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Origin and history

Kerleven cairn, located in La Forêt-Fouesnant (Finistry), is a megalithic monument composed of two cairns built in succession to Prehistory. Discovered by chance in 1960 during work on a camping site, it was partially destroyed before being searched between 1961 and 1965. Ranked a historic monument in 1965, it reveals a complex architecture with three burial chambers and access corridors, typical of the collective burials of Neolithic.

The subtrapezoidal cairn was lined with dry stone walls and had internal compartments similar to those at Morbihan or South Finister sites. Room A in the first cairn is the oldest (dated around 2875 B.C.), while rooms B and C in the second cairn show symmetrical architecture with narrow corridors and lateral compartments. The excavations revealed modest funerary furniture: hunting ceramics, polished axes and a blue glass pearl, suggesting a prolonged use of the site.

The partial destruction of the cairn in 1960 erased a large part of its western structure, but the excavations allowed to rebuild its organization. The internal and external trimming walls, as well as the local migmatite slabs, indicate a two-phase construction. Architectural affinities with the Morbihan tumulus (such as Gavrinis) and internal compartments remind those of the Pointe du Souc.

The archaeological material, mainly concentrated in front of the entrances to the chambers, includes round-bottom vases, flint blades and later polished axes, showing later reuse. Carbon dating 14 and ceramic style place the monument in the Western Chasseen, a period marked by the rise of collective burials. Today, the site, private property, remains a rare example of cairn with compartmented rooms in Brittany.

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