MEGALITHS > SLIDESHOWS > FRANCE > BRITTANY - CARNAC
Carnac: Farmhouse with megalithic remains
Crucuno dolmen, grafted to farmhouse
Crucuno dolmen
Stone alignments, Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
Dolmen amid Carnac stone alignments
Carnac: Roadside dolmen
Carnac: Roadside dolmen
Stone alignments, Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
St. Cornelius, Carnac church
Christianized Menhir, Carnac cemetery
Les Pierres Plats, beach near Carnac
Les Pierres Plats (top)
Les Pierres Plats (top)
Passage grave in a village near Carnac
Passage grave in a village near Carnac
Le Table des Marchands, Carnac
Le Grand Menhir Brise (broken menhir)
Le Grand Menhir Brise
Menhir in a field near Carnac
Stone alignments, Carnac
Menhirs, Carnac
Menhirs, Carnac
Stone Alignments and Dolmens in Brittany
The stone rows that dominate the wild, moody landscape around the village of Carnac in Brittany are both unique and impressive. Dating to 4500-3300 BCE, the three groupings of Kermario, Kerlescan and Ménec consist of thousands of massive, roughly shaped stones in a long system of parallel lines that may have astronomical significance. Neolithic structures dot Locmariquer, Finisterre and the rest of Brittany's coastal region.
Local legend atrributes the Carnac alignments to St. Cornelius, who petrified the Roman legions when they pursued him, and has embroidered the stones with all manner of lore. Many are believed to conceal treasure, dance and walk in strange patterns - and to turn mysteriously at midnight on the solstices.
