Saint-Michel tumulus

The Saint-Michel tumulus is a megalithic grave mound, located east of Carnac in Brittany, France. It is the largest grave mound in continental Europe.

History


The tumulus was built during the fifth millennium BC. It consists of a mound of earth and stones 125 m long, 50 m wide and 10 m high. Explored in 1862, researchers found there a central vault containing fairly prestigious funerary furniture: axes, pearls, flint tools and sillimanite.

It has been classified as a "Monument historique" (National heritage site) since 1889.

Around 1900, the archaeologist Zacharie Le Rouzic again excavated the Saint-Michel tumulus and discovered a second dolmen and fifteen small stone chests, thus revealing the complexity of this monument.