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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Nillizian tumulus, also known as the circular tomb of Pontivy, is a funeral building dating from the Iron Age, originally discovered in 1890 near the hamlet of Nillizien, in the municipality of Silfiac (Morbihan). This monument, typical of Gaulish funeral practices, presented itself as a dome of earth-covered stones surrounded by a circular wall. Its internal structure consisted of a sepulchral chamber made of dry stone, with niches intended to accommodate cinemar urns containing incinerated remains of deceased, probably those of a Gaulish chief and his family around 600 BC.

To preserve this heritage, the tumulus was dismantled in 1890 by the archaeologist Jérôme Le Brigand, and rebuilt in 1891 in Pontivy, near the church of Saint Joseph. In 1906, he was moved a second time to his current location in the Lenglier Square, west of the city. Ranked a historic monument in 1892, it illustrates the construction techniques and funeral rites of Celtic iron age societies. The three funeral urns discovered on the site are now preserved at the Vannes Museum of History and Archaeology.

The structure of the tumulus, measuring about 5.4 metres in diameter for 1.7 metres in height, reveals a neat architecture: flat stones arranged in corbellation form the central chamber, while a stone core and a circular enclosure reinforce the building. An on-site interpretation panel explains its use as a collective grave, reflecting the high social status of the deceased. This monument thus bears witness to the cultural and religious practices of Gauls in Brittany before Romanization.

The administrative history of the tumulus is marked by its early ranking among historical monuments, emphasizing its heritage importance. His successive shift, first in 1891 and then in 1906, met the requirements of conservation and public development. Today, it remains the property of the municipality of Pontivy and is a rare example of the Gallic burial accessible in urban areas, providing tangible light on the protohistoric past of the region.

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