Kerlescan

A big megalithic day, December 1, continues; from here we

drove back east to Locmariaquer and its sites; above, the

little alignment between Menec and Kermario

Part of the Kerlescan alignment

Ditto

Cupmarks on one of the big stones

Part of the Kerlescan cromlech

The Tumulus St. Michel, in Carnac; originally there were seven

of these large tumuli scattered around, many mistaken for

natural hills

Kercado Tumulus

The Kercado tumulus and alle couverte is back in Carnac,

where we drove next, again, about a quarter mile south

of the Kermario alignment. Again, it is something we

had never seen before--always in too much of a rush, I

guess, and the Carnac area has some 30,000 megaliths

to look at. Kercado is much older than anything else in

the area, dated authoritatively to 5,000BC, the oldest

known human stone construction anywhere. I am glad

we finally got around to seeing it! Above, Kercado

tumulus, really intact, with trees on top, etc.

Vicki atop the entrance...it's not small

The tumulus has a partially-intact stone circle around it, very

unusual for Brittany

Interior stone carvings..."abstract"

Ditto; I guess they got over the realism of the

Magdalene era (cave paintings, really old)

Rondassec

Right in the middle of a residential neighborhood of
Plouharnel, still northwest of Carnac, is a pretty much intact
tumulus containing three parallel passage graves; the
Rondassec tumulus

Special parking for visitors to dolmens, menhirs, etc.

One of the covered alleys

Another

Me, exploring

Interior view

As a parapente drifts by...

Kerzeho Alignment

Near a village called Erdeven, some miles

northwest of Carnac, there are the remnants

of what would have been the largest of all

the alignments, the Kerzeho. It extended

some two miles, changing course about

midway along the route. But now, much

of it is degraded or missing. Again, no one

has the foggiest of what all this was about

except that it was very important to someone.

All of it high neolithic for these parts, 2,500-

3,500BC.

The highway goes right through the alignment...

View of the alignment

Vicki by the Geant Menhir, part of what was perhaps the

alignment's cromlech; the fallen menhir is pretty big too

Another really huge one, lightning-struck

Part of the cromlech/alignment/whatever

What the locals refer to as the "slaughter stone"

Some 20th century construction, not comparing well...

More of the alignment

And, at the foot of the Geant, another "zero" stone

Night at Kermario

We returned to the Kermario alignment for dinner and a full-

moon stroll among the stones and spent the night there too. Above,

poached salmon with my patented mustard cream caper sauce

flanked by a couple langoustines, with Muscadet wine; Vicki had

frozen pizza and was happy...

Night on the alignment

The Kermario dolmen by flash

More flash...

Menec Village

We next visited Menec Village, something we had not seen

before in our several visits to Carnac. At the head of the

Menec alignment is a cromlech, a quadrilateral arrangement

of larger stone, closer together, reckoned by some to have

been some sort of gathering place. Menec Village is a

modern (19th-20th century) village that was built right in the

cromlech, but much of the old structure remains...used now

to designate parking spaces, fences, walls, etc.

Note close spacing of stones

More of the village

More

Parking

My favorite...the clothes-line gives it such a domestic touch

A huge line of stones

Kermario Alignment

There are three great alignments at Carnac, all in a row

(with a couple smaller ones mixed in). The middle, and

perhaps largest, is Kermario. No one has the slightest

idea what they are all about, but it must have meant a

great deal to put these monuments up....

Big rocks, all in row...all in rows...

Vicki, trying to push another escapee back

inside the fence

The Kermario dolmen, one of the oldest structures around

(4,000BC)

Another view

More big ones

About half way down the alignment

From the end, looking back up the hill

Lightning-struck

Carnac Plage and Museum

We drove back to Carnac and its Grand Plage, where we had

lunch and a long walk along the beach, Vicki in search of

green beach glass, me in search of a polished neolithic jadeite

ceremonial axe. She found some glass. I managed to catch

two oysters, which went some way toward erasing my

Norwegian fishing humiliations. On the way back, we

stopped also at the Carnac Museum of Prehistory, a major
site for all this stuff, and walked about town a bit.

Ditto

The day's catch

Lann Roz, on the way back from the beach, a restaurant

where we have had several memorable meals (including

the one where the proprietress had fallen asleep and I finally

 had to go wake her up for l'addition)

At the Carnac Museum of Prehistory, where they have quite

a collection

These jadeite axes were actually found on the beach at

Quiberon in 2007; I'll keep looking