Megaliths, dolmens & menhirs The coastal Breton peninsula was inhabited as far back as 600,000 B.C. although very few traces of existence have been discovered. It was not until after the ice age that the neolithic population began to develop, organising animal & crop farming, again around the coastal regions of Brittany. It was during this period that social changes were made, in particular, the worship of the dead. By building dolmens or 'stone tables' to bury their dead, it was thought that the deceased would bring life to the stone. Several types of dolmen were constructed; chambers of varying sizes, protected by 'cairns' of small stones & accessed by a long stone covered corridor. In the commune of Cleguerec in Morbihan, there is an excellent example of another type of dolmen, the 'Allée couverte' of Bot-er-Mohed. Originally around 27 meters long & covered with 5 large granite stones, this construction is aligned north-south. Many other types of standing stones or 'menhirs' can be found in & around the forest of Quenecan, near Cleguerec. Standing stones at Erdeven near Carnac The most well known sites of standing stones & the biggest in the world are around Carnac & the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany. The site at Carnac alone has nearly 3000 standing stones, some of which weigh up to 100 tons each, moving them must have proved a mammoth feat without the aid of machinery, suggesting these early inhabitants had a well organised society. The Musée de Préhistoire at Carnac now has multimedia presentations, examples & presentations of excavations around Carnac. There are thousands of megaliths around Brittany, just look for the symbol on tourist maps. Places to visit:- Around Carnac, Musée de Préhistoire The Alignments de Menec & The Alignments of Kermario on the D 196 The Tumulus de St Michel just off the D 781 north of La Trinite Ille aux Moines in the Gulf de Morbihan Erdeven, Alignments de Kerzerho on the 781 between Auray & Belz. Cleguerec, Bot-er-Mohed, follow the signs from Cleguerec Penmarch & Pont l'Abbe, on the D785