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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Dolmen de Kerugon, also known as the Kerugon covered driveway, is a megalithic monument located in the town of Plomeur in Finistère (Bretagne). Dated from the final Neolithic, it is distinguished by its hybrid architecture, combining the characteristics of a corridor dolmen with those of a covered alley. The site is included in a tumulus of 30 meters in diameter and 2.50 meters in height, with a rectangular burial chamber divided into three compartments of similar sizes. This structure suggests a transition to covered aisles, where lateral cells become as important as the master chamber.

The excavations carried out in 1877 by Paul du Châtellier revealed a rich archaeological furniture: lithic tools (polished axes in dolerite and fibrolith, flakes of flint), elements of trim (fiberolith locks), and especially ceramics of three distinct types. Among these pottery, the round bottom stalls and flat bottom vases, decorated with fine vertical mouldings, allowed to define a ceramic style specific to the final Breton Neolithic, called "type of Kerugou". Their stylistic homogeneity suggests local production in the same workshop.

Ranked as historical monuments by order of 8 April 1922, the dolmen received restoration in 1938 by the Finistrian Group of prehistoric studies. The access corridor, 6 meters long, leads to a room whose entrance is marked by a stone threshold. The floor, covered with large thin slabs laid on a bed of pebbles and yellow earth, bears witness to sophisticated construction techniques for the time. According to the analysis of L-Helgouach, this monument illustrates a key step in the evolution of neolithic funeral practices in Brittany.

The archaeological discoveries of Kerugon contributed to a better understanding of the societies of the final Neolithic in Brittany. Polished axes and fibrolith trims indicate advanced local exchanges or know-how, while the diversity of pottery reflects growing cultural complexity. The site, although partially restored, remains a major testimony of the funeral and artisanal traditions of this pivotal period between Neolithic and Metal Age.

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