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 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
130. Demi-dolmen, near Poitiers.
 131. Demi-dolmen at Kerland.

I have purposely refrained from speaking of rocking stones, which

play so important a part in the forms of Druidical worship invented
by Stukeley, Borlase, and the antiquaries of the last century, because
I believe that nine-tenths of those found in this country—if not all—
are merely natural phenomena. So far from being surprised that this
should be the case, the wonder is that they are not more frequent
where loose boulders abound, either ice-borne or freed by the
washing away of the underlying strata. That some of these should
rest in an unstable equilibrium easily disturbed is only what might be
expected, and that they would also be matters of marvel to the
country people around is also natural; but it does not follow from
this that any priests purposely and designedly placed, or could place,
rude stones in such positions, or that they used them for religious
purposes.
 132. Pierre Martine.

In France, however, there is one called the Pierre Martine, near

Livernon, in the department of the Lot, which was designedly
balanced, if any one was. Its general appearance will be understood
from the preceding woodcut, taken from 'La France monumentale et
pittoresque,' which correctly represents its form and appearance.
[411] The cap-stone measures 22 feet by 11 feet, and is 16 inches in
thickness, and is so balanced on its two points of support that a
slight pressure of the hand is sufficient to set it oscillating with a
motion which it retains for some time.[412]
 133. Pierre Martine. From Bonstetten.

134. Pierre Branlante, in Brittany.

Another and more celebrated one, in Brittany, which is known as the

Pierre branlante de Huelgoat, seems rather due to accident. It looks
as if it formed, or was intended to form, part of a demi-dolmen, but
happening to rest on one of its supports so as to oscillate, it has
been allowed to remain so. Even assuming, however, that this was
done designedly, what would it prove beyond the desire which
pervades all these monuments, of exciting astonishment by tours de
force. I believe it is correct to say that no passage exists in any book
ancient or medieval which mentions rocking stones or their uses; nor
has anyone been able to explain how they delivered their oracles. A
certain push produced an oscillation, not fitful or irregular, but
always in proportion to the force applied; so the answer must always
have been the same and alike to all people. A still more important
fact is that nowhere do the people appeal to them now. Neither at
the Beltane nor at Halloween, nor at any of those festivals where
country people revive every extinct superstition to aid them in prying
into futurity, are these rocking stones appealed to; and it seems
almost impossible that, when so many other superstitions have
survived, this one should be lost, and lost in presence of the rocks
themselves, which still remain. Wonders they certainly are, but I
question much if they ever were appealed to for any higher purpose
than that of extracting sixpences from the pockets of gaping tourists.

Carnac.
In a zone about twenty miles in extent, stretching from Erdeven on
the north-west to Tumiac in a south-easterly direction, and nowhere
more than five miles in width, there is to be found the most
remarkable group of megalithic remains, not only in France, but
perhaps in the whole world. Not only are examples of every class of
monument we have been describing, except circles, to be found
here, but they are larger and finer examples than are generally to be
met with elsewhere. Another point of interest also is that within the
zone are found—if I am not mistaken—both a cemetery and a battle-
field. At least in the neighbourhood of Locmariaker, which there
seems no reason for doubting was the Dariorigum of the Romans,
the capital of the Venetes in Cæsar's times,[413] all the monuments
are more or less sculptured, and all the stones fashioned, not to say
hewn. On the other hand, no stone in the neighbourhood of Carnac
is hewn, or even fashioned, beyond splitting, and no sculptures of
any class have been traced. The distinction is too marked to be
accidental, and unless it can be made out that they belong to
different ages, which appears to me most improbable, goes far to
establish the conclusion at which we have arrived in previous
chapters.
To begin with the Carnac monument,[414] which is the best known
and the most important. As will be seen by the woodcut on p. 352, it
consists of two separate alignments, or great stone rows—one, that
of Carnac, extending for nearly two miles in a direction nearly east
and west; the other, that of Erdeven, at a distance of two miles and
a half from that at Carnac, being little more than one mile in length.
There is a third, but smaller, group at St.-Barbe, about a mile and a
half due south of Erdeven; and numerous dolmens and tumuli are
spread at intervals all over the plain.
In order to be understood, the Carnac monument must again be
subdivided into three portions. Beginning at Le Maenec (the Stones),
we have eleven rows of very fine stones, measuring from 11 feet to
13 feet in height from the ground, and still nearly perfect. Gradually,
however, they become smaller and more sparse, till, when they
reach the road from Auray to Carnac, there are few of them that
measure 3 feet in any direction, and some are still smaller. Shortly
after passing that road the avenues cease altogether, for a distance
of more than 300 yards, there being nothing but a few natural
boulders in the interval between. When, however, we reach the knoll
on which the farm of Kermario stands, the avenues reappear, this
time only ten in number, but perfectly regular, and with stones as
large and as regularly spaced as those at Maenec. They diminish
more and more in size, however, and almost die out altogether
before they reach the mound (tumulus?) on which the windmill
stands, and after that become so small and sparse that a stranger
riding across the line could hardly remark that they were artificially
disposed, but would merely regard it as a stony piece of land. They
again cease entirely before we reach the brook, to recommence at
Kerlescant, where thirteen rows are found; but these are composed
of stones of less dimensions and more irregularly spaced than those
at Maenec, and die out much more rapidly. At a distance of less than
500 yards from the head of the column they disappear entirely. It
may be suggested that these gaps arise from the stones having
been removed for agricultural and other purposes. I think, however,
that any one who carefully examines the spot will be convinced that
we really now possess all, or nearly all, that were ever placed here.
They are thickest and best preserved in the village of Maenec, and
at Kermario, where buildings are most frequent, and they disappear
exactly in those places where there are no buildings or walls, but
where the ground is an open, barren heath, without roads, and
whence it would be very difficult to transport them; and in so stony
a country it is very improbable that the attempt would be made.
Besides this, the gradual way in which they diminish in size before
disappearing shows a regularity of design, regarding which there can
be no mistake. In addition to this, the heads of the three divisions
are all marked by monuments of different kinds, but which are easily
recognizable. At the head of the Maenec division there is a
curvilinear enclosure of smaller stones, none of them being more
than 6 feet in height, but set much closer together than the rows
(woodcut No. 136). It probably was once complete, and, if so, joined
the centre stone row. At Kermario, a dolmen stands in front of the
alignment, not remarkable for its size, but conspicuous from its
position; and at Kerlescant there is a quadrangular[415] enclosure,
three sides of which are composed of stones of smaller size and set
closely together, like those at Maenec. The fourth side is formed by a
tumulus or long barrow. This was dug into in 1851, by some persons
with or without authority; but who they were, or what they found, is
not recorded.
135. MAP OF SOME CELTIC ANTIQUITIES
IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
OF CARNAC
 136.

The monument at Erdeven is very inferior in scale to that at Carnac,

and planned on a different principle. Instead of the heads of the
division following one another, as at Carnac, they face outwards;
and, like the fabled Amphisbena, this group has two heads, one at
each end. The principal one is the western, where there is a group
of very large stones close to the road, but rather confusedly
arranged. There seem to be nine or ten rows, and a row of large
stones branches off at right angles to the north. After extending
about 100 yards the main column dies out, and is resumed again at
a distance of 200 yards, in smaller stones much more widely spaced.
It is again and again so interrupted, that it is sometimes difficult to
trace it till we come near the eastern end, where it resumes its
regularity, possessing eight well-defined rows of stones similar to
those at the west end.[416]
At the west end there can still be traced the remains of what was
once a tumulus, and, beyond that, a single standing menhir. At the
east end there is a tumulus of a somewhat oval form, and in the
centre, a hill, or rising ground, apparently natural, on which are
placed two dolmens; and, south of the east end, a second hill or
mound with two more similar monuments.
It is not easy to guess whether the lines of St.-Barbe were ever more
complete than we now find them. My own impression is that we
have them now very nearly as originally completed. The head facing
the west seems to have been intended for a curvilinear enclosure
similar to that at Maenec, but is now, at least, very incomplete. Its
most remarkable feature is the group of stones at its head (woodcut
No. 137), two of which are the largest and finest blocks in the
neighbourhood. The farthest away in the view is 19 feet long by 12
feet broad, and 8 feet thick; the other, seen in the foreground, even
exceeds it in dimensions. Whether these are like the Coffin stones at
Aylesford, or the two stones found among the stone rows at
Dartmoor, or have, indeed, any separate meaning, must be left to be
determined when we know more of the general scheme on which
these monuments were planned.
There is nothing at present but juxtaposition to justify us in
connecting these great stone rows with the smaller groups of stones
and the dolmens or tumuli which stud the plain where they are
found. In respect to these, what we find at Carnac seems the exact
converse of what exists at Stonehenge and Stennis. There the great
stone monuments stand among the pigmy barrows of another race
and age. Here all are megalithic and all seem to have been erected
nearly at the same time, and to belong to one people, whoever they
may eventually be proved to have been. In so far as any argument
as to their age is concerned, it is at present of little importance
whether this is so or not, for they are all equally uncommunicative
on this subject.

137. Head of Column at St.-Barbe. From Messrs. Blair and

Ronalds' work.

One of the tumuli known as Mont St.-Michel, is so situated with

respect to the Maenec row that it seems impossible to dissociate the
two. It was opened by M. René Galles in 1862, and an account of his
researches, in the form of a report to the Préfet, was published
shortly afterwards. The mound itself, at its base, is nearly 400 feet in
length by half that dimension in width. In modern times its summit
has been levelled, to form a platform for the church which now
occupies its eastern summit. In front of the church, M. Galles sunk a
shaft near the centre of the mound, and came upon a sepulchral
chamber of irregular form, the side walls of which were formed of
very irregular and bad masonry of small stones, similar to that of the
dolmens at Crubelz. Its mean dimensions were about 6 feet by 5
feet, and 3 feet 6 inches in height. In it were found some
magnificent celts of jade and tribolite, nine pendents in jasper, and
101 beads in jasper, with some in turquoise, all polished and pierced
so as to form a necklace. The human remains in the principal cell
seem utterly to have perished, owing probably to the continued
penetration of water since, at least, the levelling of the summit,
though some bones were subsequently found in a small chamber
adjoining.
On the north side of the avenue at Kerlescant, at a distance of about
100 paces from it, is a second long barrow, consequently occupying
the same relative position to it that Mont St.-Michel does to that at
Maenec. It is so similar in external appearance and general
arrangement to that forming the north side of the enclosure, which
terminates the avenue, that there can be little doubt of their being
of the same age and forming part of the same general arrangement.
It had been opened some twenty years ago by a gentleman residing
at Carnac, but was re-examined in 1867 by the Rev. W. C. Lukis.[417]

138. Long Barrow at Kerlescant.

In the centre he found a long rectangular chamber, measuring 52

feet in length by 5 feet in width internally, and divided into two equal
compartments by two stones cut away in the centre, so as to leave a
hole 1 foot 6 inches wide by 3 feet high. A similar but smaller hole
exists on the side, and is identical with those found in the long
barrows at Rodmarton and Avening in Gloucestershire.[418] Mr.
Lukis, among other things, found an immense quantity of broken
pottery, some of very fine quality. Two vases which he was enabled
to restore are interesting from their general resemblance to the two
which Mr. Bateman found in Arbor Low (woodcut No. 31). Though
not exactly the same in form, there can be little doubt that they
belong to the same age.

139. Hole between Two Stones at Kerlescant.[419]

 141. Vases found at Kerlescant.

About a mile from this example, Mr. Lukis mentions a still larger one.
It measures 81 feet in length by 6 feet in width, is divided into two
compartments like the one just described, and has also a holed
entrance. He also measured two in Finistère, one 76 feet, the other
66 feet, in length, and both 6 feet wide. Both, however, had been
rifled long ago, and are now mere ruins. More, no doubt, would be
found if looked for. Indeed, these straight-lined "allées couvertes," or
"Grottes des fées," without cells, as the French call them, as before
mentioned, are the most characteristic, if not the most common,
form of French rude-stone monuments. The only other place where
they are equally common is Drenthe, and it may be that this side
hole at Kerlescant is an approach to the side entrance so usual in
that province.
At Plouharnel, about a mile and a half westward from Mont St.-
Michel, a double dolmen was opened a good many years ago. In it
were found some beautiful gold ornaments, others in bronze, and
some celts or stone axes in jade[420]—all these, like those of Mont
St.-Michel, belonging evidently to what antiquaries call the latest
period of the Polished Stone age; but until it is determined what that
age is, it does not help us much to a date.
 142. Plan of Moustoir-Carnac.

143. Section of Moustoir-Carnac. From 'Mémoire' by René

Galles

To the north of Kerlescant, at about the distance of half a mile, is

another long barrow, called Moustoir or Moustoir-Carnac, which was
opened in 1865, also by M. René Galles. It was found to contain four
separate interments, dispersed along its length, which exceeds 280
feet, the height varying from 15 to 20 feet. The western chamber is
a regular dolmen, of the class called "Grottes des fées," and is
apparently the oldest of the group. The centre one (b) is a very
irregular chamber, the plan of which it is difficult to make out; the
third (c) is a dolmen, irregular in plan, but roofed with three large
stones; but the fourth (d) is a circular chamber, the walls of which
are formed of tolerably large stones, the roof being built up into the
form of a horizontal dome (woodcut No. 144), by stones projecting
and overlapping, instead of the simpler ceiling of single blocks as on
all the earlier monuments. This, as well as the walls, being built with
small stones, I take to be a certain indication of a more modern age.
A considerable number of flint implements were found in the
western chamber, with some beads and a partially pierced cylinder in
serpentine, but no coins, nor any object of an age which can be
positively dated. Here, however, these troublesome Roman tiles
make their appearance as at Crubelz. "Ici, comme à Mané er H'roëk,
nous trouvons les traces caractéristiques du conquerant (les
Romains): des tuiles à rebord ont croulé, au pied de notre butte
funéraire, et plusieurs même se sont glissées à travers les couches
supérieures des pierres, qui forment une partie de la masse."[421]

144. Section of Chamber d of Moustier-Carnac.

If these monuments are really prehistoric, it is to me

incomprehensible that these traces of the Romans should be so
generally prevalent in their structure. If it is objected that these are
not found in the chambers of the tombs themselves, the answer
seems only too evident that hardly one of them is virgin: all, or
nearly all, have been entered before the time of recent explorers,
and all their more valuable contents removed. Celts and beads and
stone implements were not likely to attract the attention of early
pilferers, and these they left; but except in the instance of the
sepulchre at Plouharnel, metal is very rarely found in any. But the
presence of Roman pottery, or other evidence of that people, in the
long barrows in Gloucestershire, at Kennet, and at Carnac, are too
frequent to be accidental. In so far as proving that the monument is
not prehistoric, the presence of a single fragment of Roman pottery
is as conclusive as a hoard of coins would be, provided it is found so
placed that it could not have been inserted there after the mound
was complete; and this I fancy is the case in all the instances
mentioned above.

Locmariaker.
It is rather to be regretted that no good survey exists of this
cemetery. Not that much depends on the juxtaposition of the
monuments, but that, as the French are continually changing their
names, and most of them have two, it is not always easy to feel sure
which monument is being spoken of at any particular time. Those on
the mainland are situated in a zone about a mile in length, running
north and south, between Mané Lud, the most northern, and Mané
er H'roëk, the most southern. The first-named is a long barrow, 260
feet by about 165, but not, as in England, of one age or containing
only one, but, like Moustoir-Carnac, several sepulchres, which may
either be of the same age or erected at different though hardly
distant periods, and joined together by being buried under one great
mound. Of the three which Mané Lud contains, the most interesting
is the partially covered dolmen at the west end. It consists of a
chamber of somewhat irregular form, but measuring 12 feet by 10
feet, and covered by one enormous block of stone, measuring 29
feet by 15 feet, and with a passage leading to it, making the whole
length from the entrance to the central block of the chamber 20
feet. According to Mr. Ferguson,[422] five of the blocks of this dolmen
are sculptured; according to M. René Galles,[423] nine are so
ornamented. The stone, however, is so rough and the place so dark
that it is difficult at times to distinguish them and always so to draw
them. The principal objects represented seem to be intended for
boats and hatchets, but there are other figures which cannot be so
classed, and, though it may be rash to call them writing, they may
mean numbers or cyphers of some sort. Their great interest is,
however, their similarity to the engravings on Irish monuments. If
any one will, for instance, compare this woodcut (No. 145) and
woodcut No. 68 from New Grange, he can hardly fail to see a
likeness which cannot well be accidental; and in like manner the
curvilinear forms of woodcut No. 146, in a manner hardly to be
mistaken, resemble those from Clover Hill (woodcut No. 77).

145. Sculpture at Mané Lud.

 146. Sculpture at Mané Lud.[424]

147. View of Dol ar Marchant. From Blair and Ronald.

Close by Mané Lud, but a little nearer to Locmariaker, stands what

may be considered as the most interesting, if not the finest, free-
standing dolmen in France. Its roof consists of two stones: one of
these measures 18 feet by 9 feet,[425] and more than 3 feet in
thickness. The second stone is very much smaller, and seems to
form a sort of porch to it. The great stone rests, like that of most
free-standing dolmens, on three points, their architects having early
learned how difficult it was to make sure of their resting on more; so
that unless they wanted a wall to keep out the stuff out of which the
tumulus was to be composed, they generally poised them on three
points like that at Castle Wellan (woodcut No. 7).

148. End Stone, Dol ar Marchant.

 149. Hatchet in roof of Dol ar Marchant.

The great interest in this dolmen, however, lies in its sculptures. The
stone which closes the east end is shaped into the form of two sides
of an equilateral spherical triangle and covered with sculptures,
which this time are neither characters nor representations of living
things, but purely decorative. At one time I thought the form of a
cross could be traced on the stone. The central stem and the upper
arm are shown clearly enough in the drawing by Mr. Ferguson; but
all the drawings show a lower cross-arm—though I confess I did not
see it—which quite destroys this idea. On the roof a well-sculptured
plumed[426] hatchet can be traced very distinctly, as shown in the
woodcut copied from Mr. Ferguson. He fancies he can also trace the
form of a plough in the sculptures of the roof, but this seems
doubtful.
It is to this dolmen that the great fallen obelisk belongs. If it was
one stone, it measured 64 feet in length and 13 feet across its
greatest diameter; but I confess I cannot, from the mode in which it
has fallen, rid myself of the idea that it was in reality two obelisks,
and not one. Whether this was the case or not, it is a remarkable
work of art for a rude people, for it certainly has been shaped with
care, and with the same amount of labour might have been made
square or round or any other shape that might have been desired.
This, however, is one of the peculiarities of the style. No one will
dispute that this obelisk and the stones of the Dol ar Marchant are
hewn; but instead of adopting the geometrical forms, of which we
are so fond, they preferred those that reminded them of their old
rude monuments, and which to their eyes were more beautiful than
the straight lines of the Romans. I do not feel quite sure that
artistically they were not right.
If we compare this dolmen with that at Krukenho (woodcut No.
126), the difference between them appears very striking. The Del ar
Marchant is a regular tripod dolmen, carefully built of shaped stones
and engraved. The other is a magnificent cist, walled with rude
stones, and such as would form a chamber in a tumulus if buried in
one, though whether this particular example was ever intended to
be so treated or not is by no means clear. Be this as it may, there
are two modes of accounting for the difference between two
monuments so nearly alike in dimensions and situated so near to
one another. The first would be to assume that the Krukenho
example is the oldest, it being the rudest and approaching more
nearly to the primitive form of the monuments: the second would be
to assume that the one was the memorial of some warrior, erected
in haste on the battle-field where he fell, by his companions in arms;
and that the other was a royal sepulchre, prepared at leisure either
by the king himself or by those who succeeded him in times of
peace, and consequently who had leisure for such works. We must
know more of these monuments before a satisfactory choice can be
made between these two hypotheses. At present I rather incline to
the belief that the circumstances under which they were erected
may have more to do with their differences than their relative ages.
To return to Locmariaker. Close to the town there is, or was, a long
allée couverte.[427] It is 70 feet long, and divided towards its inner
end into a square chamber, to which a long-slightly curved gallery
led, composed of fourteen stones on each side. Five of these are
covered with ornaments, and characters engraved on them. One
might be considered as representing the leaf of a fern, or possibly a
palm; the rest are ovals, circles, and similar ornaments, which may
or may not have more meaning than those at New Grange or other
monuments in the locality.
 150. Stone found inside Chamber at Mané er H'roëk.

On the other side of the village is the tumulus already mentioned as

Mané er H'roëk, where the twelve Roman coins were found, and
inside it an immense collection of polished celts, but all broken, and
one slab, which apparently originally closed the door, and is covered
with sculptured hatchets, similar in character to that on the roof of
the Dol ar Marchant, but not so carefully drawn nor so well
engraved.

151. Plan of Gavr Innis.

Besides these there are several—probably as many as a dozen—

monuments of the same class, within what may fairly be considered
the limits of this cemetery; but of these the most interesting, as well
as the most perfect, is that on the island of Gavr Innis, about 2 miles
eastward from Locmariaker.
152. Sculptures at Gavr Innis. From a drawing by Sir
Henry Dryden.[428]
 153. Holed Stone, Gavr Innis. From a drawing by Sir
Henry Dryden.

The plan of the chamber of this monument will be understood from

the annexed plan.[429] The gallery of entrance measures 44 feet
from where the lining stones begin to the chamber, which is
quadrangular in form, and measures 9 feet by 8 feet. All the six
stones forming the three sides of the chamber, and most of those
which line the entrance on either hand, are most elaborately
sculptured with patterns, the character of which will be understood
from the annexed woodcuts. The pattern, it will be observed, is not
so flowing or graceful as those found at New Grange or Dowth, and
nowhere, I believe, can it be said to imitate vegetable forms; and in
the woodcut on the left-hand stone are some seventeen or eighteen
figures, which are generally supposed to represent celts, and
probably do so; but if they do, from their position they must mean
something more, either numbers or names, but, whatever it may be,
its meaning has not yet been guessed. On other stones there are
waving lines, which are very generally assumed to represent
serpents, and, I believe, correctly so; but as that is somewhat
doubtful, it is as well to refrain from citing them. Besides these, the
general pattern is circles within circles, and flowing lines nearly
equidistant, but, except on one stone, never of spirals, and then less
graceful than the Irish. The sculpture, however, on some of the
stones at Lough Crew, and that in the centre especially of woodcut
No. 75, is absolutely identical with the patterns found here; and
altogether there is more similarity between these sculptures and
those at Lough Crew than between almost any other monuments of
the class that I know of.
In the chamber on the left-hand side is a stone (woodcut No. 153),
with three holes in it, which have given rise to an unlimited amount
of speculation. Generally it is assumed that it was here that the
Druids tied up the human victims whom they were about to sacrifice.
But, without going back to the question as to whether there ever
were any Druids in the Morbihan, would any priest choose a small
dungeon 8 feet square and absolutely dark for the performance of
one of their greatest and most solemn rites? So far as we know
anything of human sacrifices, they were always performed in the
open day and in the presence of multitudes. Assuming for the
moment, however, that these holes were intended for some such
purpose, two would have sufficed, and these of a form much simpler
and more easily cut. As will be seen from the woodcut, not only are
the three holes joined, but a ledge or trough is sunk below them
which might hold oil or holy water, and must, it appears to me, have
been intended for some such purpose.
The existence of these holes seems to set at rest another question
of some interest. Generally it has been assumed that the tattooing
on the stones of the chambers, &c., may have been done with stone
implements. This cannot be denied, though it seems improbable; but
the undercutting of the passages between these holes and the
formation of the trough could only be effected by a tool which would
bear a blow on its head, and a heavy one too, or, in other words, by
some well-tempered metal tool.
At Tumiac, opposite Gavr Innis, existed a very large tumulus, which
was opened in 1853 by Messrs. Fouquet and L. Galles. It was found
to contain a small chamber, partly formed of large slabs, partly of
small stones. Some of the former had rude carvings upon them, but
without any meaning that can now be made out.
The whole has the appearance of being considerably more modern
than Gavr Innis.

Besides these, in the neighbourhood of Carnac and Locmariaker,

there are at least three other groups of stones in France which
deserve much more attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon
them. The first is in the peninsula of Crozon, forming the southern
side of the roadstead of Brest. It consists, among others, of three
alignments of stones. The principal one is at a place called
Kerdouadec, and consists of a single line of stones 1600 feet in
length, arranged on a slightly curved plan, and terminating in a
curious "Swastica"-like cross. The second, at Carmaret, is a single
line, 900 feet long, and with two branches at right angles to it, near
its centre. The third, at Leuré, is likewise a single line with a slight
elbow in the centre, from which starts a short branch at right angles.
[430]
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