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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The covered walkway of Lesconil, also known as Ti-ar-c This monument is distinguished by its arched structure: its 18 orthostats (vertical straps) are inclined towards each other, joining at the top without a horizontal slab. The ensemble, 12.50 m long and 2.15 m wide, was originally covered with a cairn and surrounded by a peristalith of 27 stones, forming an oval tumulus. The slabs, in granodiorite, probably come from the surroundings, the site being located at 78 m above sea level, near a high point.

The first written mention of the monument belonged to Mr Halleguen, but it was Abbé Jean-Marie Abgrall who made the first excavation in July 1881, discovering a Gallo-Roman urn containing incinerated remains. A second campaign, conducted in August 1891 by Abgrall and Paul du Châtellier, revealed artefacts from the Campaniforme (vases, axe in diorite, arrow point in shale) and a stone to crush the wheat. Du Châtellier, who in 1884 requested a classification as a historical monument, won only in 1922, thanks to the intervention of Alfred Devoir and Louis Capitan. The state finally acquired the site in the 1970s.

According to local folklore, korrigans (Breton lints) would use the slabs of the driveway to play the pallets, explaining the dispersion of stones around. This legend, reported by Georges Guénin in 1936, reflects the imaginary associated with megaliths in Brittany. The excavations also suggested that the entrance, initially filled with piers, could result from a subsequent search of the neighbouring fields, as assumed by the Châtellier.

The covered lane of Lesconil illustrates the funeral and ritual practices of the final Neolithic, with partial reuse in the Gallo-Roman era (incinerated urn). Its unique architecture, combined with its rich archaeological context (tools, ceramics), makes it a major witness to Armoric megalithism. Ranked a historic monument in 1922, it remains an emblematic site of Breton prehistoric heritage.

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