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Origin and history

The Tumiac tumulus, located on the Rhuys peninsula in Arzon (Morbihan), is a "carnacean" megalithic building comparable to the Carnac or Locmariaquer tumulus. Of conical shape (55 m in diameter, 15 m in height), it is entirely artificial, consisting of a dolmenic cairn covered with a thick layer of vase, itself surmounted by earth and stones. Its volume is estimated at 16,000 m3. The monument houses a slightly eccentric dolmen, accessible by an east-southeast oriented corridor, and a funeral chamber bounded by three engraved orthostats (traits, circles), covered with a quartz slab. A second masonry chest, discovered in 1934, suggests the presence of other unexplored peripheral structures.

The site, known as Caesar's mound because of a local tradition associated with Julius Caesar during the war against the Venetos (56 B.C.), has been mentioned since the 19th century in archaeology works (Mahe in 1825, Cayot-Delambre in 1847). In 1853, a trench dug in its southern flank revealed a "grove", encouraging the Morbihan Polymathic Society to organize a excavation led by Louis Wales and Alfred Fouquet. The crater, visible at the top, dates from this exploration, where an intact funerary furniture was discovered: 32 axes of polished stones, 3 callai necklaces (237 pearls), pieces of pottery and a reworked bovine horn, now preserved at the Vannes Museum.

Ranked a historic monument in 1923, the tumulus was the subject of new excavations carried out by Zacharie Le Rouzic in 1934, before the construction of an access gallery (now condemned for security reasons). This work reveals a second dry masonry chest adjacent to the master bedroom and confirms the absence of previous looting. The Rouzic noted, however, the disappearance of the room pavement, reported by Wales in 1853. Access to the monument is now forbidden because of its structural instability, thus preserving a major testimony of neolithic funeral architecture in Brittany.

The tumulus of Tumiac illustrates the sepulchral practices of neolithic societies, marked by the construction of collective monuments and the deposit of symbolic objects (parts, tools). Its exceptionally well-preserved furniture offers an insight into the trades (callaïs of the Nantes region, axes in rare stones) and funeral rituals of the time. The tradition of combining the site with Julius Caesar, although several millennia later, bears witness to its topographical and memorial importance in the local landscape.

A property shared between the municipality of Arzon and private individuals, the tumulus remains a subject of study for archaeologists, its cairn being able to house other structures not yet identified. Its ranking in 1923 and its current protection underline its heritage value, both scientific, historical and landscape, in a territory rich in megalithic remains such as the Morbihan.

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