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Two dolmens à Pont-Aven dans le Finistère

Finistère

Two dolmens

    8 Coat Luzuen
    29930 Pont-Aven
Deux dolmens
Deux dolmens
Crédit photo : Yann Gwilhoù - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Néolithique
Âge du Bronze
Âge du Fer
Antiquité
Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
4100 av. J.-C.
4000 av. J.-C.
0
1800
1900
2000
Néolithique
Construction of dolmens
1835
First written entry
1er octobre 1951
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Two dolmens, Nizon (cad. A 160): by decree of 1 October 1951

Key figures

Chevalier de Fréminville - Amateur archaeologist First to mention dolmens (1835)
René-François Le Men - Local historian Identify a covered alley (1876)
Paul du Châtellier - Archaeologist Describes two separate dolmens (1907)
Jean L'Helgouach - Prehistory Proposes a structural analysis (1965)

Origin and history

The two dolmens of Pont-Aven, known as the covered driveway of Coat Luzuen, were mentioned in 1835 by the Chevalier de Fréminville as "two dolmens placed one next to the other, perfectly preserved". This initial description led to various interpretations: R-F Le Men sees a covered alley from which a central slab has disappeared, while L. Flagelle and Paul du Châtellier, relying on Fréminville, describe them as two distinct dolmens. This duality is reflected in their classification as historical monuments in 1951 under the name Two Dolmens, in Nizon.

The building consists of two parts with contrasting architectural features. On the west, a 5.65-metre-long room, covered by a monumental granite slab (6.30 m × 3.40 m), is bounded by eight pillars, some of which tilt inward. In the east, a smaller structure (3.80 m × 1.40 m), covered with cracked slab, could correspond to an old dolmen, later integrated into a larger ensemble. Helgouach hypothesizes a covered driveway whose intermediate part would have disappeared, while details such as a pillar or a swing suggest the past existence of a portico of entry.

The materials used, exclusively migmatized grey granite, and the north-west/south-east orientation of the whole highlight a careful design, typical of the megalithic Armomeric burials. The debates on the exact nature of the monument — a broken covered alley or a juxtaposition of two dolmens — reflect the complexity of neolithic funeral practices in Brittany. The archaeological sources, including the works of Le Men (1876), Flagelle (1878), and Le Châtellier (1907), document these successive interpretations, while the modern excavations (L-Helgouach, 1965) offer further structural analysis.

External links