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Origin and history

The Kerbourgnec alignments, also known as the Moulin or Saint-Pierre alignments, form a neolithic megalithic complex located at Saint-Pierre-Quiberon (Morbihan). This site, partially submerged, could have competed with Carnac's alignments by its extent and importance. It includes several rows of menhirs and a cromlech, some of which extend to the sea, visible only at low tide.

The first written mention of the site dates back to 1825 by Mahé, who evokes a trapezoidal tertre today disappeared. In 1867-1868, Lukis and Dryden conducted accurate surveys, already noting the movement of stones by local peasants. G. de Closmadeuc (1882) and Abbé Lavenot (1888) describe menhirs extending to the coast, some engaged in the slopes or submerged, forming visible reefs at low tide.

At the end of the 19th century, the state acquired the Moulin site and restored it under the direction of F. Gaillard. Ranked a historic monument in 1889, the complex was modified during this restoration, but its maritime extension remains documented. Zacharia The Rouzic later observed submerged blocks in the east, suggesting a cromlech engulfed. The current alignments, consisting of five lines of 23 menhirs, result from this intervention.

Oceanographic campaigns (2006-2009) reveal 150 submarine monoliths, arranged in parallel lines, confirming the original site extension over nearly 900 m. These stones, erected around the fifth millennium BC, were initially in the open air before being submerged by rising waters during Holocene transgression. Their orientation follows an axis of 108°N, highlighting complex architectural planning.

The cromlech, located 150 m southwest of the alignments, has forty stones and opens east. No direct relationship with alignments was established by archaeological research. The menhirs visible today, from variable heights (1.10 m to more than 2 m), include slabs and a northwest slope. The site, though fragmented, bears witness to a major megalithic ensemble, comparable to Carnac.

Historical descriptions emphasize the gradual degradation of the site due to marine erosion and human activities. The peasants moved or destroyed menhirs, while the sea swallowed up some of the structures. Despite these losses, the remaining remains and underwater discoveries confirm the cultural and architectural importance of Kerbourgnec during the Neolithic period.

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