhirs and at least one other formation which do not fit into the above categories.

Manio quadrilateral: An arrangement of stones to form the perimeter of a large rectangle. Originally a "tertre tumulus" with a central mound, it is 37 metres long, and aligned to east of northeast. The quadrilateral is 10 metres wide to the east, but only 7 metres wide at the west. <ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/manio_quadrilateral.htm</ref>
Manio giant 47.6034° N 3.056° W<ref>http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=9143</ref>

Near the quadrilateral is a single massive menhir, now known as the "Giant". Over 6.5 metres (21.3 feet) tall, it was re-erected around 1900 by Zacharie Le Rouzic<ref name="bc">http://www.bretagne-celtic.com/carte_carnac.htm</ref>, and overlooks the nearby Kerlescan alignment. <ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/geant_de_manio.htm</ref>

[edit] Excavation and analysis

Image:Menhirs carnac.jpg

From the 1720s various people showed increasing interest in these features.<ref>Astonishing Heaps of Stones</ref> In 1796, for example, the Tour d'Avergne attributed them to druidic gatherings.<ref name="bc"/> In 1805, A. Maudet de Penhoët claimed they represented stars in the sky.<ref name="bc"/> However, there still is a somewhat surprising lack of research done on the origins or purpose of the stones.

[edit] Miln and Le Rouzic

The first extensive excavation was performed in the 1860s by Scottish antiquary James Miln (1819–1881), who reported that fewer than 700 of the 3,000 stones were still standing.<ref name="ml">The Independent: Bretons fight for Carnac to stay in the Stone Age</ref> Towards 1875, Miln engaged a local boy, Zacharie Le Rouzic (1864–1939), as his assistant, and Zacharie learnt archaeology on the job. After Miln's death, he left the results of his excavations to the town of Carnac, and the James Miln Museum was established there by his brother Robert to house the artefacts. Zacharie became the director of the Museum and although self-taught, became an internationally recognised expert on megaliths in the region. He too left the results of his work to the town, and the museum is now named Le Musée de Préhistoire James Miln – Zacharie le Rouzic.<ref name=megalithia>Carnac — Megalithic alignments of standing stones.</ref><ref name=museedecarnac>Musée de Préhistoire James Miln – Zacharie le Rouzic</ref>

[edit] Other theories

Image:Carnac Ménec alignments.jpg

In 1887, H. de Cleuziou argued for a connection between the rows of stones and the directions of sunsets at the solstices.<ref name="bc"/>

Among more recent studies, Alexander Thom worked with his son Archie from 1970 to 1974 to carry out a detailed survey of the Carnac alignments, and produced a series of papers on the astronomical alignments of the stones as well as statistical analysis supporting his concept of the megalithic yard.<ref name=megalithia/><ref>Wood, John Edwin (1978). Sun, Moon and Standing Stones, paperback 1980, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285089-X.</ref>

Studies by Pierre Méreaux, who spent 30 years researching the stones in field studies, are well known.<ref>Carnac, Stones for the Living: A Megalithic Seismograph? (Roslyn Strong): partial translation of Méreaux's "Des Pierres Pour Les Vivants". Also published in New England Antiquities Research Association Journal, Volume XXXV, Number 2, Winter 2001</ref> He generally rejects the "cult of the dead", arguing that the dolmens were instead perhaps used as primitive seismic instruments, Brittany being the most seismically-active area of France.<ref>CARNAC: Des Pierres Pour Les Vivants by Pierre Méreaux, Kerwangwenn — 29540 Spezet, Bretagne, Nature & Bretagne (1992 edition), cited by Roslyn Strong</ref> In particular, he argues controversially that Brittany would have been even more seismically active back then, due to the influx of water with the retreating ice. He also posits correlations between the location and orientation of menhirs, and those of seismic fault lines. He also goes so far as to claim that the balancing of large stones on delicate points would act as an effective earthquake detector: "the heavy tables of these monuments with their dizzying overhangs must have devilishly balanced on their three feet, at the slightest shock. As an earthquake observation station, we could not do better today."<ref>Méreaux p60, cited and translated by Strong</ref>

There are also general theories on the use of the stones as astronomical observatories, as has been claimed for Stonehenge. According to one such theory, the massive menhir at nearby Locmariaquer was linked to the alignments for such a purpose<ref name="dino"/>.

[edit] Management

Image:Carnac Kerlescan sheep.jpg

The Le Musée de Préhistoire James Miln – Zacharie le Rouzic is at the centre of conserving and displaying the artefacts from the area.<ref name=museedecarnac/> It also contains the "world's largest collection [of] prehistoric[al] exihibits"<ref name="ot-carnac historie alignment"/> with over 6,600 prehistorical objects from 136 different sites.

The monuments themselves were listed and purchased by the State at the start of the 20th century to protect them against quarrymen, and while this was successful at the time, in the mid century redevelopment, changes to agricultural practices and increasing tourism bringing visitors to the stones led to rapid deterioration. The Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (Heritage Ministry) re-examined the issue from 1984, and subsequently set up the ‘Mission Carnac’ 1991 with the aim of rehabilitating and developing the alignments. This involved restricting public access, launching a series of scientific and technical studies, and producing a plan for conservation and development in the area.<ref>The Carnac Project</ref>

As with the megalithic structure of Stonehenge in England, management of the stones can be controversial. Since 1991, the main groups of stone rows have been protected from the public by fences "to help vegetation growth",<ref name="ot-carnac historie alignment"/> preventing visits except by organised tours. They are open during Winter, however. <ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/carnac.htm</ref> When James Miln studied the stones in the 1860s, he reported that fewer than 700 of the 3,000 stones were still standing, and subsequent work during the 1930s and 1980s (using bulldozers) rearranged the stones, re-erecting some, to make way for roads or other structures. In 2002, protesters invaded the site, opening the padlocks and allowing tourists free entry.<ref name="ml"/> In particular, the group Collectif Holl a gevred (French and Breton for "the everyone-together collective") occupied the visitor centre for the Kermario alignment, demanding an immediate stop to current management plans, and local input into further plans.<ref>(French) http://nopasaran.samizdat.net/article.php3?id_article=662</ref>

In recent years, management of the site has also experimented with allowing sheep to graze amongst the stones, perhaps to keep gorse and other weeds under control.<ref>http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/celynog/Brittany/menec_west.htm</ref>

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Carnac: Guide pratique 2006 (provided by Carnac tourist office)

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

Image:Commons-logo.svg	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carnac

Des Pierres Pour Les Vivants by Pierre Méreaux, Kerwangwenn - 29540 Spezet, Bretagne, Nature & Bretagne (1992 edition), 244 pages
From Carnac to Callanish: the prehistoric stone rows and avenues of Britain, Ireland and Brittany Aubrey Burl, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-05575-7, 1993 [1]
A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany Aubrey Burl, Yale University Press 1995, ISBN 0-300-06331-8