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Origin and history

The island of Guernic is a small French island of 200 m by 50 m, located 2 km west of Quiberon peninsula, opposite Penthièvre Fort. Not cadastral but listed in the Plan des Servitudes de Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, it peaks at 10 m above sea level and has a flat summital plateau covered with sand. Its name, of Breton origin, reflects its isolation and rocky nature.

In 1930, the archaeologist Zacharie Le Rouzic discovered a neolithic workshop for the cutting of coastal flint pebbles. The rarity and spherical shape of these pebbles, combined with their progressive tarification during the Holocene, prompted the prehistoric artisans to adopt a specific technique: bipolar percussion flow on anvil. These remains are evidence of an ancient human occupation linked to the exploitation of local resources.

Ranked a historic monument on 15 May 1930 for its archaeological interest, the islet also hosts, since 1931, a pillar of the Sacred Land dedicated to American soldiers who died during the First World War. This pillar, containing battlefield land, was destroyed by German fire in 1942 and rebuilt in the 1960s. The island, owned by the commune, remains a symbol both prehistoric and memorial.

Today, Guernic is a protected site, accessible only by boat, and marked by its dual heritage: a neolithic past linked to the size of the flint, and a commemorative vocation of the twentieth century. Its isolation and its small size make it a place both fragile and full of history, representative of the island landscapes of Brittany.

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