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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Kergavat Dolmen, also known as Kergarat Dolmen or Er Roc'h, is an iconic megalithic site located in Plouharnel, Morbihan. Ranked as a historical monument in 1889, it illustrates the funeral architecture of the Neolithic with its subcircular chamber and partially destroyed corridor. Its peculiarities include a cover table decorated with cupulas and a side cell where a caliciform vase attributed to the Campaniforme was discovered, now preserved at the British Museum.

Explored in the 19th century by archaeologists such as W. C. Lukis (1867) and G. Chaplain-Duparc (1877), the dolmen benefited from a restoration led by Zacharie Le Rouzic. Although damaged by the widening of a departmental road, its original plan is known thanks to ancient sketches, revealing a structure in orthostats and dry stones. The presence of cupules on the slabs and the cover table underscores its symbolic or ritual importance for local neolithic communities.

The site is part of a dense megalithic landscape, typical of the Morbihan coast. Its early ranking and excavations make it a key testimony of the funeral and artistic practices of Neolithic in Brittany. The objects discovered, such as the caliciform vase, attest to cultural exchanges or traditions shared with other European regions during this period.

The historical sources, including the works of Zacharie Le Rouzic and the bulletins of the Morbihan Polymathic Society, clearly document its structure and evolution. Despite the alterations suffered, the Kergavat dolmen remains a major study site to understand the spatial and social organization of neolithic societies in southern Brittany.

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